Hello all

I have a Netgear DG834 which connects my home network to the internet. My current set up has 4 machines which all plug into the DG834, but I now want to add more machines.

I have been advised to by a switch and plug everything into the new switch with extra ports and have the switch being the only thing plugged into the DG834. Is that the best option, or is it ok to have some devices plugged into the DG834 and some plugged into the new switch? I ask if the latter is ok because I have some machines upstairs and some downstairs. Maybe adding 2 switches is the best option rather than lots of cable?

Please advise either way. It had also been suggested to me that I should buy a gigabite switch, but I'm not sure if I'll see any benefit from that. Wouldn't all of my machines need to have faster network cards and my internet connection be faster to notice any difference? Or maybe the gigabite network technology isn't so new and some of my machines are already built for it. I don't know and I'm not sure how to find out.

When I come to add a switch, do I have to be careful which ports I plug into between the DG834 and the new switch or is it obvious where things should go? What about if I add 2 switches?

Can anyone suggest a switch, or several options I should look at?

Thanks for your help
Damian

I can suggest an alternative see:

http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerl...

you can add as many switches together as you want but to keep cost down i would recommend you make an assessment of how much your network may expand and buy a suitably large switch. if you are cabling everything, then a large number of ports are important. you could just go for a single wireless router off your current switch and wireless everything at the cost of bandwidth.

if you plan to increase size over time, plan ahead and buy big now. A 16 port switch can be bought for £45 an this could future proof all your expansion needs.

Gigabit is good if your hardware supports it. you will notice a big difference if you transfer large files or directories across the network.

nosey aren't ya, readin me sig?

I would go with the Power Line adapters from Netgear since you already have Netgear equip.
http://www.netgear.com/Products/Pow...

Are there any downsides to Power Line adapters? I have heard very little of this technology. Is it safe? I don't use wireless as I'm not convinced that there are not health issues. Is it fast? Are they good? Do they consume lots of power?

Excuse all the questions, this just isn't a route I was planning on going down.

To answer your questions...

Q1. yes its OK to have some devices plugged into the router and some into the switch. Depending [on a lot of things] you will find that those connected to the router will get a slightly faster response.

Q2. yes adding 2 switches can save on cabling. Just remember unless the switches have mdi/mdix [auto uplink] you will need crossover cables to connect the switches to the router.

Q3. A gig switch would help your lan bandwidth if your machines support it. Look at the nics properties or lookup the model to see if they support 10/100/1000. Buying gig now would put you ready for any new pcs you might put in.

Q4. Don't cascade switches [chain them together serially] but run two cables from two lan ports on the router to the uplink or a lan port on the switch(es). Nothing fancy on the connections just plug them in.

Are you ready for where Microsoft wants you to go today?

In the UK I use these Powerline Products:

http://www.homeplugs.co.uk/acatalog...

they have 3in1 adaptors as well, also the speed is comparable to a 10Mbps RJ45 Network with the entry level products. Power consumption is low they use 5V DC circuit boards afaiaa

Why not cascade switches Wanderer? most home devices will not provide for a spoke and hub setup natively as the switching features are integrated into the router hardware thus requiring two new switches to facilitate a parallel two layer setup. The DG834 is just such a device. One multiport switch and a suitable length of cable would solve the problem methinks?

@Walter - are you selling Powerline?

nosey aren't ya, readin me sig?

DoubleDecker now I am not, but have saved yards of cabling, by using Powerline as well as providing an alternative to WiFi.

Also the more people use Powerline products the cheaper they become...

"Why not cascade switches [serially]?

Because the farthest switch gets less bandwidth than the closes switch to the router.

"One multiport switch and a suitable length of cable would solve the problem methinks?"

Decker you forgot this: "because I have some machines upstairs and some downstairs." so one upstairs may not be enough. Though one upstairs and some direct to the router may suffice.

Imagine the power if you knew how to internet search

"Because the farthest switch gets less bandwidth than the closes switch to the router."

but the DG834 is an integrated switch and router - and we are only talking about a home network, the difference would be unnoticeable even with two switches added.

you are correct about placements of the machines, that would require some thought but i would opt for a long cable to a switch on the lower/upper floor as required.

-D-

nosey aren't ya, readin me sig?

I think what wanderer is referring to is "daisy chaining" switches. Which is to say, plugging one into the next, and that one into the next and that one into the next and so on.

With managed enterprise level switches, you "cascade" switches when you're creating a stack. Which is to say, a group of switches that behave as one unit. Using cascade ports, you plug unit 1 into 2, 2 into 3, 3 into 4 and 4 back into 1.

When daisy chaining, you do have a tendancy to overload the bandwidth and capabilities of the switches and reduce the effectiveness of switches further out from the first one in the chain.

Just for the record folks, ALL SOHO level "routers" are switches with NAT, DHCP and a firewall built in. They're not "real" routers (which is to say, enterprise level).

Also, I've never seen a SOHO router with a serial port to begin with and wouldn't use them even if they came with one. Serial is a lot slower than ethernet. Even if you use unmanaged switches and they have serial connectors, the same thing applies.

With managed switches, the serial ports are for management only (console connections), you'd never try to connect switches with them.

most home devices will not provide for a spoke and hub setup

Are you referring to a "star" topology? If so, yes, they will do it.

"Are you referring to a "star" topology? If so, yes, they will do it."

yes i suppose they will if the hardware is just a switch in disguise like you say. Is there no facility for IP routing with these(SOHO routers) things though? can they not provide services to layer 3 and 4? They have options to filter at this level so I would have said they were 'routing' packets, no? (apologies to Daminator for starting a networking class in your question thread)

-D-

nosey aren't ya, readin me sig?

SOHO routers have minimal layer 3 abilities (ie: NAT conversion) but no layer 4.

Unless I misunderstand you, the filtering you're referring to happens through the firewall software added to the switch.

So technically speaking, no, they don't really route packets the way an enterprise level router routes packets.

Think of it this way. You use ICS on a windows XP box to host the internet for another PC (or multiple if plugged into a switch. When the other client sends a packet, it hits the XP "host" because that is it's gateway. The host then forwards the traffic to it's gateway, and so on and so on. The packets aren't actually opened/changed by the "host" PC.

There are many differences between SOHO and enterprise level equipment. Comparing them is like comparing oranges and apples.

Many thanks kind sir.

-D-

nosey aren't ya, readin me sig?