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Help choosing a switch

Grega216

Hi, I am going to buy I switch so I can get wired connecting to everything in my room and stop using a wirelss acces point for my gaming pc (ASUS EA-N66)

 

Currently looking into the Netgear GS308

 

but I am not that into networking and want some help if there are better alternatives

 

It must have at least 4 ports

My internet speed is 6mbps down and 0.8mbps up but I want good LAN connections

 

How much can a switch do with the ping (to online gaming etc.)?

 

 

I also got a internet over powerline thing(to get the internet to my room)... but I have no idea how to test it (ping, speeds, etc.)

Just ask, I properly know something about it. And I know my member title is wrong they just can't spell cookie right

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how much can a switch do with the ping (to online gaming etc.)?

 

 

Just get any gigabit switch it really makes no difference, I have some random Asus 5 port gigabit switch and its perfectly fine

 

Your ping will be basically the same as if connected to the router directly or at least within a few percent

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I have a Netgear Switch which was very good. But had to throw it due to access heating :(

 

and As @ShadowCaptain said ..

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COMING SOON

 

 

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if your internet is 6 mbps it's doesn't matter about the switch because these days switches are to be made to a strong internet country like USA.... soo if you have 6 mbps internet speed your not going to feel any different because like i said swithces these days are made to a Strong internet country because switches have different internet output limit ( hope iam saying that right ) like 256 mbps..... soo when i shop for switches even 4 years ago there always minimum 128 mbps internet download output limit..... soo yeah buying a new switches doesn't do much.... 

 

my tips and trick :

1.don't use switches go with the router... it's normally 5 -10% faster and IF CAN use ethernet cable ( also if can use the fiber optic one ).

2.buy better internet that you can afford that is faster ( if available )

3.if you sharing with other let's say family, that mean your out of luck......

4.move to a fast internet country like USA or Korea they have the best internet ( i think )

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if your internet is 6 mbps it's doesn't matter about the switch because these days switches are to be made to a strong internet country like USA.... soo if you have 6 mbps internet speed your not going to feel any different because like i said swithces these days are made to a Strong internet country because switches have different internet output limit ( hope iam saying that right ) like 256 mbps..... soo when i shop for switches even 4 years ago there always minimum 128 mbps internet download output limit..... soo yeah buying a new switches doesn't do much.... 

 

my tips and trick :

1.don't use switches go with the router... it's normally 5 -10% faster and IF CAN use ethernet cable ( also if can use the fiber optic one ).

2.buy better internet that you can afford that is faster ( if available )

3.if you sharing with other let's say family, that mean your out of luck......

4.move to a fast internet country like USA or Korea they have the best internet ( i think )

There's a little bit of misinformation going on in this thread.

 

First: Internet speed and Switch speeds are NOT THE SAME. Buying a slow switch just because your internet is slow will also affect your LAN (Local Area Network). This will affect file transfers, streaming between devices, etc.

 

Second, why are you suggesting that he use a router? We're assuming he already has one (Possibly built into his modem). Getting a second router will actually hurt performance, because both routers will be performing NAT (Network Address Translation). Also what are you talking about with a fiber optic cable? In a consumer level Home LAN, you'd never use Fiber Optic. An enthusiast with a ton of server hardware might, but based on the opening post, I think it's safe to say this isn't the case here.

 

Next, don't tell the OP to buy better internet or to move to a country with better internet. These are unhelpful posts. The OP most assuredly has the best internet that he can afford and is available to him. Please keep to constructive/useful comments. I want a unicorn, but you saying "Go buy a unicorn" won't help me get one.

 

Now back to the OP:

@Grega216 as others have mentioned, yeah any Gigabit switch will do nicely.

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-GS108NA-ProSafe-Gigabit-Ethernet/dp/B00006RVPW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406592044&sr=8-1&keywords=netgear+gigabit+switch

Here is an example of a Netgear 8-port Gigabit switch. I've used this exact model before, and have used some of their other lineups (I currently have the 5-port version in my network setup). They're reliable, cheap, and speedy. This or something just like it should be available locally for you, or from your preferred online Computer retailer.

 

However if you have a favourite manufacturer, the differences don't matter too much. The main recommendation I have is this: Don't buy no-name. Stick with a reputable name like ASUS, D-Link, Linksys, Cisco, Netgear, etc.

 

As mentioned, adding the switch to your existing network will have zero* practical impact on your ping or network speeds.

 

For your Powerline Ethernet kit, that's pretty simple. You need a pair of Powerline adapters. One connects from your switch into an AC Wall Outlet, and the other goes from a different AC Wall Outlet (Say, in your room) to your PC. Now keep in mind that with Powerline Ethernet, they only generally work when both adapters are plugged into the same electrical circuit in your home (If you need to use different breakers to cut power to each outlet, then it may not work).

 

*This assumes your network isn't being bottlenecked by saturating the gigabit LAN - this could happen if you were running say, a media server and were streaming to like 8+ devices at once, and every single device, including the server, were all connected to the switch. I wouldn't worry about this scenario happening though.

 

To test speeds, the best thing to do is to transfer files between computers. Take a multi-Gigabyte Movie file (Like a Blu-Ray or DVD rip MKV file) and transfer that between two computers on the network. I would also then transfer a folder with many small files in it (Either pictures, or songs are good examples). Transfer these files back and forth between two computers.

 

You can also test various parts of the network: Going from one PC to another while both are on the switch. Going from one PC on the switch to another PC on the Powerline adapter.

 

And finally to test ping, the easiest thing to do is to ping your router:

in Command Prompt type

ping 192.168.1.1

Substituting the number (IP Address) with the correct one for your router. The second last 1 may be a 0 or a 2 instead.

 

You can also find out your router's IP address with the following command in Command Prompt:

ipconfig /all

Then look for "Default Gateway".

 

Anyway this should put you in the right direction.

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There's a little bit of misinformation going on in this thread.

 

First: Internet speed and Switch speeds are NOT THE SAME. Buying a slow switch just because your internet is slow will also affect your LAN (Local Area Network). This will affect file transfers, streaming between devices, etc.

 

Second, why are you suggesting that he use a router? We're assuming he already has one (Possibly built into his modem). Getting a second router will actually hurt performance, because both routers will be performing NAT (Network Address Translation). Also what are you talking about with a fiber optic cable? In a consumer level Home LAN, you'd never use Fiber Optic. An enthusiast with a ton of server hardware might, but based on the opening post, I think it's safe to say this isn't the case here.

 

Next, don't tell the OP to buy better internet or to move to a country with better internet. These are unhelpful posts. The OP most assuredly has the best internet that he can afford and is available to him. Please keep to constructive/useful comments. I want a unicorn, but you saying "Go buy a unicorn" won't help me get one.

 

Now back to the OP:

@Grega216 as others have mentioned, yeah any Gigabit switch will do nicely.

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-GS108NA-ProSafe-Gigabit-Ethernet/dp/B00006RVPW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406592044&sr=8-1&keywords=netgear+gigabit+switch

Here is an example of a Netgear 8-port Gigabit switch. I've used this exact model before, and have used some of their other lineups (I currently have the 5-port version in my network setup). They're reliable, cheap, and speedy. This or something just like it should be available locally for you, or from your preferred online Computer retailer.

 

However if you have a favourite manufacturer, the differences don't matter too much. The main recommendation I have is this: Don't buy no-name. Stick with a reputable name like ASUS, D-Link, Linksys, Cisco, Netgear, etc.

 

As mentioned, adding the switch to your existing network will have zero* practical impact on your ping or network speeds.

 

For your Powerline Ethernet kit, that's pretty simple. You need a pair of Powerline adapters. One connects from your switch into an AC Wall Outlet, and the other goes from a different AC Wall Outlet (Say, in your room) to your PC. Now keep in mind that with Powerline Ethernet, they only generally work when both adapters are plugged into the same electrical circuit in your home (If you need to use different breakers to cut power to each outlet, then it may not work).

 

*This assumes your network isn't being bottlenecked by saturating the gigabit LAN - this could happen if you were running say, a media server and were streaming to like 8+ devices at once, and every single device, including the server, were all connected to the switch. I wouldn't worry about this scenario happening though.

 

To test speeds, the best thing to do is to transfer files between computers. Take a multi-Gigabyte Movie file (Like a Blu-Ray or DVD rip MKV file) and transfer that between two computers on the network. I would also then transfer a folder with many small files in it (Either pictures, or songs are good examples). Transfer these files back and forth between two computers.

 

You can also test various parts of the network: Going from one PC to another while both are on the switch. Going from one PC on the switch to another PC on the Powerline adapter.

 

And finally to test ping, the easiest thing to do is to ping your router:

in Command Prompt type

ping 192.168.1.1

Substituting the number (IP Address) with the correct one for your router. The second last 1 may be a 0 or a 2 instead.

 

You can also find out your router's IP address with the following command in Command Prompt:

ipconfig /all

Then look for "Default Gateway".

 

Anyway this should put you in the right direction.

the first one i know switches make internet connection a little slower than using straight from the router..... but buying better switches is not going to make a different because he's internet is slow.....soo it's lead us to the second one of your post.... YES i am Suggesting that he use a router... doesn't mean i said he should buy a new router, right ?? and i said if can use a ethernet cable because he said he want to stop using wireless....he can just move the router nearer that his room and use ethernet cable from the router to his room and i said also use fiber optic ethernet cable because if his room is far from the router or he can't move the router using the fiber optic one is better.... the next one i admit that is wrong to said better internet and move to a better country... sorry

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the first one i know switches make internet connection a little slower than using straight from the router..... but buying better switches is not going to make a different because he's internet is slow.....soo it's lead us to the second one of your post.... YES i am Suggesting that he use a router... doesn't mean i said he should buy a new router, right ?? and i said if can use a ethernet cable because he said he want to stop using wireless....he can just move the router nearer that his room and use ethernet cable from the router to his room and i said also use fiber optic ethernet cable because if his room is far from the router or he can't move the router using the fiber optic one is better.... the next one i admit that is wrong to said better internet and move to a better country... sorry

As for a switch making the Internet Connection slower... Well that's just not true under most circumstances. Yes, technically, if you measured the speed and latency, etc, with the most sensitive tools, you might detect some performance decreases. But seriously, in any practical application, adding a switch to a home network is NOT going to slow the Internet down. It won't even slow the LAN down. You also seem so focused on the Internet, when in fact, the switch most benefits his internal LAN and has little to no effect on the Internet.

 

Second, if you're trying to state that he should just use the Router he already has, well you should make that more clear in your statements. It definitely sounded like you were implying he should buy a second router.

 

Now I'm assuming that his router either:

1. Doesn't have enough ports (Or is only a single RJ-45 port model if it's a combined Router/Modem), or

2. He's already used all the ports.

 

Now obviously if he has spare ports on his router, then he can just use that. HOWEVER, it's still good Networking Practice to use a switch and have all connections running from the computers to the switch, with a single connection from the Switch to the Router. Why? Because a switch is Gigabit speed (That's 1000 Mbps). His internet is 6 Mbps. 6. That means that the final connection from the switch to the router/modem is impossible to saturate. Secondly in this regard, having all the computers on the switch means that if any computer needs to talk to each other, they do so directly through the switch, bypassing the router, which can definitely lead to real-world performance benefits for his LAN (Transferring files, performing computer backups, streaming music/video from a shared drive to his TV or PC, etc).

 

Also what are you talking about with this Fiber Optic nonsense? Fiber Optic, and Ethernet (RJ-45) are two different standards. If he wants to use fiber optic, he's gonna have to buy new equipment to accept or convert the Fiber cable into something useful. Ethernet also has a standard maximum run length of 100 meters (That's approximately 300 feet), so yeah... That's plenty of length. He could run a single cable from one side of his house to the other, going up and down and in every room, and still likely not reach the limit.

 

Fiber Optic is NOT a good recommendation for his setup. It would only complicate needlessly the configuration and cost. A standard Ethernet cable will most certainly be adequate for anything he's going to do at home, so unless you can come up with a convincing argument as to why he should even look at Fiber, then please stop suggesting it. I don't mean to be rude, but your advice to him is a mixed bag and it's just going to confuse the OP.

 

At this point, @Grega216 needs to provide more information or see if any of these suggestions will work for him before I can really comment much more.

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I am getting a switch not only because I currently use wireless but I also want other stuff in my room to get wired like my xbox 360 or if I am throwing a LAN party. My router/modem got four ports (one already occupaid by an Apple router(shitty thing but better than modem and got AC wireless)) and the length to my room is about 15m (45 feet) so I dont want to lay 4+ cables when I only need to use one.

 

I ran the ping command(to my modems IP) in CMD to test the different solutions

 

A cable from modem to my computer;                                    stable from 14-15ms

A cable to my adapter to my router to my modem/router:              unstabel 20+ms

The Powerline thing right into my computer and the modem;        unstable 80+ms

 

The 6mbps(we recently got it doubled from 3) internet is the best we can get where I live and very stable compared to 4G witch is about 20mbps+

 

I have ordered the Netgear GS308 and getting that soon

Just ask, I properly know something about it. And I know my member title is wrong they just can't spell cookie right

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I am getting a switch not only because I currently use wireless but I also want other stuff in my room to get wired like my xbox 360 or if I am throwing a LAN party. My router/modem got four ports (one already occupaid by an Apple router(shitty thing but better than modem and got AC wireless)) and the length to my room is about 15m (45 feet) so I dont want to lay 4+ cables when I only need to use one.

 

I ran the ping command(to my modems IP) in CMD to test the different solutions

 

A cable from modem to my computer;                                    stable from 14-15ms

A cable to my adapter to my router to my modem/router:              unstabel 20+ms

The Powerline thing right into my computer and the modem;        unstable 80+ms

 

The 6mbps(we recently got it doubled from 3) internet is the best we can get where I live and very stable compared to 4G witch is about 20mbps+

 

I have ordered the Netgear GS308 and getting that soon

Yeah the Powerline connections are directly related to the quality of your electrical in the house. Shitty, or even old electrical can really screw up the stability and speed of the connection.

 

Looks like your best course of action is to take one ethernet cable (I suggest Cat5e or Cat6, over the 15m distance) from your router, into your room, connecting to the Switch, which then will route to your various devices (XBox, Computer, spare ports for LAN parties, etc). That will only have one cable going to your room instead of 2-4+ cables.

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I am getting a switch not only because I currently use wireless but I also want other stuff in my room to get wired like my xbox 360 or if I am throwing a LAN party. My router/modem got four ports (one already occupaid by an Apple router(shitty thing but better than modem and got AC wireless)) and the length to my room is about 15m (45 feet) so I dont want to lay 4+ cables when I only need to use one.

 

I ran the ping command(to my modems IP) in CMD to test the different solutions

 

A cable from modem to my computer;                                    stable from 14-15ms

A cable to my adapter to my router to my modem/router:              unstabel 20+ms

The Powerline thing right into my computer and the modem;        unstable 80+ms

 

The 6mbps(we recently got it doubled from 3) internet is the best we can get where I live and very stable compared to 4G witch is about 20mbps+

 

I have ordered the Netgear GS308 and getting that soon

 

You're seeing 15ms latency when pinging your modem whilst directly connected? That seems rather high...

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You're seeing 15ms latency when pinging your modem whilst directly connected? That seems rather high...

Yeah you've got a point there. I have the following setup:

 

Cable Modem -> Router -> Gigabit Switch -> PC

 

And I'm getting less than 1ms ping. Something in your network @Grega216 is causing pretty heavy delays. Can you describe every piece of equipment from the PC to the internet? What motherboard/chipset/lan are you using?

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your right @dalekphalm. a 15ms latency on a direct connection Modem - PC ? that is not right.

 

@Grega216 please give us more info.

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I used the ping command in CMD with max amount of bytes(65500) to make it use a bit more bandwith (task manger says it uses 0.5mb/s send/recive)

Just ask, I properly know something about it. And I know my member title is wrong they just can't spell cookie right

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