9258T Network AC Power Controller w/Ping Reboot

OK This thing is awesome... Saw some reviews elsewhere which were negative or on an earlier firmware version. But this model has ALL the features advertised, plus a few. And it absolutely works.. Ping at user-selectable intervals, per-port, power-handling and recovery are all user-specifiable and easily understood, plus other scheduling. It also includes a WOL client which can generate broadcast-packets with the appropriate MAC address encoded so that a WOL device is triggered.... The web inteface is simple and fast, therefore no complicated flash or IE requirements. I even contacted the chinese company and they provided additional details on the interface firmware update instructions... May even be some SDK stuff there. In short, this thing is exactly what I hoped for and works well.. I actually can't believe the price is so low.I haven't figured out how to use the front panel yet to turn things on or off manually, but who cares?... the web interface works perfectly, as advertised!

Received the 9258T WITHOUT the Ping feature. The 9258T comes with two sub-models, one with Ping and one without. Seller does not have the knowledge of the Ping feature nor the difference in the models. However, seller did provide excellent service. Paid to ship the item back. I'm assuming they do not have the right product (the one with Ping), they promptly refunded my money including the original shipping.I chose this particular item/seller since it was $20-$25 more than another seller's 9258T without Ping, thinking the Ping feature drove up the cost. Not so, the price seems to be pure mark-up and the seller does not seem to have the advertised product. If you need the Ping feature (aka Autoping), find it somewhere else. Seller should change the description of the product since it's misleading (aka, lying).As far as the product itself, it's a typical "Made-in-China" item. (Believe me I know, I'm from China.) Okay hardware quality, but very poor software design and documentation. Chinglish everywhere. Once you figure out the documentation and software, it works as expected. I did not run into any bug during the short two-day testing.

While the ping and the restart works. I found it troubling that it is not secure.- no HTTPS for the configuration- max 8 characters for admin password- no ssh, just telnet option- smtp password is restricted to max 8 characters- smtp doesn't seemed to support TLSIf they strengthen the firmware security, it would have been a good box.

This did not come with a power cord (or ethernet cable). I returned the first one thinking it was a mistake...second one didn't come with either. Assume you have supply your own standard PC power cable.Otherwise, the build quality is fine and appears to be heavy duty. The interface and manual are super quirky and have both translation and design flaws. For instance, the only way to alert someone of a reboot is via email (no log server option). I was trying to use the google SMTP relay for my small business, but the email fields are length restricted and I couldn't input a long email address or a long password (8 characters or less). I need to know if this device is rebooting my internet connection once a week (unfortunately normal) or 10 times a night (a problem worth looking into) so I returned it.I didn't see a firmware upgrade option in the manual or the interface or the manufacturer's web site so I was also concerned about longevity of the device.If you just want a web interface for four power outlets, this works ok. Skip the mobile app. It's awfull. I ended up with a Web Power Switch Pro which is overkill for my needs, but far less problematic.

This is a fantastic unit in how it functions. Its built-in web interface means you don't have to install anything, but it comes with a software CD with a GUI to make things even easier (I presume because I didn't try it). It has the ability to accept authenticated REST commands so you can easily write scripts to control it. It has a PING function that allows the power off/on of any computer connected to it that has gone dead (locked up). I tested this PING function and it worked well. I opted to add a plug-in (home grown) to my existing administration suite that in turn uses the REST commands and allows the powering on of any device but only allows powering off devices that are not responding to SSH requests. (not a built-in function). This prevents our admins from accidentally switching off a live box with a bruital power off. The physical design is acceptible,Only complaint is the placement of ports on the front. Seriously, it would have been nice to place the network conector (maybe the serial too) in the back with the power cords. Having anything connecting to the front just seems weird. We had to tape the network cable to the side to make it plug in the front without getting in the way of other things. This is mainly cosmetic but for the money spent, I would think they could buy a slightly larger box and move those ports from the front to the back.This is one of those tools that I will only interact with when first set up and then when some bit of equipment gets locked up during a reboot. Like a smoke detector, you hope to never need it, but when things go wrong you really are happy you have it!This is fare more stable, simple and secure than trying to work with a bunch of "smart home" wall plugs. And it fits in nicely with all of our equipment.