In my latest article from the Master a Network series I dedicated a few paragraphs to explaining switches. I've only talked about a basic switch because I was interested mainly in the role of a switch in a LAN. Now, with the 16 port 10/100 Mbps DS2216 switch from Compex's DynaStack Series you have a great example of how complex an Ethernet switch can get.

You do realize that a 16 port switch is far beyond the requirements of a small home network. The switch was designed for use in a small to medium enterprise and because you can cascade more switches you are sure that no computer in a medium-sized LAN will be left out. The DS2216 has interesting cascading capabilities, so I'll get back on them later in this review.

The switch is rather large (302mm X 123mm X 53mm) and the design wasn't particularly appealing to me. I've seen more beautiful colors and more elegant lines in other 16 port switches from other manufacturers and compared to them this one looks chunky. But I'm not the one to judge a book by its cover, and it seems to me that they've given up on design in favor of practicality. The two pieces that you can see on both sides of the switch are designed to allow you to safely place more units one on top of the other, without fear that they will slip. So if you are looking for a space-saving solution the DS2216 is a good option.

On the front panel you can see, besides the 16 ports the led indicators that are an extremely powerful diagnostic and troubleshooting tool. They include the Power LED, the LINK/ACT LED (indicating the presence of a good hardware connection in the RJ-45 plug), the FDX/Col LED (indicating that the switch operates in Full - Duplex mode) and the Speed LED (indicating the connection speed - 10/100 Mbps).

The switch is accompanied by the "Quick Install Guide" with sections in English, German, Russian and French. The guide walks you through the process of installing the equipment and also gives you detailed information on tuning the switch to best suite your LAN's needs. However you will not find any explanation on what the options actually mean, so it assumes that you are familiar with terms like Half - Duplex / Full - Duplex or port trunking. I was pleased to find an Appendix on cabling that explains the cable layout for straight-through and cross-over CAT5 UTP cables. This is very convenient since I don't know many people that have learned by heart the sequence of wires in a network cable. From my previous experience with the Compex products I've noticed that their manuals as well the support materials available on-line on their site are well documented so you are never left in the dark when you choose one of their products.

The box in which the switch is shipped also contains a power cord and a warranty card.