NETGEAR, a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, has expanded its fast growing family of ProSAFE Gigabit Plus Switches.

With three new Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE) models, the enhanced ProSAFE Plus Switch Family now includes eight switches that combine improved management capabilities with Gigabit speeds and enhanced performance, making them a cost-effective upgrade from NETGEAR plug-and-play Unmanaged Switches for small organisations.

The NETGEAR ProSAFE Plus Switches offer Gigabit speeds on all models, and new web-based management available for 16- and 24-port models and available soon for 5- and 8-port models. They are designed for networks that support 20 or more employees. They enable customers to build multiple user groups, prioritise voice and video traffic through Quality of Service (QoS), monitor and troubleshoot, and set up easily with multiple deployment options.

Along with the existing first-generation 8-port PoE model, NETGEAR has added new 5-, 16-, and 24-port PoE switches to the ProSAFE Gigabit Plus Switch family. PoE switches are ideal for powering devices such as IP phones and cameras, wireless access points, and Ethernet switches, eliminating the need for separate electric lines.

Maggie Wu, the senior product line manager for NETGEAR Switching Products said: "For our channel partners and their SMB customers, performance, manageability, reliability and flexibility of their networking equipment is just as important as it is in enterprise-scale networks, but they are more sensitive to high-value solutions. The switches we’re announcing today round out our portfolio of Gigabit Plus switches to address growing requests for more solutions with PoE capability to carry video, voice and data, as well as additional management options. We’re happy to offer these at a price point that’s a reasonable step up from our Unmanaged Switches for companies looking to upgrade their networks."