Lots of questions here...first some background info...
I'm in the process of having my home wired with Cat5e. Currently, we'll have 14 wired ethernet ports throughout the house. All of the cables terminate in the same area of the basement where the cable modem, router, and switch will be located.
We currently have a 10mbps cable internet connection, but may upgrade to 30mbps in the near future.
Our router is a D-Link DGL-4100 10/100/1000Mbps. I plan on connecting this to a large (probably unmanaged) switch. I'm currently considering either the NETGEAR JGS524 10/100/1000Mbps or D-Link DGS-1024D 10/100/1000Mbps. I have two wireless access points that I plan on connecting directly to the large switch or to extra ports on the router. I also have two D-Link DGS-2208 10/100/1000Mbps 8-Port Switches that will probably be added later if we decide we need more ports in a particular room (wired to the main switch or router, but located in a distant room).
Background info over...I have a few questions...
1. Do you see any obvious problem with this network as described? There shouldn't be any problem connecting the smaller switches downstream from the main switch, correct?
2. Would you recommend one of the switches listed above over the other (or a different one altogether)? I've chosen unmanaged switches because I don't THINK that I need the additional features of a managed or "smart" switch. Additionally, (as you might have guessed) there is much that I don't know regarding networking settings. I'd like it to be pretty much plug and play. Although, I might like a switch that would function like an unmanaged switch out of the box, with the ability to do more advanced configuration as I learn more later. Both of the switches listed above can be had for ~$160, I'd prefer to keep the price below ~$300.
3. My third question, which will surely reveal my ignorance, is this: How should I/can I connect my router to the switch? If I have a single Cat5e/Cat6 cable connecting my router won't that act as a potential bottleneck, since I'd be running all of my internet traffic through a single gigabit port on the router. Is it possible to connect more than one port of the router to the switch and maintain the network's "plug and play" nature? I guess that total bandwith shouldn't be a problem, since my internet connection is only 10-30mbps. However, if more than one connection between router and switch is possible, is there any benefit?
4. Finally, assuming that only one port of the router should be connected to the large switch, how would you suggest that I connect my wireless APs and/or additional 8 port switches? Should I connect as many of them as possible directly to the empty ports on the router, or should I just connect them to the switch as well? Are there benefits to either method? Am I likely to have problems with different network devices "seeing" each other if I connect them one way or the other?
Sorry for the long post and my ignorance.
Many Thanks in advance for your help,
Juan
I'm in the process of having my home wired with Cat5e. Currently, we'll have 14 wired ethernet ports throughout the house. All of the cables terminate in the same area of the basement where the cable modem, router, and switch will be located.
We currently have a 10mbps cable internet connection, but may upgrade to 30mbps in the near future.
Our router is a D-Link DGL-4100 10/100/1000Mbps. I plan on connecting this to a large (probably unmanaged) switch. I'm currently considering either the NETGEAR JGS524 10/100/1000Mbps or D-Link DGS-1024D 10/100/1000Mbps. I have two wireless access points that I plan on connecting directly to the large switch or to extra ports on the router. I also have two D-Link DGS-2208 10/100/1000Mbps 8-Port Switches that will probably be added later if we decide we need more ports in a particular room (wired to the main switch or router, but located in a distant room).
Background info over...I have a few questions...
1. Do you see any obvious problem with this network as described? There shouldn't be any problem connecting the smaller switches downstream from the main switch, correct?
2. Would you recommend one of the switches listed above over the other (or a different one altogether)? I've chosen unmanaged switches because I don't THINK that I need the additional features of a managed or "smart" switch. Additionally, (as you might have guessed) there is much that I don't know regarding networking settings. I'd like it to be pretty much plug and play. Although, I might like a switch that would function like an unmanaged switch out of the box, with the ability to do more advanced configuration as I learn more later. Both of the switches listed above can be had for ~$160, I'd prefer to keep the price below ~$300.
3. My third question, which will surely reveal my ignorance, is this: How should I/can I connect my router to the switch? If I have a single Cat5e/Cat6 cable connecting my router won't that act as a potential bottleneck, since I'd be running all of my internet traffic through a single gigabit port on the router. Is it possible to connect more than one port of the router to the switch and maintain the network's "plug and play" nature? I guess that total bandwith shouldn't be a problem, since my internet connection is only 10-30mbps. However, if more than one connection between router and switch is possible, is there any benefit?
4. Finally, assuming that only one port of the router should be connected to the large switch, how would you suggest that I connect my wireless APs and/or additional 8 port switches? Should I connect as many of them as possible directly to the empty ports on the router, or should I just connect them to the switch as well? Are there benefits to either method? Am I likely to have problems with different network devices "seeing" each other if I connect them one way or the other?
Sorry for the long post and my ignorance.
Many Thanks in advance for your help,
Juan