Switches

[Factorvsky]

Hey,

I've been tasked with rebuilding our network and I have a question. What's better, having one switch for all the devices/access points, or having a few different switches?

[ProjectBox153]

If you can, just get one switch. This reduces clutter and stuff, but having multiple switches shouldn't cause too much issue.  

[Factorvsky]

Just now, Jamiec1130 said:

If you can, just get one switch. This reduces clutter and stuff, but having multiple switches shouldn't cause too much issue.  

I like the idea of multiple switches because it allows me to easily switch something out if it breaks. And because I'm moving to college soon, this will make it much easier for my parents to fix any issues that arise while I'm away

[ProjectBox153]

1 minute ago, mattbatc said:

I like the idea of multiple switches because it allows me to easily switch something out if it breaks. And because I'm moving to college soon, this will make it much easier for my parents to fix any issues that arise while I'm away

Oh, I see. That's fine then, just make sure you know how many ports are needed (and take into account the ones for the other witches) and get something decent. 

[Factorvsky]

Just now, Jamiec1130 said:

Oh, I see. That's fine then, just make sure you know how many ports are needed (and take into account the ones for the other witches) and get something decent. 

Thanks! Also, do you know of good cheap access points that handoff to the AP with the best connection? I'm looking to get 3 for about $100 total

[ProjectBox153]

3 minutes ago, mattbatc said:

Thanks! Also, do you know of good cheap access points that handoff to the AP with the best connection? I'm looking to get 3 for about $100 total

Sorry, I'm not too familiar with APs. I need to look into them though. 

[Factorvsky]

Just now, Jamiec1130 said:

Sorry, I'm not too familiar with APs. I need to look into them though. 

Okay, thanks anyways. Message me if you find anything!

[skywake]

In an ideal world you'd just use one switch that had all the functionality you needed and run a single cable from a central point to every device. Realistically that's not always possible or cost effective. So you might want one switch for 10Gbps, a different one with PoE, a different one again with a lot of Gigabit ports. Maybe you have one Ethernet run to an area where you now want to connect five devices. As long as you're aware of what bottlenecks you might create you should be fine. Especially for a residential setup.

[Belgiangurista]

I've never come across a problem with multiple (dumb) switches (Not hubs! there's a difference), but I've heard 5 (dumb) switches is about the maximum. But I think it all has to do with the processing speed of the switch: it just relays traffic by MAC addresses  to the right client. If it can't keep up, its processing speed isn't enough? 

 

I'm not sure, don't quote me on this.