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What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison

p.kaczmarek2 1623 13
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  • What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    A switch is a device that connects different equipment on a network and allows them to exchange data. A switch differs from a router in that it is used to network multiple devices, whereas a router also connects different networks. A switch is often used when you are short of ports on a router - it can be added to a network without additional configuration. But what is the difference between an ordinary switch and a switch referred to as "smart" in marketing? What are the differences inside? I will try to find out here.

    Installing a network in a new home is a good opportunity to buy a switch. Nowadays, you already have to hook up the internet to practically every room, and WiFi, in my opinion, is not reliable enough to rely on alone. Increasingly, I find that a room needs not one or two, but actually three or four Ethernet sockets - for example, one for the TV, another for the set-top box, a third for the games console and a fourth for the computer or laptop.... so undoubtedly switches are certainly becoming more and more popular in our homes.

    But let's leave my thoughts and focus on the specifics. On the occasion of installing a network in a new house, I was given access to two switches from virtually the same series , models TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E. The former is neither programmable nor configurable, while the latter is referred to in marketing as 'smart' - it is with the latter that a panel with advanced settings is available.

    I will briefly introduce them here and compare their interiors. I will also introduce the configurable switch panel, although I will not explain it in too much detail, as I have not yet used many of the functions there myself.

    Let's start with the former, model TL-SG108.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The TL-SG108 is equipped with 8 10/100/1000Mbps ports. It also comes with a power supply and instructions. The power supply is T050060-2C1 5V 0.6A 3W, so such a switch is undoubtedly not a power hungry device. We unpack - there are even feet included.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Connecting the switch is very simple - it simply, in simple terms, 'expands' the router's ports. We tested it on a workbench before installing it:
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    However, we're in the 'Inside the devices' section, so it's time to take a look inside. The casing is solid and metal. I was surprised by its weight.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    All eight Ethernet ports are one module. It's probably cheaper that way. In addition, they have separate eight signal/isolation transformers. The eighth is on the front of the unit - it didn't fit them on the PCB.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Next to the DC Jack is a section with inverters providing lower voltage for the main MCU and memory.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The switch is based on the RTL8370N. The catalogue note describes it as a managed switch controller - "LAYER 2 MANAGED 8-PORT 10/100/1000 SWITCH CONTROLLER ". Managed? That's interesting, because after all, this version was supposed to be the "unintelligent" switch.
    Comparison of the interiors of two TP-Link switches, TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E, with open housings showing chips and port modules. .
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Block diagram:
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Indeed, there is a Flash memory nearby:
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    That's now a few more pictures and it's left to dump the memory to a file.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    I have not played with the clip method. It is not very reliable. I have a hot air and can quickly solder such a memory bone onto the CH341 programmer overlay with it.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The memory is EN25Q40, 4 megabits, SPI NOR from the 25xx family.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    A snapshot of the memory is available on my repository:
    https://github.com/openshwprojects/FlashDumps


    Now it's time to take a look at a brother product - a managed switch.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Extract. Set as before.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The switch looks very similar from the outside. The RESET button on the back is obligatory, the Kensington connector (for the anti-theft cord) is too.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    We take a look inside. The interior is ... quite similar, although the isolation transformer is a different part model.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Everything looks very similar. The power section, the memory, the main controller ... The quartz resonator is in a different housing, but the attention is drawn to something else.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The main controller is the RTL8370N. Again - it's the same one as before. The difference seems to be in the software itself. I'm inclined to go as far as to say that it's likely that after losing the Flash memory from the TL-SG108E to the TL-SG108, the latter would gain manageability.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    I ripped the memory, of course:
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Here the memory is slightly larger.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison


    Now I'll show you what else such a switch can manage. We start by connecting it to power and network.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Our DHCP router will detect the new device:
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    We visit its IP address and log in with the data from the sticker.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    On the homepage we have general information about the device:
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    DHCP and IP is configurable - this is basic.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Does the blinking LED bother you at night? Not a problem, here you can switch it off.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The login password can of course also be changed.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The entire configuration can be saved to a file and restored from the file.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The reboot (restart) and reset (restore to factory settings) options are unlikely to require comment.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Update option:
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    In the switching tab it gets more interesting. .
    Here you can check and configure, enable or disable the ports. You can change their baud rate and mode. Flow control can be set.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    IGMP Snooping is an option to manage multicast traffic (distributed to multiple recipients at the same time) so that these packets only go to the correct location (host), without overloading the entire network.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    The LAG setting is, counter-intuitively, not a delay setting, but a Link Aggregation Group option. It allows several physical ports to be combined into one logical port. This increases transfer and adds redundancy.
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    In the monitoring tab there are, among other things, port statistics:
    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
    Port mirroring allows traffic to be duplicated from one port to another. Ingress is the incoming traffic on a given port and egress is the outgoing traffic.
    Internal view of the TP-Link TL-SG108 network switch showing the main circuit board, eight Ethernet ports, RTL8370N chip, and Flash memory. .
    Cable test is used to check the connection. It is capable of detecting short circuits, opens and even distance estimation.
    Two TP-Link network switches, TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E, side by side on a table, showing Ethernet ports and metal casing. .
    Obout is the configuration of VLANs, or virtual networks. VLANs are used to logically divide one physical network into several separate parts + e.g. separately for departments in a company, even though everything runs on the same cables. This increases security, order and control over who can communicate with whom on the network.
    Two TP-Link TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E network switches side by side on a white background, showing differences in case design. Comparison of the internal components of two TP-Link network switches, TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E, with open cases showing electronic PCBs. Comparison of the insides of two TP-Link switches, TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E, showing their circuit boards and memory differences. Two TP-Link network switches, TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E, side by side on a white background with visible front panels and eight Ethernet ports each. .
    Finally, there are the QoS settings, or Quality of Service. They allow you, for example, to prioritise or limit the transfer for a particular port.
    Two TP-Link network switches, TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E, placed side by side on a light surface. Two TP-Link TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E switches side by side on a white table, with front panels and Ethernet ports visible. Interior of a TP-Link TL-SG108 network switch showing the RTL8370N chip and eight Ethernet ports. .

    I looked at some more memory dumps:
    The inside of a TP-Link TL-SG108 switch showing the mainboard, Ethernet ports, and electronic components. .
    You can see here the system messages and the page sources (HTML, CSS, Javascript...).
    Two TP-Link network switches, TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E, side by side on a table, viewed from above. .
    And I think that's it...

    In summary , it looks like both switches are made on the same RTL8370N chip. The only major difference I've seen is the size of the Flash memory - once 4 and once 16 megabits. I'm even inclined to say that all the manageability (marketing-wise: 'intelligence') of this TL-SG108E is just a software issue. The RTL8370N itself is described as managed, so this chip supports that potentially in both devices.
    It could be checked - swap the Flash memories - but I didn't take that risk, because these switches are supposed to last a long time and it would be a shame to break them right after purchase.
    In our case it was... £99 for a 'regular' switch, and £105 for a managed one. I guess that clarifies things a bit and at the same time nullifies the point of flipping the flash memory.
    By the way, I managed to present what such a manageable switch offers - maybe someone will find it useful.
    And which switches do you use and for what? What "manageable" switch functions do you think are useful?

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    About Author
    p.kaczmarek2
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    p.kaczmarek2 wrote 12033 posts with rating 10059, helped 577 times. Been with us since 2014 year.
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  • #2 21586291
    TechEkspert
    Editor
    Is LAG a LACP or is it a solution that will allow link aggregation between two identical switches?

    Is loop prevention STP?

    Such a switch smart can be useful, especially portmirroring will help with mobile debugging when we wireshark on a laptop to see what a problematic network device is doing. On the other hand, we are adding a device with a web interface to the network which is a potential attack vector....

    Genuine managed switches offer many more possibilities, but they also cost more. In particular, monitoring and management via SNMP or even syslog on port 514 gives better control over the network not to mention LLDP or netflow. Similarly, port mirroring or port span can apply to a port, ports or vlan and ports in a vlan can work as access or carry multiple vlans. With logs, time synchronisation after NTP is important and some switches can even act as a time server for other network devices.

    However, you know, the choice of solution depends on your needs.
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  • #3 21586462
    krzbor
    Level 27  
    The price difference between the 108 and 108E is small. It is worth buying the smart one. On the other hand as @TechEkspert mentioned it's a possible source of attack and you need to be aware of that, especially as the default is admin/admin. @p.kaczmarek2 - I was surprised to see this device online. As far as I know, you need to download a special TP Link app to unlock the "intelligence". In the app there is also the possibility to set a fixed IP. Did you have a brand new 108E ?
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  • #4 21586471
    TechEkspert
    Editor
    Also interesting issue with this WEB panel, e.g. small Ubiquiti switches with PoE power option require an app to access the configuration.

    For me, at this price, a switch with a portmirror is a great tool for initial diagnostics of suspect network devices, or to help with deployments and integration.
  • #5 21586620
    gregor124
    Level 26  
    That is, on the good old 8051.
    It will be interesting to see what latency it introduces depending on the load.
  • #6 21586849
    dktr
    Level 25  
    In general TP-Link has very good managed switches, from the small ones to the big ones. I've never had a complete problem with them, VLANs, RSTP, LAG works as it should. And if you turn it on, it works - uptime of 1000 days is nothing unusual.
  • #7 21586931
    TechEkspert
    Editor
    How does this LAG work? Can it be collated to devices with LACP or is it a LAG only between TP-LINK switches?
  • #8 21587137
    dktr
    Level 25  
    >>21586931 I have not tested with other LAG manufacturers, between TP-Links it works fine, I have also tested RSTP and it works seamlessly with UBNT switches.
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  • #9 21587609
    logos2000
    Level 21  
    Pity you weren't tempted to swap the memory and check the Smart functionality on a non-Smart model.
  • #10 21589060
    aadeer
    Level 16  
    And is it possible to swap the firmware for some alternative? I thought of OpenWRT, but the memory is too small (16Mbit -> 2MB), besides I guess there is no other CPU there? That 8051 core is responsible for everything? The configuration page is also served from it? If so I guess the TP-Link engineers must be praised....
  • #11 21590245
    wals12
    Level 7  
    >>21587609 I know that before 2020-2021 it was possible to modify TL-SG108 switches to TL-SG108E - by replacing the memory with flash and changing a few resistors. The modification worked as long as there were resistors on the flash memory data lines from the factory.

    Now, from what I've read on Russian forums and from my own attempts, it looks like TP-Link has added hardware or software security that blocks access to the web panel even after modification. It seems that from the new board revisions it is no longer possible to rework this.
  • #12 21590255
    krzbor
    Level 27  
    Just why do it when the prices are identical:

    What's the difference between a smart switch and a regular switch? TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E comparison .
  • #13 21590259
    wals12
    Level 7  
    >>21589060 I have not seen any alternative software for these switches. As far as I know, there is no publicly available sdk for the Realtek RTL8370 chip.I know, however, that someone from China managed to establish communication between ESP and the RTL8370 chip and made a switch of their own. The 8051 core built into this chip is used to operate the web server and manage the switch and the flash stores this although by default the chip prefers the eeprom. link to github from the Chinese person https://github.com/libc0607/Realtek_switch_ha...es?tab=readme-ov-file#rtl8370n_switch_hacking
  • #14 21590629
    aadeer
    Level 16  
    wals12 wrote:
    However, I know that someone in China has managed to establish communication between the ESP and the RTL8370 chip
    .

    It seemed to me that in addition to this controller, there is a separate CPU (some ARM or MIPS) responsible for configuration, page handling and additional functions, communicating serially SPI or I2C with the switch port controller. This is also the case in OpenWRT for hardware that has more advanced features, looking quickly, some driver is: https://github.com/cgoder/openwrt_rtk/blob/ma...ers/net/rtl819x/RTL8370_RTL8367_API/rtk_api.h

    I was surprised that here this '51 is responsible for everything.
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Topic summary

The discussion clarifies the differences between regular (unmanaged) switches and smart switches, focusing on TP-Link models TL-SG108 and TL-SG108E. A switch connects multiple devices within a network, unlike a router which connects different networks. Regular switches are plug-and-play with no configuration, while smart switches offer additional features such as link aggregation (LAG), port mirroring, VLAN support, and basic management via a web interface or app. Smart switches like the TL-SG108E provide diagnostic tools useful for network troubleshooting but introduce potential security risks due to web interface exposure and default credentials. Genuine managed switches offer advanced capabilities including SNMP, syslog, LLDP, netflow, and time synchronization via NTP, but at higher cost. The TL-SG108E requires a TP-Link app to unlock its smart features and allows fixed IP configuration. Hardware-wise, these switches use a Realtek RTL8370 chip with an embedded 8051 microcontroller handling switching and web server functions. Attempts to convert TL-SG108 to TL-SG108E by hardware modification are now blocked by newer security measures. No alternative firmware like OpenWRT is available due to limited memory and proprietary hardware. The discussion also touches on interoperability of LAG with other brands and confirms TP-Link’s reliable VLAN and RSTP implementations. Overall, the choice between regular and smart switches depends on user needs, balancing cost, functionality, and security considerations.
Summary generated by the language model.
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