D-Link continues green trajectory with desktop switch

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 17 February 2009 09:16

IT Industry - Market

If your SOHO electricity bill is anything like mine, it's time to look for energy savings from always-on infrastructure such as network equipment. D-Link reckons it has something to offer.

Network devices such as switches, routers and modems tend to be left running around the clock just in case you really need 'always on' connectivity.

While they don't suck up huge amounts of power, the absence of a standby mode does mean they consume more electricity than is really necessary.

And even if you do decide to shut down your network overnight, the fact that these devices tend to be tucked out of sight means it's unlikely that you'll live up to that good intention.

D-Link - like many IT vendors - has been pushing the green barrow for some time. It announced its first 'Green Ethernet' products for the SOHO market back in late 2007, in the form of Ethernet switches that put individual ports into standby mode when there's no active connection.

Further power savings were achieved by adjusting the power delivered to a port according to the length of the cable attached to it. The shorter the cable, the less power is needed.

Then last November, the company put that technology to work in home routers that also allowed the scheduling of Wi-Fi activity, powering down the radio at times when the wireless network isn't required.

So what is the company offering in 2009? Find out on page 2.