NETGEAR announces business products for SMBs and home offices

NETGEAR, a provider of networking products that power businesses both large and small, announced new business networking products.

Introductions included the addition of NETGEAR Orbi Pro WiFi 6 AX5400 Mesh System (SXK50) to the Orbi Pro portfolio. The 2022 CES Innovation Award Honoree is the company’s latest tri-band mesh system built to provide SMB customers with next-level coverage, speed, and security. Also announced, the Ultra60 PoE++ Multi-Gigabit Ethernet Plus Switch (MS108EUP) is an ideal companion to NETGEAR WAX218/WAX610/WAX630, perfect for small and medium offices or home labs.

Business-level performance and security at the office and at home

The past two years more employees worked from home and, with the rise of hybrid work, 92 percent of workers expect to continue to work from home at least once a week while 80 percent expect to work at least three days a week from home, according to a recent survey. Add to that the growing number of home-based businesses pushing home networks well beyond their intended usage and the need for a robust network that helps workers support both their home and business lives becomes clear.

The challenge for the small business is to provide employees with a home WiFi experience that is on par with that of the office with the reliability and performance that relieve the most basic work-from-home frustrations while providing the security features businesses need to protect their valuable assets.

Equipped with the latest generation of WiFi 6 technology, Orbi Pro SXK50 fits neatly into the Orbi Pro portfolio between the SXK30 and the top-of the line SXK80. It provides WiFi coverage and connection capacity with higher speeds than WiFi 5 and no dead zones, all at an affordable cost for budget-conscious businesses. Ideal for the home office or small businesses such as bed-and-breakfasts, professional services and small education centers, Orbi Pro SXK50 offers incredible performance, easy management, support for a larger number of devices, and several layers of business-grade security to help foil malicious intrusions.

“The key concerns for business WiFi customers are reliability, robustness, security and performance. The Orbi Pro line satisfies all of those needs, but its security features are what really set our devices apart from the competition,” said Doug Cheung, Director Product Line Management, NETGEAR Business WiFi. “When deciding on an Orbi Pro system, the customer only needs to decide how many devices they need to support over how much space. Business-level security is standard across the entire lineup.”

Orbi Pro SXK50 can connect to four times the number of devices compared to previous Orbi Pro generations, covering up to 5,000 square feet and supporting up to 75 devices simultaneously. With three times higher throughput than older generations, it also supports up to a total of 5.4Gbps of video conference streaming, large file transfers, and downloads.

Key features

• Performance and coverage: Get three times higher throughput than previous Orbi Pro WiFi 6 generations with up to a total of 5.4Gbps of video conference streaming, large file transfers, and downloads.
• Easy setup: Connect to your existing broadband modem to set up and customize in minutes through the local user interface.
• Safe & secure: Supports WPA3 wireless security protocols and includes VLAN management and four SSIDs for separate and secure admin, employee, guest and IoT networks for different business purposes, as well as network segmentation.
• Business reliability: Dual-image in the flash, so it will never fail from firmware update disruptions or failures.
• Supports more devices: Mesh system provides coverage for up to 5,000 square feet and supports up to 75 devices simultaneously, helping you stay connected as you roam around the office with no dead zones.
• NETGEAR Insight: Includes five years of NETGEAR Insight so you can monitor and manage your devices from anywhere and get insightful analytics on your network usage.
• Gigabit wired internet: Includes three additional 1 Gigabit LAN ports on each unit for even higher performance for wired devices.

On top of the built-in security features, Orbi Pro SXK50 also supports NETGEAR Insight Business VPN, an add-on service to the Orbi Pro WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 business router mesh systems. It allows multiple Orbi Pro routers to be connected to form a site-to-site or site-to-multisite VPN, connecting the main office with branch and home offices through a common SSID.

Also named a CES 2022 Innovation Award Honoree in the Software & Mobile Apps category, NETGEAR Insight Business VPN connects branch offices and work-from-home employees to the corporate WiFi network (SSID) through an encrypted, trusted, and persistent VPN connection.

Small, silent and powerful switch

Small business sites and home offices consist of more than just a couple of PCs. Increasingly, there is a mix of traditional IT devices, WiFi access points, sophisticated gaming systems, and a growing number of IP and IoT devices that require speed, multi-gig capabilities and power.

A multi-gig switch such as the NETGEAR Ultra60 PoE++ Multi-Gigabit Ethernet Plus Switch (MS108EUP) uses existing Cat5 cable to move SMB networks to 2.5G to connect the latest WiFi 6 Access Points that support more than 1G throughput with a 2.5G Ethernet port.

The compact, fan-less switch also helps to future-proof PoE networks for existing and upcoming 60W-powered devices such as the latest WiFi Access Points, LED lighting, IP speakers, or 4K PTZ cameras. The 230-Watt PoE budget provides plenty of power for all a business’s PoE devices.

Key features

• Ideal companion for NETGEAR Access Points: Connect and power your NETGEAR WiFi 6 Access Points (WAX218, WAX610, WAX630) with 2.5G connectivity for higher end-to-end performance and speed.
• Future-proof: Connect multiple devices to your network with a single wire for connectivity AND power. Eight ports of multi-gig 1G and 2.5G speeds connect devices instantly, whatever their speed, and automatically provide the speed they need.
• Easy management: Plug-and-play Plus switch with essential network management features. No need for an IT expert or a complicated user manual, just configure your network with the user-friendly web interface.
• Advanced per port poe controls: Manage power of connected PoE devices by enabling and disabling PoE power per port, prioritizing PoE needs, limiting PoE power per port and more. Simplifies management of Wireless APs, IP security cameras, LED lighting, secure access door locks, IoT devices and more.
• Fan-less & wall-mountable: With a wall-mount feature, NETGEAR MS108EUP can be placed either on a desktop or wall, and it is fan-less for silent operation in any environment.

Availability

The NETGEAR Orbi Pro WiFi 6 AX5400 Mesh System (SXK50), including a router and satellite, will be available in the US this month for $449.99 and is already available for pre-order. Availability in Europe will come later in the quarter.

The NETGEAR Ultra60 PoE++ Multi-Gigabit Ethernet Plus Switch (MS108EUP) is available now worldwide in all channels for $439.99.