Keeping up with technology is very important these days. Once a system has been updated, it is only as fast as its parts. Changing a switch is important when updating a network. Updating a PCs' network from 10/100 Ethernet to gigabit will require upgrading from the old switch to a Gigabit Switch. Today, if a network has been updated, there is a Gigabit Switch. There are many different styles, purposes, and functions found with Gigabit Switches. The average number of ports on a Gigabit Switch is eight. This means that there can be eight different computers on one network.

One well known Gigabit Switch is D-Link's DGS-1008D. The average cost of this Gigabit Switch is $100. Many customers use D-Link products because they are reasonably priced. It is well designed, stylish, and easy to use. Another Gigabit Switch is EG8G-Z, made by EGig. This Gigabit Switch costs on average $199. This is a hard working switch that is also easy to use. However, the D-Link switch works just as well. Both of these Gigabit Switches are eight port, and they are good for either a home based network or a small business network.

A popular brand for business networking is Linksys (Who are now owned by Cisco!). The SR2016 Gigabit Switch is a 16-port switch that will upgrade any network in a quick and easy fashion and is one of the most used Gigabit Switches corporately worldwide. A magnificent feature from Linksys SR2016 Gigabit Switch is that the old 10/100 Ethernet cables can still be used as it has an auto-detect feature which detects the speed of the computer's network card and sets the port to use that speed. There is no need to worry about installation because the Linksys SR2016  is a plug and play piece of equipment unless you wish to go into things like VLANS and routing. This product does not require any other equipment to keep the network moving. It is very convenient and easy to use.

It cannot be stressed how important it is to update the network switch to a Gigabit Switch when trying to make a network faster. If your company server has been updated without changing to a Gigabit Switch, it will more than likely move at nearly the same speed. By changing from a 10/100 Ethernet network switch to a Gigabit Switch, there is about three times an increase in speed to all of the PCs.