Wow, ok, I need some advice from the Networking Gods. Here is the set-up. I have a small office network made up of 15 computers, all running XP or Vista, all but 7 are wireless. I have a Cannon IR2220i office printer that has a built in network port that is also connected. On the hardware side, I have a T1 line coming in connecting to a Linksys Wireless Router (Model WRTSL54GS), from there I have a TP-Link 16-port 10/100M Fast Ethernet Desktop Switch (Model TL-SF1016D) connected to 4 computers and the office printer and the rest of the wired computers on another identical switch in another part of the building. I know there is overkill on the ports, but that is all my local computer parts store had in stock. So just to clarify, I have a T1 line, to the wireless router, then to 2 switches where the rest of the computers are plugged into. All the computers can see each other fine. Now comes the fun part. I have a data server (old Dell computer running Windows XP SP3, it just hosts the files, nothing more) connected to the router itself. That is the only computer directly connected to the router. Recently the employees have complained about slow connection speeds, not being able to pull files from the server (they are getting an error saying too many connections made at this time), and EXTREMELY long print spooling times of up to 15 mins just for the "Print" dialog to go away. Please Help! Should we invest in a managed switch? If we do, does it go behind the wireless router? if not, then will the switch be able to manage the T1 internet connection? I have to keep the 16-port switches (there is a firewall splitting the office that I can only run one cable thru). I am fairly well educated with networks, so if someone can get me started in a direction, I am pretty sure I can get the rest. Any productive advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I wouldn't buy anything yet. It could be that the old Dell just can't handle the connections anymore. Does the print spooling go through the Dell? If it doesn't shut the Dell and see if it improves.

"small office network made up of 15 computers" and "error saying too many connections made at this time" XP pro only supports 10 concurrent connections. You have 15. The connection error is correct. Only solution is to go to a server product. All printing should be tcp/ip port printing which is direct to the printer from the workstations. If this is the case the xp 'server' doesn't have anything to do with the slowness but the switches do. Proper switch config should be each of them connect to the router, not one to another and then the router. Example of Oxymoron: Person who is pro life and anti sex education. Education is key to prevention. Prevent conception you prevent abortion. Abstinence training clearly isn't working.

I thought there might be a problem with limited connections allowed, but I didn't know the number. If I were to use a NAS for the data storage, would I still have issues with limited connections allowed? The Dell 'server' does not handle any of the printing tasks, all printing goes straight to the printer via TCP/IP. The Canon printer is a floor unit and was designed for small businesses. What do you suggest for a network layout? There is no physical way to attach every computer to the router. I have to use a switch on one side of the office and then pass a single cable thru a small hole to the router; plus I need the wireless connectivity for the wireless computers. Again, would a managed switch help control the network traffic better?

A NAS unit would certainly be a better way of addressing the user limit of xp for far less cost then a server OS/platform. As long as both switches connect to the router, not each other than the router, you are fine. Managed switch would give you more information but for 15-16 devices your present switches shouldn't be a problem. Your bandwidth issue could be due to malware/spyware infections. I would suggest concering the printing issue to only have one pc live and do a print job. Bring up 5 pcs and do the same print job. Bring all up and do the same print job. Note the approx. time it takes for each to complete. How much ram does the printer have and can it be upgraded? I would suspect this is where the slowness issue printing is if you have multiple people printing at the same time. Example of Oxymoron: Person who is pro life and anti sex education. Education is key to prevention. Prevent conception you prevent abortion. Abstinence training clearly isn't working.