Looking to add a switch to my network, advice needed

ZEBuckeye81 · July 19, 2016

Hi guys, as the subject says, I'm looking to add a switch to my network and am in need of some advice

I have a pretty rudimentary home network currently, running off of a Netgear JNR3210 which is fed by my Motorola SB6141. Both of these are in my family room, along with my TV and home theater etc. On top of wifi connected devices, I also have the following hard wired - my desktop, one TV, PS4, and my Qnap NAS. I recently bought a Steam link, and this brought the need for one more ethernet port, which is what led me to begin looking at switches.

I am trying to get the most for my money, and although I don't truly understand most of the technology that is possible with adding a switch, after reading about managed switches and the benefits I believe that is the route I'd like to go as it would provide me with a high level of control over connections as well as get the best transfer speeds when it comes to say transferring large amounts of data from my PC to the Qnap. (not to mention I see it as an opportunity to learn more about networking)

I have been looking at a couple of TP-Link switches, the TL - SG2008 and the TL-SG108e. It seems as though for not much more money the 2008 offers more bang for the buck, plus the fact that it has a Web interface versus the 108s Windows only interface.

With that being said, I am absolutely open to recommendations, however I also wish to stay well under $100 if possible. 8 ports would be adequate.

Also I am trying to figure out the best way to route everything, should I basically run the cable from the modem to the switch, then plug everything else, including the router, which at this point would only be utilized for the WiFi? Or would I need to run the switch downstream of the router? This is new territory for me, so please don't be too hard on me lol

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Oh and on a side note I have a barely used TP-Link N600 TL-WDR3500 that my dad had extra and passed on to me, kind of curious if this would be a good step up from my current Netgear.

tt2468 · July 19, 2016

13 hours ago, ZEBuckeye81 said:

Hi guys, as the subject says, I'm looking to add a switch to my network and am in need of some advice

I have a pretty rudimentary home network currently, running off of a Netgear JNR3210 which is fed by my Motorola SB6141. Both of these are in my family room, along with my TV and home theater etc. On top of wifi connected devices, I also have the following hard wired - my desktop, one TV, PS4, and my Qnap NAS. I recently bought a Steam link, and this brought the need for one more ethernet port, which is what led me to begin looking at switches.

I am trying to get the most for my money, and although I don't truly understand most of the technology that is possible with adding a switch, after reading about managed switches and the benefits I believe that is the route I'd like to go as it would provide me with a high level of control over connections as well as get the best transfer speeds when it comes to say transferring large amounts of data from my PC to the Qnap. (not to mention I see it as an opportunity to learn more about networking)

I have been looking at a couple of TP-Link switches, the TL - SG2008 and the TL-SG108e. It seems as though for not much more money the 2008 offers more bang for the buck, plus the fact that it has a Web interface versus the 108s Windows only interface.

With that being said, I am absolutely open to recommendations, however I also wish to stay well under $100 if possible. 8 ports would be adequate.

Also I am trying to figure out the best way to route everything, should I basically run the cable from the modem to the switch, then plug everything else, including the router, which at this point would only be utilized for the WiFi? Or would I need to run the switch downstream of the router? This is new territory for me, so please don't be too hard on me lol

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Oh and on a side note I have a barely used TP-Link N600 TL-WDR3500 that my dad had extra and passed on to me, kind of curious if this would be a good step up from my current Netgear.

Why not get an unmanaged switch? You don't need a managed switch for your task. The managed switches are for things like vlans and LAG, which you have no reason to use.

dalekphalm · July 19, 2016

14 hours ago, ZEBuckeye81 said:

Hi guys, as the subject says, I'm looking to add a switch to my network and am in need of some advice

I have a pretty rudimentary home network currently, running off of a Netgear JNR3210 which is fed by my Motorola SB6141. Both of these are in my family room, along with my TV and home theater etc. On top of wifi connected devices, I also have the following hard wired - my desktop, one TV, PS4, and my Qnap NAS. I recently bought a Steam link, and this brought the need for one more ethernet port, which is what led me to begin looking at switches.

I am trying to get the most for my money, and although I don't truly understand most of the technology that is possible with adding a switch, after reading about managed switches and the benefits I believe that is the route I'd like to go as it would provide me with a high level of control over connections as well as get the best transfer speeds when it comes to say transferring large amounts of data from my PC to the Qnap. (not to mention I see it as an opportunity to learn more about networking)

I have been looking at a couple of TP-Link switches, the TL - SG2008 and the TL-SG108e. It seems as though for not much more money the 2008 offers more bang for the buck, plus the fact that it has a Web interface versus the 108s Windows only interface.

With that being said, I am absolutely open to recommendations, however I also wish to stay well under $100 if possible. 8 ports would be adequate.

Also I am trying to figure out the best way to route everything, should I basically run the cable from the modem to the switch, then plug everything else, including the router, which at this point would only be utilized for the WiFi? Or would I need to run the switch downstream of the router? This is new territory for me, so please don't be too hard on me lol

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Oh and on a side note I have a barely used TP-Link N600 TL-WDR3500 that my dad had extra and passed on to me, kind of curious if this would be a good step up from my current Netgear.

Hi!

This is the setup you're going to need:

<=Cable line coming in=>Modem<=Ethernet Cable=>WAN Port on Router=/=Port #1 on Router<=Ethernet Cable=>Switch Port #1

So basically, the Coax Cable coming in, gets connected to the SB6141. The SB6141 then has an Ethernet Cable output, which is connected into the WAN Port of your Netgear Router. Then, you connect Port #1 (Technically, any of the #1-#4 ports will work) of the Netgear Router into Port #1 on the Switch (Again, technically, any port can be used).

You need the Router in between the Switch and Modem. The Router provides NAT (Network Address Translation), which takes the single IP Address your ISP gives you (called the WAN IP Address), and translates that into the many IP Addresses that your devices use locally. The Router is what creates the "LAN" (Local Area Network), that all of your devices operate on.

I would suggest plugging all of your ethernet devices into the Switch, also, rather than splitting them up between the switch and the router. It keeps it organized better, and it also provides benefits in regards to internal file sharing between devices on the switch.

As for Managed vs Unmanaged switch? I mean, it depends on your needs. 99% of people don't require a Managed Switch. It won't really give you any performance boosts over an unmanaged one (except in some very specific cases). It will allow you to control devices on the port level, and configure things like custom routing and you can probably also force lower speeds, etc, but for home use, it's generally not needed.

With that in mind? If you're keen to learn about Networking, then sure, go for it. Grab a managed switch and play around with it.