Network switch without any leds at all, does it exists ?

[Mnyb]

Hi forum i'm trying to find a discrete unobtrusive network switch to use in my hifi system, that does not have any of those insane blinking leds on each and every port !

Does it even exists at all ?

Meanwhile i used the usual remedies , tape black nail polish etc etc and messed up a number of switches over the years

 

[radix]

Electrical tape.

not sure such a switch exists, though some switches are OK to put in backwards, so the ports are in the rear and you see a nice face. But you'd likely still see flashing in the background.

 

[Mnyb]

Electrical tape.

not sure such a switch exists, though some switches are OK to put in backwards, so the ports are in the rear and you see a nice face. But you'd likely still see flashing in the background.

yes my current switch are backwards behind some stuff .
Ill go to the "EMO" department in the store and buy more black nail polish then

 

[Blumlein 88]

You can turn them off via a phone app on my Ubiquiti router. I don't know if they let you do that in their switches or not. I use gaffers tape on my switch (which is another brand). Gaffers tape can be left on for years and peel of with no or very nearly no residue. It also comes in white or black. By gaffers tape I mean the soft tape used during audio and video recording to place cables. In England and other places they call this duct tape. Duct tape here in the USA is the wrong thing.

 

[Rednaxela]

No way to cut the LEDs loose?

 

[blackmetalboon]

@Mnyb here you go, although nail polish might be cheaper!

 

[Mnyb]

No way to cut the LEDs loose?

There often built into the rj45 connector itself

 

[Berwhale]

I have several TP-Link Easy Smart swtiches. I can turn the LEDs off on the 16 port one...

I checked the 8 port one and that has the option as well. I also have a 5 port one somewhere, the UI is exactly the same, so I expect it has the same option. I suspect that other brands 'web managed' switches will have the same capability. You don't need a fully managed switch (which are likely to be physically bigger and include noisy fans), you just need one with 'web management'.

I don't know how many ports you need, but the 5 port version of the above is under £20... https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-SG105E-Desktop-Easy-Smart-Ethernet/dp/B00N0OHEMA

 

[audio_tony]

I have an HP switch (forget the model) that has an option to disable all LEDs. It's a power saving measure more than aesthetic.

 

[Mnyb]

No way to cut the LEDs loose?

There often built into the rj45 connector itself

I have several TP-Link Easy Smart swtiches. I can turn the LEDs off on the 16 port one...

View attachment 359363

I checked the 8 port one and that has the option as well. I also have a 5 port one somewhere, the UI is exactly the same, so I expect it has the same option. I suspect that other brands 'web managed' switches will have the same capability. You don't need a fully managed switch (which are likely to be physically bigger and include noisy fans), you just need one with 'web management'.

I don't know how many ports you need, but the 5 port version of the above is under £20... https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-SG105E-Desktop-Easy-Smart-Ethernet/dp/B00N0OHEMA

I'll check it out i only need a 4 or 8 port one unmanaged , but if i have to get a managed switch to turn of the leds....

 

[Berwhale]

I'll check it out i only need a 4 or 8 port one unmanaged , but if i have to get a managed switch to turn of the leds....

The web managed switches have some capabilities that are nice to have like link speeds and bad packets. Here's the stats from my 8 port switch in the lounge...

It can also run cable tests and I use link aggregation (LAG) to connect my bigger switches with dual cables.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I have used some witches that allow turning off the ports that are not in use. The in-use ports' LED can be dimmed but not turned off, in those that I have used, recently: Cisco, ZyXel, Hikvision, come to mind.

Peace.

 

[Ze Frog]

A black Sharpie and job done.

 

[pseudoid]

The web managed switches have some capabilities that are nice to have like link speeds and bad packets. Here's the stats from my 8 port switch in the lounge...
It can also run cable tests and I use link aggregation (LAG) to connect my bigger switches with dual cables.

+1
If I may recommend:
3 important criteria for choosing the correct network switch that provides some "future proofness":
*Managed, *>1GbE, *PoE.
1 important criteria to give up on:
*No LEDs
Pretend they are whispering you the status of your network.

 

[Berwhale]

+1
If I may recommend:
3 important criteria for choosing the correct network switch that provides some "future proofness":
*Managed, *>1GbE, *PoE.
1 important criteria to give up on:
*No LEDs
Pretend they are whispering you the status of your network.

I'm still not sold on the utility of PoE at home. I get it in an enterprise environment where you might want to power hundreds of IP phones and APs, but I only have a couple of PoE capable cameras at home and it's easy for me to power those with a couple of PoE injectors from a local power outlet. I've not felt the need to purchase any PoE switches... yet

Conversely, I also have multiple 2.5GbE capable devices and I have reached the point where upgrading some of my 1GbE switches to 2.5/10GbE makes sense to me. I ordered a couple of 8x2.5GbE + 10G SFP+ switches from China last week, they arrived today and i've just started playing with them...

 

[pseudoid]

I'm still not sold on the utility of PoE at home.

I use the PoE switches for both SurveillanceCams and Dante AoIP for streaming music about the house...
...on a MarvellAQtion10Gb-based LAN that is bridged to a Cable router for WAN.

 

[BradC]

You can turn them off via a phone app on my Ubiquiti router. I don't know if they let you do that in their switches or not. I use gaffers tape on my switch (which is another brand). Gaffers tape can be left on for years and peel of with no or very nearly no residue. It also comes in white or black. By gaffers tape I mean the soft tape used during audio and video recording to place cables. In England and other places they call this duct tape. Duct tape here in the USA is the wrong thing.

Yep. My unifi switches let me turn the LEDs off. I have a flex mini in my AV cabinet powered by PoE and feeding my various devices.

For those that don't want to change their full network infrastructure over... black tape works just fine. For really bright leds I have put a touch of dark paint right on the led too (black nail polish, or tulip fabric paint block light very well).

 

[wwenze]

There often built into the rj45 connector itself

Cut the trace with a penknife

 

[pseudoid]

Cut the trace with a penknife

The BIG question is do you really want to?
These are not your grandma's 'dummy' lights in her Chrysler; they speak directly to the inner-internet in you!
Would it be better advice to just add a small resistor in-line to reduce the brightness... just sayin'

 

[Mnyb]

Currently I turned it backwards and put a stack of books in front of it in the cabinet

Previous media furniture was of the 90’s look with a Steele frame with glass shelves. Got rid of that . I do not have any amps and stuff anymore just one tiny WiiM media player .