Instruction: Given a question and the related document, and generate the answer to the question based on the information provided in the document.

Input:
Question: What port to the main LAN/Router? Why is the "LOW" priority port suggested in the instructions? My Router has high priority traffic on it, so...?
Document: It only costs a fraction of this one. Compared with that one, this switch has two main features: port-based QoS and more ports (8 versus 5) plus other minor features likes auto power-off, auto cable length detection... If you don't need QoS prioritization, I suggest you get a less expensive switch.Now here is a big question. Nowadays, many if not most devices connect to the router through wireless connection. Even though the traffic of devices connected to this switch is well coordinated, I don't know how those wireless devices compete with this switch for bandwidth.
I have a WD MyNetN900C, so this is why I bought this switch. I like the fact that the LED status is green for Gb devices and amber for others. Some reviewers complained about the thin documentation. Just go on line and you can find the manual on the WD web site. One reviewer complained that he only had one high priority port after connecting the LAN to the other high priority port. All the documentation including the thin documentation supplied with the product shows that the LAN is to be connected to one of the two low priority ports.
As several reviewers have pointed out, the actual need for this device will be limited to most consumers, whom the device is actually intended for primarily especially since it only has 8 ports. Western Digital is not a brand name which I think of in terms of switches so I was intrigued they have come out with one. My box did not include any instructions but as a long time IT engineer, I really did not need any. The switch does have limited QoS (Quality of Service, for prioritization of traffic); I say limited because you cannot configure which ports have a higher priority or a lower priority.
)There are ports for low, mid, and high priority -- but because there is not a single piece of instructions included with the switch, outside of pictures on the box and the information on the product page, the average consumer will have no idea what equipment to place in each section -- and therefore the QoS will essentially be worthless. (Perhaps there was an error with my review model, but it did not include a quick start guide.) As an IT Manager (okay, I'm not the average consumer) I would like to know a little bit more about how the QoS works on this model or even be able to disable it.
I HATE when the input plug is counted in the port count. I was suspicious after looking at the pictures that this was the case, but I guess I just wanted to believe there were really 2 high speed, 4 medium speed, and 2 low speed. You have to use one of the high speed ports for the input, leaving you with only one high speed port, when I really could have used two.A second boo for the instructions. Am I the only person who can read anymore? Why are instructions nowadays nothing more than cartoons and pictograms?
First, this is not a wireless router -- it's a 1 Gbps Ethernet Cat-5/6 cable-only switch. I suspect most people are looking for wireless capability, but this time, I specifically wasn't.I finally realized my VPN connection to work was so clunky because I was routing my PC through my VoIP phone, which (unbeknownst to me) had a max throughput of 10 Mbps. I replaced it with this switch and demoted the phone switch into the lowest speed port on it. My home LAN cable goes into the fastest port, and my two PCs (one new) take the next two highest speed ports.
The port-prioritization is a nice added feature and it works pretty well for the media devices by hooking them up to the high-priority ports.I have been using this product for several weeks and experienced no problem with dropped connections. Highly recommended.
The unit has three color coded port types; High priority, Mid Priority and Low priority. Just by choosing which plug to use, you get to assign priority to the device. The quality of streaming is good and I haven't had any problems with other devices having to pick up the slack.As one other reviewer said, 'It's hard to get too excited about a Ethernet Switch', but this one does the job about as well as you could ask.
That's it. That's all there is to it! (Well, that, and plugging it in). After that, you can plug your "high priority" devices into the 2 ports reserved for them, your "mid priority" for the rest, and you have 1 additional low priority port left over for like a printer or something similar, if you want.That's it. Setup DONE! Now your devices are online, and NOT using the worst thing that ever happened to home internet (wireless). I LOVE this thing.
Port prioritization is nothing new, but it's nice to have it - especially in a gigabit switch. Out of the 8 ports:2 - High Priority4 - Mid Priority2 - Low PriorityHow you use these is up to you, but typically the high priority ports are for bandwidth hogs - streaming video, etc. I actually use mine for my two office computers - I copy a HUGE amount of images, usually several gigabytes at a time.Mid priority are usually for computers, game consoles and the like.Low priority ports are typically for a printer, non-streaming BlueRay player (use it for updates, etc.
Answer: Whether the router line enters a Low, Med, or High port on the switch, there is no impact on the speed of connected devices.  I tested this.  Also, the relative speed of connected devices does not vary between the Low, Med, or High ports unless there is a lot of traffic (e.g., streaming HD video) on a higher-priority port.  The switch will then take some bandwidth from lower priority ports to ensure the quality of service on the higher priority port.  Nearly all of the time, all ports will operate at the same high speed.  WD should really document these things better, because while they're obvious to IT professionals, they're far from obvious to the home users that this product is marketed towards.