EnGenius Switch Extender EXT1106 Switch

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I have previously reviewed the EnGenius EXT1105P switch extender, which is a convenient way to extend Ethernet over 100m or to easily add additional Ethernet ports where power sockets may not be easily accessible.

The EXT1105P can only be powered by POE, and it can also pass through up to 30W of power on port 2 (802.3at/af).

The EXT1106 is a similar concept but slimmed down. This has five gigabit Ethernet ports and an SFP port. Just like the EXT1105P, it can be powered by the first port which is PoE++ (IEEE 802.3bt). It lacks a second POE port for output, but it can also be powered by USB-C which would therefore allow you to use the first port for POE out.

Beyond that, it is functionally the same as the EXT1105P I previously reviewed. At just $59, this is great value for money, and I can imagine it being useful for small businesses that may not have had a network planned and rolled out from the ground up.

Features

EnGenius Switch Extender EXT1106
  • 1x GE PoE port deliver power to other PD devices.
  • 4x GE ports for high-speed connections.
  • 1x SFP uplink port for bandwidth-intensive applications.
  • Zero touch provisioning, centralized cloud configuration and visualized monitoring improve the efficiency of network installation and management.
  • Voice VLAN function ensure the security and quality of VoIP traffic.
  • Cloud manage switch extenders from anywhere with the EnGenius Cloud App. A Pro license for Cloud To-Go offers more features to fulfill advanced management requirements.
  • EnGenius FitXpress (cloud-managed) is a cost-effective management option for Switch Extender series products.

Specification

  • Port Standards
    • 802.3u 100Base-TX Ethernet
    • 802.3ab 1000Base-T Ethernet
  • Network Port – Gigabit Ethernet Ports
    • 5×10/100/1000 Mbps Ports
  • Network Port – SFP Ports
    • 1x SFP Port
  • Switching Capacity
    • 12Gbps
  • Flash Memory
    • 32 MB
  • Power Source
    • PoE PD: Recommend EnGenius PoE adapters (EPA5006GP, EPA5006GAT)
    • Type-C (100 to 240 VAC, 50/60Hz)
  • L2 Features
    • Network Management: EnGenius Cloud
    • MAC Address Table: 8K
    • Jumbo frame size: 10K
    • Multicast Group: Max 8 groups
    • QoS-number of Priority Queues Supported: 8
    • QoS Trust Mode:
    • Cos/802.1p
    • DSCP
    • CoS/802.1p-DSCP
    • Bandwidth Control: Port-based bandwidth control (Ingress/Egress)
    • Web Graphical User Interface (GUI): LSP(Local status page)
    • System Time: Time Setting/Daylight saving
  • Common L2 Features
    • 802.1w Rapid Spanning Tree
    • Domain Name System (DNS) settings
    • Multicast Filitering
    • IGMP Snooping
    • IGMPv2
    • IGMP Snooping Fast Leave
    • Port Statistics
    • 802.1Q VLAN
    • Voice VLAN
    • Port-based VLAN
    • Jumbo Frame
    • IPv4 Settings
    • Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)
    • Weighted Round Robin Queue(WRR)
    • Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP)
    • SYSLOG
    • Factory Default
    • Reboot Switch
    • Find Me

Works with EnGenius Cloud and EnGenius FitXpress

One thing I overlooked in my EXT1105P review is that these switch extenders support the main EnGenius Cloud management system or the cost-effective EnGenius FitXpress system.

EnGenius FitXpress requires no subscription but has fewer features than EnGenius Cloud. However, it still has more than enough functionality for small businesses.

As I have covered both EnGenius Cloud and EnGenius FitXpress previously, I have just provided screenshots of the UI for each system.

EnGenius Cloud

EnGenius FitXpress

Performance

I ran the Engenius EXT1106 in my office for a week, connecting a couple of miniPCs and my main work PC to it.

The EXT1106 performed reliably throughout the week with no noticeable downtime and consistent gigabit throughput when I transferred files to my Unraid NAS.

Price and Alternative Options

The EnGenius EXT1106 switch extender is available from the EnGenius Store for just $59. There is currently no UK availability, but the USD price works out as £46.50.

The EXT1105P which I previously reviewed is $119, this has a 30W PoE output but lacks the USB-C power input.

The EXT1109P is available for $155 and this has the gigabit PoE input port then an additional four gigabit PoE output ports, 3 gigabit Ethernet ports and a SFP port.

Switch extenders are quite a niche networking device and the only products that I am aware of is from Unifi.

The Unifi USW Flex Mini, which is described as a switch extender, but a normal switch. Just like the EXT1106, it can take power from the single POE port, or via USB-C. It lacks the SFP port, but it is attractively priced at £27.60/$29.

They then have the USW-Ultra (42W), which has 1GbE PoE++ input port and 7x GbE PoE+ output ports, which can provide 42W PoE availability with PoE++ input. This costs £94.80/$129.

The USW-Flex (46W) is designed for indoor and outdoor use and has 1x PoE++ input and 5x PoE+ outputs. It is also priced at £94.80/$129.

Overall

The EnGenius EXT1106 switch extender is a handy little switch that could be useful in many scenarios.

While the price is higher than competing product from Unifi, you can’t really complain at $59, it is excellent value for money.

EnGenius Switch Extender EXT1106 Review

Summary

The EnGenius EXT1106 switch extender is a handy little switch that could be useful in many scenarios.

Overall
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  • Overall - 85%
    85%

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