32 replies to this topic

[NateDawg1148]

I have 14 hard lines in my house running cat5e to 2 seperate 10/100 switches and I will be upgrading very soon to a gigabit switch.

My question is - will I see any difference in performance if I purchase a 16port unmanaged switch (Dlink DGS-1016D at $189 here) or 2 x 8port switch (Dlink DGS-1008G at $49 here)

I dont mind spending the extra 100 if I know that this central switch option will keep throughput flowing without hiccups.

Thanks for any imput.

Nate

[usacomp2k3]

Having an interconnect between switches means that the total communication between those separate parts of the network is limited by that speed. Is that a frequent occurence? Probably Not. Just remember when you set up everything being in a single switch (assuming a good switch), the backplane is never going to be a limiting factor, as it's not possible to transfer more than 32gbps of data with 16 ports. Sure is more than a potential 2gbps (bi-directional) limitation of the interconnect.

With regards to those 2 switches, the more expensive one has twice the MAC address table, which means you could have more devices (both have probably more than you need) and has more memory per port (again, both have enough).

My recommendation to people when setting up their networks is to have every single device in the house plug directly into a single switch that is separate from a router/wireless AP. So I would recommend going with the 16-port job.

[cskenney]

I agree with AJ - go with the 16-port switch.

[jmwills]

A third vote....go with as few "junction points" or "interruptions" in the data flow as you can get away with.

[pcdoc]

I have a post in this forum where I did a speed test comparison and the 16 port is much better. I have one of these hooked and I love it. So add a fourth vote for me.



Now at $129 (http://www.newegg.co...1-030-_-Product)

[usacomp2k3]

He's in Canada. Newegg.ca has it for over $200 CAD

[c0op3r]

Ah, now you tell me I just upgraded the whole home/office network to Wireless N and Gigabit wired.

I ended up going with the Linksys E3000 Router (as it will run DD-WRT) and (2) 8 port Links 8 port Gigbit switches, if I would of known about this I might of looked into a 16 port as I am using about 15 of the ports now, and lost 2 ports to the interconnection of the switches!

Other then it all works pretty good. The WHS works great with the Gigabit, but I cant get my FreeNAS box to do Gigabit speed to save my life.

[dvn]

So it's the buffer memory that makes that switch better?

[usacomp2k3]

So it's the buffer memory that makes that switch better?

While having more buffer is definitely a plus (especially in a mixed 100mbps/1gbps environment) does make it better, the best improvement is the centralization. When I was over at the Custom Installer classes at EHX this year, they strongly, strongly recommend to install a single switch and wire everything to that whenever possible. (The exception would be a dedicated network for TV stuff if you are doing HD HomeRun and/or Media Center+Extenders).

[no-control]

When I was over at the Custom Installer classes at EHX this year, they strongly, strongly recommend to install a single switch and wire everything to that whenever possible. (The exception would be a dedicated network for TV stuff if you are doing HD HomeRun and/or Media Center+Extenders).

Did they give any reason for such a recommendation? I also don't get why the same suggestion wouldn't apply to TV stuff?

Only issue I can see is a second device to troubleshoot.

[cskenney]

Did they give any reason for such a recommendation? I also don't get why the same suggestion wouldn't apply to TV stuff?

Only issue I can see is a second device to troubleshoot.

I think there is a belief that media should be on a separate network from data.

[pcdoc]

My guess is that TV/Video is more consistent and normally does not tax your network unless you transferring or copying files. Just a guess on my part...

[usacomp2k3]

Did they give any reason for such a recommendation? I also don't get why the same suggestion wouldn't apply to TV stuff?

Only issue I can see is a second device to troubleshoot.

It was primarily so that your large UDP streams wouldn't cause any issues with other TCP traffic (such as IP phones, or controls) that are more delay-sensitive. Note that the context was more whole-home installations with 10+ media Center Extenders and 20+ tuners, not your average 1-5 TV homes.

[ImTheTypeOfGuy]

Good post and responses everyone. I think I learned a lot. Based on this discussion, I believe my switch (link below) is a good switch?


NETGEAR JGS516 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Rackmount Switch 16 x RJ45 8,000 MAC Address Table 2MB Buffer Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122057&Tpk=JGS516

[usacomp2k3]

That looks like a pretty good one.

[byronomo]

When I was over at the Custom Installer classes at EHX this year, they strongly, strongly recommend to install a single switch and wire everything to that whenever possible. (The exception would be a dedicated network for TV stuff if you are doing HD HomeRun and/or Media Center+Extenders).

This has been a very informative/intriguing thread. A question for clarification. I have 24-port gigabit unmanaged switch (HP ProCurve) off of my router and feeding a number of devices in my server room and my patch panel(which has cat6 runs throughout the house to ethernet jacks to various rooms). However, in a given room, I haven't been able to determine a practical way of NOT having a seperate switch to feed devices near given ethernet jack. For example: HTPC, SlingCatcher, PS3, TV, AirportExpress, etc. (I have about 7 or 8 places in my house where 3+ devices are connected to the network).

How do Custom Installers recommend getting around this? do they install 6 or 8-jack ethernet wall-panels with seperate cat6 runs coming from the main switch?

Thanks in advance....

[usacomp2k3]

Best practice would be to have a wall-plate with as many jacks as are needed (plus some spares). What actually happens would probably involve a local switch.

Cable is cheap and you can get up to 6 jacks on a single wallplate, so I'd try and go that route if I were you, using the patch panel that you have. (Remember though that to get cat6 speeds/reliability, everything has to support cat6, from the cable to patch panel to the connectors/terminations.)

[jmwills]

For very large installations, you would have switches dedicated to certain floors, sections, or offices and those switches would be connected back to a main switch via fiber back to a switch then back to a core router. This is one reason large business block a lot of UDP (streaming) traffic.

Now you know why Network Engineers make such good money.

[no-control]

It was primarily so that your large UDP streams wouldn't cause any issues with other TCP traffic (such as IP phones, or controls) that are more delay-sensitive. Note that the context was more whole-home installations with 10+ media Center Extenders and 20+ tuners, not your average 1-5 TV homes.

Ahhh Ok that makes more sense

[NateDawg1148]

Thanks everyone for the posts. Much appreciated.

Nate