Switch or new router?


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First of all, please excuse my ignorance, networking is definitely not my strong point!

I currently have a basic dlink dir615, which was supplied by my ISP. I don't think this router has gigabit ports which is already a big downfall.

I recently have bought a microserver, a media player, and a new TV, which I need connected to the Internet. I am using home plugs to get the Internet onto the tv etc. The problem is that my router is only 4 ports and I have run out of ports.

I am just wondering would it be best to go with a new router or to go with a switch? And if so, can anyone recommend any decent ones? I would preferably like one that supports DD-WRT as well.

As for a budget, I haven't thought of that yet as I am unsure how much these would cost for a half decent one.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jason

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Add a switch, even if you buy a new router it will only have 4 ports as thats the most common setup for consumer routers..

Connect all the devices to the switch, then the uplink port on the switch to the router...

Unless your internet speed is over I think 85Mbit you should be fine...

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If you want Gigabit speed but don't want to bother with a new router, just plug the switch into your current router, and all your other devices into your new switch. It's a plug and play deal.

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Thanks guys. Yeah I currently have 50mb, which is being upgraded to 120mb sometime this year :). Some transfer speeds over the wireless can be also slow, although I don't really bother with wireless all that much.

Plug and play would be ideal for me, don't want to start messing with DHCP etc.

Would you recommend any particular Netgear or are they all similar?

Thanks

Jason

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Just get a cheap but decent 5-port gigabit switch and be done with it. Oh, and...

can anyone recommend any decent ones? I would preferably like one that supports DD-WRT as well.

Plug and play would be ideal for me, don't want to start messing with DHCP etc.

Sorry, just thought those two statements were funny to point out together :rofl:

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Personally, I run the GS108Tv2, but thats probably a bit much for you. TP-Link make fantastic products and they're super cheep, go have a look on Amazon. I use a few of them at work and we get gigabit transfers no issue :)

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thanks for your help :). I went ahead and ordered a TP-Link from Amazon as I noticed that the home plugs I had where the same make and I've had no problems, also it's easy to return to Amazon if I have any trouble :). Thanks again :).

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Thanks guys. Yeah I currently have 50mb, which is being upgraded to 120mb sometime this year :).

You will need a new gigabit router as adding a switch to your dlink dir615 will limit you to 100Mb from it.

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You will need a new gigabit router as adding a switch to your dlink dir615 will limit you to 100Mb from it.

Well spotted!

OP should look for a new, say, 8 Gigabit-port router. Don't know about DIR-615 specifically but it might struggle with the increased load, when internets speed is upped to its maximum.

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The Virgin Media Superhubs, which will be provided to him for free if he calls and asks, are more than capable of switching 120MB without issues, this bundled with a decent switch and he's away!

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he'll need something that can switch 120Mb as well (NAT).

Switching and NAT in your context arent related..

Even el cheapo switches can switch at wirespeed... NAT and routing is what takes power...

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Switching and NAT in your context arent related..

Incorrect, different type of switching mate.

Even el cheapo switches can switch at wirespeed...

I know this.

NAT and routing is what takes power...

NAT takes more CPU than routing especially in small networks, it also takes up more memory generally speaking as well.

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NAT Operates on ROUTING devices... not switches...

I really don't understand how you can claim they are the same

Please go read the fundamental operation of what you are talking about then feel free to correct your posts :)

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NAT Operates on ROUTING devices... not switches...

I really don't understand how you can claim they are the same

Please go read the fundamental operation of what you are talking about then feel free to correct your posts :)

You do realise that NAT and routing are 2 separate things right? Just because they make routers with NAT included does not mean that it's the only form factor...

I probably should've just used translate so I didn't confuse things.

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Gah! Any cheep router can handle routing at those speeds, even a WRT-54GL!

Really? From what I remember a Cisco 877 could only do 80-90 Mbps so I find it hard to believe a WRT-54GL could do 120Mbps.

Going by this and I'm going to take this as 100% fact but this says it can't:

In the hope that someone will find these data useful, I have joined and

summarized the results of various speed tests performed by "whgpjay",

"Matthiaz" (see later in this thread), "2q2" (in the Hansenet User Forum)

and me. The firmware version used was v23 SP2. The following values

apply both to the WRT54G v3.1 and to the GL, unless specified explicitly:

Ethernet switch alone:

> 70 Mbit/s

NAT:

30 Mbit/s (GL), 21 Mbit/s (G v3.1)

http://www.dd-wrt.co...topic.php?t=341

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Well I can say those stats are completely incorrect, in fact, I even posted up logs of my WRT54-GL running at just over 50MB easily under about 30% load a few months back.

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I ended up just getting a basic switch for now. I'm aware that VM will supply me with the all in one superhub, but I read that there were some issues with that, so I haven't pushed for it yet.

I got the drivers updated on my microserver, which is now showing as 1gb :). Having problems getting my computer connecting at that speed. I have the nForce 650i, I downloaded the latest drivers which did not give me the 1000mb option. I have also tried some of the older drivers which do not work either. I had a look at the .inf file and found the following:


; Speed Duplex Setting
[SpeedDuplexNoAutoForce.reg]
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex, ParamDesc, 0, "%SpeedDuplex%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex, default, 0, "0"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex, type, 0, "enum"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "0", 0, "%AutoNegotiation%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "1", 0, "%HD10MB%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "2", 0, "%FD10MB%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "3", 0, "%HD100MB%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "4", 0, "%FD100MB%"
; Speed Duplex Setting
[SpeedDuplexUpto1000.reg]
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex, ParamDesc, 0, "%SpeedDuplex%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex, default, 0, "0"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex, type, 0, "enum"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "0", 0, "%AutoNegotiation%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "1", 0, "%HD10MB%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "2", 0, "%FD10MB%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "3", 0, "%HD100MB%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "4", 0, "%FD100MB%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "5", 0, "%HD10MBA%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "6", 0, "%FD10MBA%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "7", 0, "%HD100MBA%"
HKR, Ndi\params\*SpeedDuplex\enum, "8", 0, "%FD100MBA%"
[/CODE]

From what I can see there are no references to the 1000. I found a forum where people had added this into the .inf manually, which worked for them, but did not work for me.

In Device Manager it shows as "NVIDIA nForce 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet" so I know that it must support it, but it does not even work when on auto.

I have tried the same Cat 5e cable in the computer from the microserver, but still no avail. Surely my card wouldn't need cat6?

Anyone else had any similar issues?

Think I might be better off buying a cheap PCI ethernet card at this rate!

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