Advice on Mixing Smart Switches

[tokyojerry]

I am undecided as to whether to get the 16-port Trendnet web smart switch or the 12-Port NetGear in lieu of the TP Link switch. I currently have the NetGear GS110TP 8-port. That will go out to the front room to connect the entertainment system (Power Amp, TV, MacMini) components of my home network. The 16-port will go into my backroom as the main Smart switch. I have the new Synology 1513+ NAS unit which has 4 Gigabit ports. This brings to mind a couple questions:

Q1.
Link Aggregation: Can I use link aggregation of the 4.-ports on the Synology 1513+ to, say, the TrendNet TEG-160WS?
Q2.
Link Aggregation differnet models: Can I do link aggregation with one model being from Trendnet and the other smart switch from Netgear (GS110TP)?
Q3.
SFP: If I decide to use SFP between the two switches, can that be done between two different models?

P.S.: If no IPv6 support, this would be the one point deal breaker for me. Although not in widespread use yet (until there is an emergency on IP addresses) this is one feature I would want to have to 'future-proof' myself'.

 

[thiggins]

If all the devices support LACP and/or 802.3ad, they should interoperate. But if your run into a problem, good luck getting vendor help.

Same goes for SFP if it is just serving as a simple uplink port. If the intent of the SFP port is for switch stacking, it probably won't.

 

[tokyojerry]

If all the devices support LACP and/or 802.3ad, they should interoperate. But if your run into a problem, good luck getting vendor help.

Same goes for SFP if it is just serving as a simple uplink port. If the intent of the SFP port is for switch stacking, it probably won't.

Tim, thanks much for that feedback. My only real intention for using link aggregation (or SFP) would be to transfer media content (video files) from the Synology (DS1513+) in my backroom to the switch to my front room for entertainment. Basically, streaming video media to the frontroom. Currently, I have a MacMini in the frontroom connected to a simple 5-port Gigabit switch hub there. So, I am thinking, perhaps SFP might even be overkill and I can get by with just link aggregation? i.e., run two Gigabit ethernet cables from the backroom to the front room? Perhaps if my need is only to stream video content (up to 8GB file sizes) maybe I don't even need a second smart switch. Do you think I can just get by with the NetGear (GS110TP) in the backroom streaming video to the (dumb) 5-port Gigabit switch hub in the front room for my purposes?

No, I would not be doing any stacking of smart switches in my home office for sure. I am not a corporation aside from my very modest SoHo operation.

I am about to order a second smart switch from Amazon U.S. to be delivered to my sister's house in the U.S. to hand carry for me to Japan when they visit in early September. Amazon U.S. won't ship internationally for some arcane reason. So, I am hoping to make the right decision, if I even need to make one at all. (TP Link is out because of the lack of IPv6 support which I read in the review of that product here on SmallNetBuilder. Thanks for that, BTW).

Cheers,
Jerry Suppan
Tokyo Japan

 

[thiggins]

Streaming uncompressed Blu-ray rips takes only 40-50 Mbps at peaks, Jerry. So you don't even need unaggregated Gigabit if you're handling a single stream.

SFP doesn't provide higher bandwidth. It's just an alternative connection method that can be helpful for > 100M runs or 10GbE.

 

[tokyojerry]

Wow, thanks much for that feedback Tim. I guess then I am really going overkill then for my very limited needs. You just saved me some bucks. Much appreciated. I have the NetGear GS110TP which I don't regret buying at all. I still have 2 of 8 ports open there. For the living room then, I have the 5-port Gigabit switch from the past which supports the TV, power amp and single MacMini there. I really only have about 4 computers max at home. And the connectivity to the front room is only for the occasionally video streaming through the MacMini for entertainment. So then if even aggregation is overkill (which seems to be the case per your explanation on my situation) then I surely do not need to concern myself with the SFP option. I will neither be doing 100M runs (30M at most) nor 10GbE any time soon. Thanks again for your feedback.