Buying a switch, want it to be a "future proof" as possible

[mmacfn123]

Hey all

So i have two netgear switch models.

I have two nighthawk s8000 and two netgear GS 108's. Both 8 ports.

My cable is 1 gigabit and and my system is 3 Eero Pros. 1 Eero is direct to the modem and and the other two goto one switch which is connected to the 1st Eros for its internet.

So I am getting pretty good speeds, The eeros app says 650-800 and speedtest is 300-600 depending on how close.

However, i noticed that if i use one switch or the other speeds differ, alot.

Why such a difference between the switches and is there something better i should be looking at?

 

[sfx2000]

Buy the unmanaged model - there you'll be future proof...

No firmware to update, and the HW will be very consistent.

 

[mmacfn123]

Buy the unmanaged model - there you'll be future proof...

No firmware to update, and the HW will be very consistent.

yah both of these are unmanaged, just not sure why there is so much variability.

 

[MichaelCG]

The S8000 is managed while the GS108 is not. No matter, which one gives faster performance? My guess is the GS108 is faster while the S8000 is slightly slower?

 

[Smokindog]

Your title asks about buying a switch but your post talks about owning S8000's and GS108's and asking why they perform differently.

Are you wanting to buy another switch and want to choose between the two models you already own? Are you just wanting to buy another 8 port switch? I'm not sure exactly what you're asking here.

You say that you have two switches plugged into a third that is plugged into the ISP. Is this "daisy chain" of switches all in one place? If so, eliminate it and buy a new unmanaged 24 port Gb switch. They've become VERY affordable. Plus you'll pick up 4 usable ports from using 3 8x switches chained together. Adding another 8 port will only net you 6 additional ports after sacrificing 2 ports for interconnect plus you're adding latency to the network (and it's messy).

 

[coxhaus]

One switch is always better than multiples. The only reason for multiples is different locations. If you exceed ports then you want stacking switches so they all run as 1 switch. None of these small switches support stacking so buy accordingly.

 

[mmacfn123]

The S8000 is managed while the GS108 is not. No matter, which one gives faster performance? My guess is the GS108 is faster while the S8000 is slightly slower?

Ah yes exactly. I just dont understand why the 108 performs better and if there are even better options?

 

[mmacfn123]

Hey

Sorry if this was unclear

Here is how my setup looks:

Cable modem -> #1 EERO -> Switch #1 all in same room. (switch has some local devices like smart TV apple tv etc connected to it)

Then long ethernet cable from switch #1 -> switch #2 across other side of the house -> #2 EERO and other devices (apple tv etc)

So basically i need 2 switches in order to cover what i am trying to cover. I could go direct from the cable modem to the EERO #2 with the ethernet cable but as i understand that is not how EERO works, is that not accurate? I had understood that the EERO either had to be directly connected to each other or through a switch you cant have 2 EERO directly connected to the cable modem.

As for the switch question, I am trying to determine if:

a) I am doing this right
b) why one is slower than the other
c) should i be looking at a better switch to maximize performance or is this as good as it can do?
d) is this the best way to setup the EERO Pros

Your title asks about buying a switch but your post talks about owning S8000's and GS108's and asking why they perform differently.

Are you wanting to buy another switch and want to choose between the two models you already own? Are you just wanting to buy another 8 port switch? I'm not sure exactly what you're asking here.

You say that you have two switches plugged into a third that is plugged into the ISP. Is this "daisy chain" of switches all in one place? If so, eliminate it and buy a new unmanaged 24 port Gb switch. They've become VERY affordable. Plus you'll pick up 4 usable ports from using 3 8x switches chained together. Adding another 8 port will only net you 6 additional ports after sacrificing 2 ports for interconnect plus you're adding latency to the network (and it's messy).

 

[MichaelCG]

Ah yes exactly. I just dont understand why the 108 performs better and if there are even better options?

I bet if you disable the QoS features on the S8000 it will perform the same. The QoS is more then likely reserving a certain amount of bandwidth for "priority" traffic. So it will hurt your absolute max speeds, but will possibly help your overall latency behavior. Rarely ever will enabling QoS make top speeds better. It may punish top speed, but it usually helps overall performance and behavior smooth out during high traffic loads.

 

[mmacfn123]

I bet if you disable the QoS features on the S8000 it will perform the same. The QoS is more then likely reserving a certain amount of bandwidth for "priority" traffic. So it will hurt your absolute max speeds, but will possibly help your overall latency behavior. Rarely ever will enabling QoS make top speeds better. It may punish top speed, but it usually helps overall performance and behavior smooth out during high traffic loads.

Ahh so much to learn!

Would you suggest just using the 108? Is there any real benefit of the s8000

 

[MichaelCG]

Would you suggest just using the 108? Is there any real benefit of the s8000

This depends on your environment and what your goals are. If QoS is a requirement, find a place for the S8000. If single client raw speed is your goal, ditch it and go back to a dumb switch.

 

[mmacfn123]

This depends on your environment and what your goals are. If QoS is a requirement, find a place for the S8000. If single client raw speed is your goal, ditch it and go back to a dumb switch.

As i understand it QoS controls and manages network resources by setting priorities for specific types of data on the network. I can see how this would be highly useful in a business or in a situation where bandwidth was limited and you wanted to prioritize say, streaming video over video games etc.

However it seems with a 1 gig connection that i am consistently seeing 800-950 down from direct connected to the modem i wouldnt need data priorities like that which prioritize. Does that make sense?