Ethernet switch or new router?

[Mr.Lonewalker]

Hi, my name is WolfLonewalker.

 

I have a somewhat big problem when it comes to my internet connection.

I currently have a Cisco Linksys E2500 in my home connected to a modem with only 1 Ethernet port. And as you might know the router is a 100Mb router and that gives me some problems.

My internet connection is a 150Mb up 150Mb down and the router is not able to utilize that connection so i was thinking to purchase a Gigabit router, but when it came down to it i saw that a Gigabit Switch was better in my case because i have more use for that in the future than i have use for a router. I mainly want to connect directly, and can use my PC at some point as access point.

 

But i was looking through the internet for a bit and found no one else than my self wanted to use a switch in the same way as i wanted to. They all are using it where first comes the modem, then comes the router, and then comes the switch and all of the devices, but in my case that would limit my internet connection to a maximum of 100Mb because the only cable coming out of the modem hits a max 100Mb port and then limits the speed to that port which is 100mb.

And that simply isn't good enough. I need my computers Ethernet controller to register that it is connected to a 1Gigabit connection or faster which i will mention why later.

 

Now to the way i want to set it up. I want to have the Switch connected directly to the modem through port 1, then have my computer through port 2 and the router going through port 5 because from what I've seen so far port 5 might be for a router or a device similar to that. But I'm not sure if the router will still function as it would when it's directly connected to the modem.

And if you need to know what switch I'm currently settled on to purchase is either the TP-Link TL-SG108 (8 ports) or the TP-Link TL-SG105 (5 ports) so you know what i have to work with, and the fifth port on the SG105 seems to be for something more special like a router.

 

Now I'm going back to the part of why i need my Ethernet controller to register a Gigabit connection.

The reason for that is simple if you think about it, i have a 150 Mb/s up and 150Mb/s down but my router is limiting it to a 100Mb/s up and 100Mb/s down which is fine for normal use and as the standard for me to use until i get something else so i can have that 150Mb/s up 150Mb/s down, and i do get that just not exactly because the router sucks a little bit of speed out of the full available, so it's effectively 94Mb/s up and 93Mb/s down, and i most certainly do get that.

Though the biggest problem comes up when downloading from certain sites or programs, like steam for instance. When downloading software or games through steam which i do way to often i want to to be as fast as possible, and you know an 90Mb/s 90Mb/s is pretty fast, and is a nice connection to have. That is if steam actually allowed their service to use the full speed that is available. Steam for some reason limits the max download speed to around 60% of what the max registered connection is for your Ethernet controller, and your Ethernet controller limit's it self to the max connection that comes from the router, and in my case that would be a max of 100Mb/s up and down.

That then tells it's own story and says that Steam will not be able to download more than around 60Mb/s at max, but then remember that the router steals some of the speed and that makes me able to get around 55Mb/s when it's stable.

And that annoys me a lot, because that is around 1GB of something every 5 minutes on steam, and i can't have it like that when i know i can do a little bit of stuff and have it as 1GB every minute, so therefore i would need my Ethernet

controller to register a Gigabit connection. Don't ask why I'm not good at saying something in a shorter way or form. But that is a big problem i have with Steam, and i use it a lot.

 

So again, if anyone gets lost in the text here, don't worry if you did, i sure did while writing it. But in short i want to be sure if i can set it up where the modem is first, then the switch and connected to that switch will be the router and the rest of the devices.

I'm aware that if i connect the devices in that way my PC which will be connected to the switch will not have the security and the same network properties as the router sends out to the rest of the devices, and I'm also aware that i might need to put in an IP address for my PC myself.

The only thing I'm interested is if the router will still work as it would be if i connected it directly to the modem as it is now.

 

 

                                                                               |--- My PC           

Setup wanted to be used:   Modem > Switch >  --- |----Router > Devices connected to router like phones and other wireless devices

                                                                               |--- Other devices if needed like second computer

 

Don't know how good other people will think if this little illustration and if others will be able to read it. I don't know if they will.

 

If you need any information for you being able to answer just ask, I'm more than willing to give you all information needed without compromising my own security.

 

And also if you need any pictures of something other than cats even though i have 5, just ask.

[Skiiwee29]

5 minutes ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

Hi, my name is WolfLonewalker.

 

I have a somewhat big problem when it comes to my internet connection.

I currently have a Cisco Linksys E2500 in my home connected to a modem with only 1 Ethernet port. And as you might know the router is a 100Mb router and that gives me some problems.

My internet connection is a 150Mb up 150Mb down and the router is not able to utilize that connection so i was thinking to purchase a Gigabit router, but when it came down to it i saw that a Gigabit Switch was better in my case because i have more use for that in the future than i have use for a router. I mainly want to connect directly, and can use my PC at some point as access point.

 

But i was looking through the internet for a bit and found no one else than my self wanted to use a switch in the same way as i wanted to. They all are using it where first comes the modem, then comes the router, and then comes the switch and all of the devices, but in my case that would limit my internet connection to a maximum of 100Mb because the only cable coming out of the modem hits a max 100Mb port and then limits the speed to that port which is 100mb.

And that simply isn't good enough. I need my computers Ethernet controller to register that it is connected to a 1Gigabit connection or faster which i will mention why later.

 

Now to the way i want to set it up. I want to have the Switch connected directly to the modem through port 1, then have my computer through port 2 and the router going through port 5 because from what I've seen so far port 5 might be for a router or a device similar to that. But I'm not sure if the router will still function as it would when it's directly connected to the modem.

And if you need to know what switch I'm currently settled on to purchase is either the TP-Link TL-SG108 (8 ports) or the TP-Link TL-SG105 (5 ports) so you know what i have to work with, and the fifth port on the SG105 seems to be for something more special like a router.

 

Now I'm going back to the part of why i need my Ethernet controller to register a Gigabit connection.

The reason for that is simple if you think about it, i have a 150 Mb/s up and 150Mb/s down but my router is limiting it to a 100Mb/s up and 100Mb/s down which is fine for normal use and as the standard for me to use until i get something else so i can have that 150Mb/s up 150Mb/s down, and i do get that just not exactly because the router sucks a little bit of speed out of the full available, so it's effectively 94Mb/s up and 93Mb/s down, and i most certainly do get that.

Though the biggest problem comes up when downloading from certain sites or programs, like steam for instance. When downloading software or games through steam which i do way to often i want to to be as fast as possible, and you know an 90Mb/s 90Mb/s is pretty fast, and is a nice connection to have. That is if steam actually allowed their service to use the full speed that is available. Steam for some reason limits the max download speed to around 60% of what the max registered connection is for your Ethernet controller, and your Ethernet controller limit's it self to the max connection that comes from the router, and in my case that would be a max of 100Mb/s up and down.

That then tells it's own story and says that Steam will not be able to download more than around 60Mb/s at max, but then remember that the router steals some of the speed and that makes me able to get around 55Mb/s when it's stable.

And that annoys me a lot, because that is around 1GB of something every 5 minutes on steam, and i can't have it like that when i know i can do a little bit of stuff and have it as 1GB every minute, so therefore i would need my Ethernet

controller to register a Gigabit connection. Don't ask why I'm not good at saying something in a shorter way or form. But that is a big problem i have with Steam, and i use it a lot.

 

So again, if anyone gets lost in the text here, don't worry if you did, i sure did while writing it. But in short i want to be sure if i can set it up where the modem is first, then the switch and connected to that switch will be the router and the rest of the devices.

I'm aware that if i connect the devices in that way my PC which will be connected to the switch will not have the security and the same network properties as the router sends out to the rest of the devices, and I'm also aware that i might need to put in an IP address for my PC myself.

The only thing I'm interested is if the router will still work as it would be if i connected it directly to the modem as it is now.

 

 

                                                                               |--- My PC           

Setup wanted to be used:   Modem > Switch >  --- |----Router > Devices connected to router like phones and other wireless devices

                                                                               |--- Other devices if needed like second computer

 

Don't know how good other people will think if this little illustration and if others will be able to read it. I don't know if they will.

 

If you need any information for you being able to answer just ask, I'm more than willing to give you all information needed without compromising my own security.

 

And also if you need any pictures of something other than cats even though i have 5, just ask.

If you are going to get a switch, you will need to make sure its a layer 3 switch so you can route your IP's otherwise it will not work. Also, a switch by default will not allow you to setup a DHCP pool. A normal layer 2 only switch is not capable of having a DHCP pool setup or to NAT your IP addresses if you were to static them. You will be better off getting the gig router and putting a dummy gig switch behind it. 

[Mr.Lonewalker]

2 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

If you are going to get a switch, you will need to make sure its a layer 3 switch so you can route your IP's otherwise it will not work. Also, a switch by default will not allow you to setup a DHCP pool. A normal layer 2 only switch is not capable of having a DHCP pool setup or to NAT your IP addresses if you were to static them. You will be better off getting the gig router and putting a dummy gig switch behind it. 

Though won't putting a switch between your PC and the modem be the same as plugging your PC directly into the modem? When i in special occations need that 150 connection i just hook my PC directly up to my modem and it all works completely fine, i can play game surf the net and download files if i wanted to, and haven't met a problem with that. So won't it be the same for me if i do it that way.

 

Or are you talking about the router not being able to do it's thing?

[themctipers]

couldn't you Modem -> Router -> PC/Other devices?
The router's i've seen all have ethernet in and out.

[Mr.Lonewalker]

2 minutes ago, themctipers said:

couldn't you Modem -> Router -> PC/Other devices?
The router's i've seen all have ethernet in and out.

I could and that is what i currently have, but the Router limits my 150Mb/s connection down to a 100Mb/s connection.

[Skiiwee29]

9 minutes ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

Though won't putting a switch between your PC and the modem be the same as plugging your PC directly into the modem? When i in special occations need that 150 connection i just hook my PC directly up to my modem and it all works completely fine, i can play game surf the net and download files if i wanted to, and haven't met a problem with that. So won't it be the same for me if i do it that way.

 

Or are you talking about the router not being able to do it's thing?

No it wont. The modem only recognizes the device that is directly connected to it, in this case it would be the switch. The switch by itself has no way of routing or using NAT, or Network Address Translation. This is what takes your 192.168.X.X IP and translates it to the Public IP that your ISP assigns to you to allow you to reach the internet. 

[Mr.Lonewalker]

2 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

No it wont. The modem only recognizes the device that is directly connected to it, in this case it would be the switch. The switch by itself has no way of routing or using NAT, or Network Address Translation. This is what takes your 192.168.X.X IP and translates it to the Public IP that your ISP assigns to you to allow you to reach the internet. 

So what you are saying is that if i connect it in the way I'm thinking, none of the devices will have internet access at all, and will not work?

Or can you manually set it up in a way so it will work?

 

[Skiiwee29]

4 minutes ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

So what you are saying is that if i connect it in the way I'm thinking, none of the devices will have internet access at all, and will not work?

Or can you manually set it up in a way so it will work?

 

Correct, none will have internet connection because there is no DHCP pool to assign IP's to your devices and B, no NAT to translate the IPs to the Public to allow them to reach the internet. The only way around this is to code a layer 3 switch, or get a router and put a dummy switch behind it. This will still allow all the devices to pull a DHCP IP address from your router and let the router perform the NATing necessary to be able to reach the internet. 

 

The only way you can manually setup a switch to allow this would be to get a Layer 3 switch. Or a switch that has routing capabilities. These are generally expensive and more targeted at enterprise level customers and not your typical home user. 

[Mr.Lonewalker]

2 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

Correct, none will have internet connection because there is no DHCP pool to assign IP's to your devices and B, no NAT to translate the IPs to the Public to allow them to reach the internet. The only way around this is to code a layer 3 switch, or get a router and put a dummy switch behind it. This will still allow all the devices to pull a DHCP IP address from your router and let the router perform the NATing necessary to be able to reach the internet. 

 

The only way you can manually setup a switch to allow this would be to get a Layer 3 switch. Or a switch that has routing capabilities. These are generally expensive and more targeted at enterprise level customers and not your typical home user. 

Then what this "article" is trying to tell is a complete lie? Except if you get that layer 3 switch?

[Skiiwee29]

For instance at home in my setup I am as follows

 

ISP Cisco DCP3008 Cable modem > Netgear R7000 router> Netgear 8 port gigabit dummy switch for additional ports. If I were to remove that router and put my switch in place, I lose all internet connection. 

[Skiiwee29]

2 minutes ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

Then what this "article" is trying to tell is a complete lie? Except if you get that layer 3 switch?

Correct, the only way you can use a switch, is if it has routing capabilities, which is commonly referred to in our industry as a layer 3 switch.

[Mr.Lonewalker]

2 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

For instance at home in my setup I am as follows

 

ISP Cisco DCP3008 Cable modem > Netgear R7000 router> Netgear 8 port gigabit dummy switch for additional ports. If I were to remove that router and put my switch in place, I lose all internet connection. 

And did you test that with your own system, or did you get the knowledge off of the internet from a bucket of places, becuase other people on other internet sites says otherwise, btw sorry for forgetting to send link to that "article". https://techwalla.com/content/place-cable-modem-wireless-router

That's where.

[Skiiwee29]

1 minute ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

And did you test that with your own system, or did you get the knowledge off of the internet from a bucket of places, becuase other people on other internet sites says otherwise, btw sorry for forgetting to send link to that "article". https://techwalla.com/content/place-cable-modem-wireless-router

That's where.

I did test it yes.

[Mr.Lonewalker]

1 minute ago, legacy99 said:

I did test it yes.

Ok, then that means those results are your personal experience with those "devices" that you own, and might be different from what i have, though I'm not saying that's the case.

[Skiiwee29]

1 minute ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

Ok, then that means those results are your personal experience with those "devices" that you own, and might be different from what i have, though I'm not saying that's the case.

What type of switch do you have? I am a network Engineer so I deal with switches, routers, CMTS's, Fiber on a daily basis across the US. 

[Mr.Lonewalker]

2 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

I did test it yes.

And just to clarify, i do not in any way need the security or any form of connection to the routers shared network.

[Mr.Lonewalker]

1 minute ago, legacy99 said:

What type of switch do you have? I am a network Engineer so I deal with switches, routers, CMTS's, Fiber on a daily basis across the US. 

Ok, first of all i live in Denmark and here things is a little bit different in some ways.

Second of all, i currently do not have a switch at all, and if i did i would have gone on and tested it my self, but the one i would buy is the TP-Link LT-SG108, don't know if you know the specs or anything, but i will attach an image of them.

[Skiiwee29]

5 minutes ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

Ok, first of all i live in Denmark and here things is a little bit different in some ways.

Second of all, i currently do not have a switch at all, and if i did i would have gone on and tested it my self, but the one i would buy is the TP-Link LT-SG108, don't know if you know the specs or anything, but i will attach an image of them.

So that switch is unmanaged, meaning it is a dummy switch and will not be capable of layer 3 switching. 

[Mr.Lonewalker]

1 minute ago, legacy99 said:

So that switch is unmanaged, meaning it is a dummy switch and will not be capable of layer 3 switching. 

I already know that part of it, and i know that what your saying about DHCP is completely true, though i still have my thoughts on it. I just read a person setting it up in the same way as i want to do, and first the cable modem to the switch, then the first pc to the swicth. Works fine for that person. Then from the switch again to the router, but no internet connection to that router, and then that person begins asking for help about DHCP.

 

Here is what there is being said:

" Here's the deal, I have Atlantic Broadband, the cable comes in on the west side of the house. A wireless router in that room doesn't have the range to feed the whole house, our bedrooms are one the east side of the house. The only PC in the modem room is my desktop, used primarily for work / gaming so it needs good connectivity. I thought if I bought an ethernet switch I could solve my problem but it seems to be a little more complex than that.

I was planning on hooking the modem (Arris Cable Modem) to a Desktop Switch (TP-Link 5 Port). Then connect my PC to the switch, this works fine. Now for the Wireless Router (Linksys N300). I have a very very long cat5 cable and ran that to the middle of the house, one end to the switch and the other to the Wifi Router (duh). Our laptops can connect to the WiFi but no internet.

I was reading I had to change the IP settings on the Wifi and something about the DCHP? I'm a little lost.

Hope you folks can help me out. "

[Mr.Lonewalker]

5 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

So that switch is unmanaged, meaning it is a dummy switch and will not be capable of layer 3 switching. 

And we are working with the same Ethernet switch.

[Skiiwee29]

2 minutes ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

And we are working with the same Ethernet switch.

The thing with Arris Cable Modems, which is actually the ones we deploy exclusively, is that they are almost always wifi enabled, so they will be able to get DHCP through that. Does it state specifically what type of modem he has? CM820A, DG862, TM860 etc..? 

[Mr.Lonewalker]

2 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

The thing with Arris Cable Modems, which is actually the ones we deploy exclusively, is that they are almost always wifi enabled, so they will be able to get DHCP through that. Does it state specifically what type of modem he has? CM820A, DG862, TM860 etc..? 

No sorry, it does not state which one he has, and i can't find out which one I'm using either. I just a few minutes ago went into where it was and i didn't see anything other than the brand and a support phone number, which i usually find useless.

 

But i will see if i can look deeper into which one i have, and see if i can give a name on that. But the device i was talking about that was the same thing is the switch, not the modem.

[2FA]

15 minutes ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

Ok, first of all i live in Denmark and here things is a little bit different in some ways.

Second of all, i currently do not have a switch at all, and if i did i would have gone on and tested it my self, but the one i would buy is the TP-Link LT-SG108, don't know if you know the specs or anything, but i will attach an image of them.

 

The managed version of that switch has DHCP capabilities.

[Mr.Lonewalker]

11 minutes ago, legacy99 said:

The thing with Arris Cable Modems, which is actually the ones we deploy exclusively, is that they are almost always wifi enabled, so they will be able to get DHCP through that. Does it state specifically what type of modem he has? CM820A, DG862, TM860 etc..? 

I just went in to the modem again and checked something. If it has antennas or something that can be used to broadcast things like internet does it mean it is able to get DHCP?

[Skiiwee29]

2 minutes ago, Mr.Lonewalker said:

I just went in to the modem again and checked something. If it has antennas or something that can be used to broadcast things like internet does it mean it is able to get DHCP?

Yea, if it has antennas it likely has wifi built into it. Without knowing the exact model you have I couldnt tell you for sure. You should be able to go to 192.168.100.1 to login to your modem to view info on it.