Multiple Ethernet lines from one computer?

[Sir_Awesome]

I am a bit of a networking noob so any insight here would be appreciated. Will running two Ethernet lines from a computer to a switch benefit performance? My guess would be that it would make it more stable to transfer say files around my home network machines also connected to the switch while also still being able to say download files from the internet over the other line at the same time but I have no idea so let me know

[thekeemo]

If the ports support teaming and you have other systems in your LAN that are also teamed and you are transferring files between them sure.

[dricha36]

2 minutes ago, Sir_Awesome said:

I am a bit of a networking noob so any insight here would be appreciated. Will running two Ethernet lines from a computer to a switch benefit performance? My guess would be that it would make it more stable to transfer say files around my home network machines also connected to the switch while also still being able to say download files from the internet over the other line at the same time but I have no idea so let me know

You can add a second network card to your computer to obtain more than one ethernet port, and "team" these interfaces together to increase your network bandwidth with various pieces of software. This type of setup is more geared towards servers though, and can be somewhat difficult to setup for a novice. 

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

Yup, what those guys said ^^^

Also remember you'll want a smart / managed switch to support teaming to really get the most of this setup.

[henrikfraannk]

Futhermore if you are running microsoft, they removed the feature to actually team the nics together.. Very stupid, and a problem i have been dealing with a lot. Currently not possible if you are running the newest windows 10.

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

15 minutes ago, henrikfraannk said:

Futhermore if you are running microsoft, they removed the feature to actually team the nics together.. Very stupid, and a problem i have been dealing with a lot. Currently not possible if you are running the newest windows 10.

I literally just did it in Windows 10 to see if you were right. It worked lol.

[henrikfraannk]

2 minutes ago, Jacktastic-Mofo said:

I literally just did it in Windows 10 to see if you were right. It worked lol.

I would like to know how you did then?

[dricha36]

7 minutes ago, henrikfraannk said:

I would like to know how you did then?

Are you referring to Microsoft's own NIC teaming like in Server 2012? Or software-based teaming like in software from BroadCom?

[henrikfraannk]

7 minutes ago, dricha36 said:

Are you referring to Microsoft's own NIC teaming like in Server 2012? Or software-based teaming like in software from BroadCom?

I am refering to Microsoft's own NIC teaming, which as you can read in this thread has been removed in 10: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/66166918-5b67-4754-89e5-a2572b1888a2/nic-teaming-failed-build-10568-windows-10?forum=win10itpronetworking

 

I havent been able to create a NIC team from windows. Also i cant use intels own software to team my nics, as this feature relies on the windows functionality. As i install the software, it simply says it is not possible to use this feature, as windows has removed the feature.

 

I am not sure it will work with software from broadcom, as i have intel hardware.

 

On the other hand, i know i can BRIDGE the two connections, which is NOT the same as TEAMING nics. Quote from overclockers.net: " Bridging is usually used when you wish to combine two network connections, but not necessarily have them doing the same task (an example is if you want a VM to appear as a real machine on your network). You can bridge the VM's software NIC (if it has one) with a physical card giving it direct access to then LAN (rather than doing NAT)

It does make the computer see them as 1, but they'll only have one connection to the LAN/Internet.

Now on to teaming.

Teaming is quite different than bridging in the fact that the two network cards will be performing the same task. It is used for increasing LAN bandwidth, usually on servers. "

 

If i am missing something, i would like to know how to TEAM my nics, but i dont think i do. I have really studied this topic a lot!

[Enderman]

no

unless you have gigabit ethernet and want to use one cable for ethernet and one to connect to your other PCs, the two cables will just be redundant connection

[vanished]

I might ask myself in your situation if even trying this is worth it.  Do you transfer a lot of large files around all the time?  Because gigabit ethernet should already get you a good 100 to 125 MB/s transfer speed.  Is doubling that going to really matter to you?  Consider that if you do double it, you will likely exceed the read and write speeds of the HDD on one or both sides of the transfer, making that a new bottleneck in the setup.

[Gerr]

NIC teaming isn't as helpful to make your connection faster as much as it's better in allowing multiple connections to said PC, which is why you don't see it much on client PC's but see it a lot on servers.  Plus the switches that support it are expensive and usually are loud corporate DC models.