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Proper way to use a switch?

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Wesley Chapman

Occasional Visitor
Sooooooo, I thought I knew a lot about home networking until I found this site....

Way back in the 90's when I first got broadband and a 4 port router I couldn't imagine EVER using all four ports. Today I just ordered a TrendNet 24 port switch because I've outgrown the 4 ports on my router and the 8 ports on a switch and the 5 ports on another switch and have other devices to connect still.
My question relates to connecting all the devices. Should I connect everything to the switch and then utilize just one port on the router for the switch? Router is a Netgear WNDR4000 if that matters.
 
Yes, connect everything to your new switch, if all devices physically reach it, and one Ethernet connection from the new switch to the WNDR4000.
 
You can also connect devices to the other unused ports on the router. No need to let them go unused.
 
I think it is normal (port growth) as a lot of devices became "over IP" - we use Obihai adapters (VOIP), HDHR network tuners (TV over IP?), connect set top boxes like Shield, NAS, plus traditional devices like desktop and laptop. Wifi is nice convenience, everything else possible is wired..
 
This should get me by for a while.

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BTW - is that a Dell Inspiron i3050 over on the side?

(I have one, they're nice little units, and linux friendly...)

Nice coffee cup/pen stand BTW, that one is a keeper ;)
 
such as plugging it into itself or in such a way with other switches that theres more than 1 path from one destination to another.
Use a proper switch and use STP (Spanning Tree Protocol).

You can also connect devices to the other unused ports on the router. No need to let them go unused.
Depending on the router in use and unless it is some commercial/business class version, you will add CPU load and increase memory usage. I'd suggest use the ports on the switch first.
 
Depending on the router in use and unless it is some commercial/business class version, you will add CPU load and increase memory usage. I'd suggest use the ports on the switch first.
Local LAN traffic stays local to the switch chip. The only time it hits the CPU is to/from internet.
 
Local LAN traffic stays local to the switch chip. The only time it hits the CPU is to/from internet.

True, but if you have local traffic it will need to go from the router to the switch and back again whereas if you put everything in the switch, then it will stay local to the switch. Think of the router as a "core switch" in a MDF and the switch as a switch in an IDF.

If you have the ports on the switch, I would use them first.
 
True, but if you have local traffic it will need to go from the router to the switch and back again whereas if you put everything in the switch, then it will stay local to the switch. Think of the router as a "core switch" in a MDF and the switch as a switch in an IDF.

If you have the ports on the switch, I would use them first.

Depends on traffic and where that traffic goes...

Intranet is nice to collect on a single switch downstream - but if all are hitting the internet, that 1GB uplink can perhaps be a bottleneck...

These days - even cheap unmanaged switches are non-blocking, lots of BW inside the switch itself - so no worries about any kind of CPU loading there...

Even with Consumer oriented Router/AP's - the LAN ports themselves are non-blocking, only time CPU is involved, perhaps, is for packets to/from the internet..
 
BTW - is that a Dell Inspiron i3050 over on the side?

(I have one, they're nice little units, and linux friendly...)

Nice coffee cup/pen stand BTW, that one is a keeper ;)

Not sure if it's an i3050. Just says Dell Micro on it. Dell had a sale on them a while back. I was looking for something small to run Airprint and Blue Iris on without having to leave my main desk top running all the time. At least that's how I justified it even though I rarely turn off any of the computers. :)

That coffee cup is at least 30 years old, probably older.
 
Use a proper switch and use STP (Spanning Tree Protocol).


Depending on the router in use and unless it is some commercial/business class version, you will add CPU load and increase memory usage. I'd suggest use the ports on the switch first.

Thanks....just another reminder I don't know as much about networking as I thought. Off to Google STP
 

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