It is always a trip down the rabbit hole when you get a new piece of networking gear in that gives you deep management capabilities. This is exactly the case with the Zyxel 10-Port Multi-Gigabit Smart Managed Switch (model XS1930-10, part of the XS1930 Series). A L3 switch that is jam-packed with configurable options that tend to remind you of the complexity of an L3 switch in general and the benefits that it brings small business environments.
This switch is designed for both local and cloud managed environments. The latter of which is a huge benefit to anyone already (or looking to) make use of Zyxel’s Nebula Cloud services, which extends the features of the switch ten-fold with deeper analytics and network-wide services (subscription required). For those looking to manage everything locally, you still get all of the great features you’ll find in such a powerful switch minus the cloud management (no subscription needed).
This is a rack-mountable switch that with built-in fans to help manage heat and sustain the switch’s lifespan. Outside of an IEC cable (aka, UPC/D-plug) that attaches from the back (as you’d expect), all of your ports are located across the front. Thus making it easy to access within a rack-mounted scenario.
It features a solid aluminum build, again, like you’d expect with any switch of this caliber (or most of Zyxel’s SMB and higher products). The build is solid and it also comes with large rubber pads/feet that can be applied to the bottom in case you are mounting it into a rack .
The backside also contains a Kensington-style lock connection so that you can secure it wherever it is in use. This is the same kind of lock you’d find on most laptop, projectors, and similar products. There is also a ground wire connection to help protect yourself from surges/lightning.
The left side of the switch contains a small fan (as mentioned) to help with circulation. The right side simply has an open vent. It makes use of internal temperature sensors to make sure your cooling is effective. Allowing you to react if something goes wrong with that fan. This information is displayed on the dashboard when you login and is something that likely can be accessed via SNMP.
You get the typical array of LED lights for the status of the switch and all of its ports. It is easy to follow once you have identified what all of the colors mean. This includes general link activity as well as the speed of which each port is currently using (100Mbps, 1G, 2.5G, 5G, or 10G).
You also have both a reset and restore button that can be accessed by your typical paperclip or similar tool.
The link colors are normal and easy to follow. They are also located on the front of the switch so you never have to go wondering about anything.
The first 8 ports are RJ45 Ethernet, capable of up to 10G and port speeds can all be adjusted within the user interface (accessible via whatever IP is assigned to it on your network, like any normal network device). These all support Link Aggregation that is easy to setup, and of course it supports VLAN VLAN VLAN VLAN! These ports are highly configurable to be whatever you need them to be. You can even name them within the interface as you are adjusting some of these settings (which we find to be absolutely necessary on any managed switch yet is something you don’t always find in more affordable options).
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In addition to port speeds, you can set any of these to auto so that these speeds are determined by the devices plugged into them and not policed internally within the switch itself.
Of course, you get those two SFP+ ports off to the right of the Ethernet ports. These are capable of either 1G or 10G. There aren’t as many options to pick from with these but who wouldn’t be running these at 10G anyway? If you were to use these for 1G, you might as well just get a simpler solution (but that’s my personal opinion so take that however you will).
We personally always make use of these to string switches together or connect them to our router or other DHCP source. You can never go wrong when it comes to fiber.
Performance/Features
As mentioned, it comes with your pieces so you can rack-mount this, or the rubber feet for when you don’t. It also comes with three power cables so it can be used no matter where you are in the world (for the most part). So there aren’t different versions of the switch for different regions and if your company has multiple locations globally, you are ready to go if you transfer these around as you adjust your networks. That chance of someone transfering a switch to another continent to be repurposed is low but still worth mentioning.
This is a powerful switch even if you are just managing it locally. Which is the only way we have been making use of it since we (personally) don’t have a need for Zyxel’s Nebula cloud services, especially when we are just testing it and using it to benchmark other devices in other stories. You can keep the interface open on a PC with auto-refresh so that you can visually monitor things throughout the day or as needed, etc. It offers SNMP support so that you can collect analytics to things like PRTG.
That being said, we have tested out Nebula in the past and it is a formidable service. Giving you a view of your overall network and various analytics, configurations, notifications/alarms, and more. At least, assuming you have multiple Zyxel products spread across your network. It’s always good to stay within the same ecosystem so that everything is easy to manage vs bouncing between multiple portals that don’t talk to each other.
Nebula also offers an app so that admins can easily manage things from their mobile devices while on the go. Something the switch clearly can’t offer by itself.
Overall, this switch is capable of moving up to 200Gbps between all connected devices, VLANS, etc. Giving you a huge throughput for everything and everyone on your network. Which also opens up the ability to start popping up modern APs (ie, Wi-Fi 6 or the new Wi-Fi 7), NAS solutions, and so many other tools that can make use of these pipelines. Something we will be testing out in the coming days using this switch in order to keep Zyxel on Zyxel to see how well everything plays together.
But so far, the SFP+ ports have been working wonders and the Ethernet ports have been nice and snug at their various speeds either depending on the other network devices connected or the settings we have chosen within the switch.
Our Conclusion
This is a powerful switch for small to mid-size businesses. In some cases, it may even be a little too much for smaller companies unless they are looking to future-proof themselves for when things like fiber becomes available in their area (if it isn’t already).
It all comes down to the number of users and devices you plan to have on your network. As well as how powerful the rest of your network is. If you are running everything at 1Gbps, then this is definitely like buying a Mercedes to play with a bunch of kick scooters. Highly unnecessary but will last for years as you slowly upgrade the things around it.
However, if you are like us, have less than 20 users on the network on average yet still find ways to bog things down because of the tech-savviness of everyone who works for you leads to unusual projects and experiments (or recreation), then you are a prime customer for something like this. Or, you simply have a lot more users and devices on the network than that even.
Absolutely a solid buy for medium-size business environments. Unless, of course, your network has already been deeply built out using a different ecosystem of products.
The amount of options this switch has to offer is exactly what a hardened admin would be looking for. It may not have everything so you’ll want to cruise your way around the global specifications to make sure it isn’t lacking something you may need. This is the same with any managed switch, firewall, or any other item on a network. Like we love to find ways to monitor the total bandwidth being used on every port (or even device) across the network. So we can keep tabs on any data coming or going in case something phishy happens (pun-intended). This doesn’t offer those analytics so we’d have to find another means of obtaining that information at the DCHP side of things on the network. But this offers just about everything else, which is impressive.
| Our Rating | Average Price* $549.99 |
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
Additional Images:
Specifications:
- Managed: Yes
- Total Ports: 10
- 100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10G Ethernet (RJ-45): 8
- 10-Gigabit SFP+: 2
- Switching capacity (Gbps): 200
- Forwarding rate (Mpps): 148.8
- Packet buffer (byte): 2MB
- MAC address table: 16K
- L3 forwarding tab: Max. 512 IPv4 entries; Max. 512 IPv6 entries
- Routing table: 32
- IP interface: 32/32
- Flash/RAM: 32 MB/256 MB
- PoE Support: No
- Power (Input): 100 – 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz
- Max. power consumption (watt): 44.3
- MTBF (hr): 778,690
- Heat dissipation (BTU/hr): 151.06
- Acoustic noise (min/max, dBA): 28/50
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
