3com nj100 vs 5 port hub/switch

As a Network Engineer, the first thing that came to my mind with this article is that you are sacrificing individual user bandwith for cost. The Nj100 would be great for remodel jobs but not new installations. What do you want to your desktop for streaming video, 100Mb dedicated or 100Mb shared bandwidth? Another question is how does the unit handle gigabit over copper?

I agree with Reznix - you are sacrificing individual bandwith. I wonder what the difference would be if you ran tests with 5 computers hitting a server via seperate lines to a decent switch and then put 4 of them through the nj100 all trying to hit the same server, via the same switch.

A a replacement for hubs on desks and under desks, yes its a great idea, but no replacement for proper cable capacity in the first place.

I don't know about cable installers else where, but here running 4 cables to the one wall plate is NOT 4 times the cost of running 1, the contractors quote on the basis of 'one pull' and the saving of labour in pulling 4 at once to the same location. Yes it costs more in cable and jacks, but there is an economy of labour, and often the labour in doing a cable run is the most significant cost. Or at least in the quotes i've ever looked at.

I agree with Reznix and matthewg. The nj100 is only a good replacement for a 4 port switch or hub because it is mounted in the wall and is therefore out of the way and a clean solution. It however cannot replace four seperate runs to a switch.

The tests were pointless. They only covered using one computer through the NJ100. If you only have one computer you don't need the NJ100 at all. A better test would have been having four pc's trying to talk on the network at the same time through the NJ100. Four seperate runs to a switch will however always will, it is the difference of shared vs. dedicated bandwidth.

It most likely was designed to replace a 4 port mini hub/switch and not 4 runs to the cabling closet. The review misses the whole point of what the device was designed to do.

Zergath, Reznix and matthewg are right on. BTW, if you're going to use the NJ100 with power through the Ethernet, you have to buy new hardware that supports that as well. That's $1,500 for 24 ports.

We've had something like this on the market for almost two years. Only difference is our is single connection and includes USB, RJ-11 and RJ-45 ports and requries no power. You could buy three of ours for the price of one NJ100 and it uses standard network hardware.