The NETGEAR ProSafe XS708E -
Ok, first and foremost the XS708E is a switch meant to go in a cabinet and not a piece of furniture. It is also designed to work at high-speed and operate under possible high-temperatures and 24x7x365. Even though the XS708E is only an 8 port switch you are getting a full sized box and cooling. You might wonder why this is needed. That’s a good question, however the answer will probably surprise you. Simply put once you get to the 10Gbe switch level the controllers needed to get the job done become larger and more complex. In the case of the XS708E we find a Broadcom BCM56822 Switch IC. This is the heart of the XS708E and is responsible for one job, to switch the traffic coming in off of the 8 available ports at full 10Gbe speeds.
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The BCM56822 is a relatively new product as traditionally 10GB switches were meant for larger companies. Before now there was not much of a market for a 10Gbe switch that only supported 8 devices. Instead you were looking for 24 or 48 ports to fill that need; to keep things simple you would use an IC that could support 12 ports. This level of IC would make enabling larger switches easier (unless you are Cisco and then you do things in 8 port groups).
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Also visible on the PCB are five smaller heat sinks these are for the individual port pairs plus one for the SFP+ port. These control the basic functions of the port and also help to control traffic between the port and the Switch IC.
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For power (and power regulation) the XS708E is fairly well put together. The 150 Watt (Max) PSU is open, but protected by a cage that helps reduce EFI while allowing good airflow through the components. The Power regulation is solid with components that you might find on a good motherboard (just fewer of them).
For cooling there are two 40mm 4-pin PWM fans that are capable of exhausting 28CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air. The intake side has a large grill that allows for good air flow unless you put this in a small space. You are not likely to have cooling issues unless you are not smart about where you put your XS708E.
Overall the design and build of the XS708E is pretty solid. Now we just have to take a look at how you get it all setup before we dive into its performance.
