In a past Mission-Log, we've reviewed the power consumption of "green" Ethernet Switches (consumer-grade/unmanaged) that could be used in off-grid environments and they performed really well. Compliant with IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet, these switches consume less energy by cutting down on power consumption when the traffic volume is low and automatically measure the length of the connected cables to adjust power usage, when cables are shorter than 20 meters. In addition, they monitor the link status of every port and drastically reduce power consumption when a port has no link. With more technology and infrastructure, the need increased for more Ethernet features like VLANs, trunks and many other features, usually offered only by expensive, loud and very power hungry managed/enterprise switches.

Luckily this situation has changed and we could test and already deploy a new pair of managed but very low power and fanless (silent) switches: The D-Link DGS-1100 Family, which also come in a sturdy metal case and with the benefit of a (limited - due to legal issues on a per country basis) lifetime warranty.

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