Bandwidth

[Nikaiwolf]

Im looking to get more bandwidth from my main server into my network. My main server runs plex for a group of 15 people as a well as a minecraft server (e3-1245v3 16gb RAM) its currently connected to my network over a cat 6 line. Should i look into spf into a new router/switch or get a 4 port gigabit ethernet card and run 4 cables to my switch? Price range is limited to under 150$ which should i do and what would i need?

[Oshino Shinobu]

If you just want to allow multiple devices to max out their 1Gbps connection to the server, then either a 10Gbps SFP+ uplink or multiple connections with LACP would work. 

 

Which is cheaper really depends on what equipment you currently have. If you have a managed switch that supports LACP already, then going for a 4 port NIC would make sense. 

 

If not, a 1000BASE-T switch with SFP+ 10Gbps uplink(s) would allow more devices to max out their connection, though will likely be more expensive (likely more than $150). Cables for SFP+ can be fairly expensive too. 

[Nikaiwolf]

23 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

If you just want to allow multiple devices to max out their 1Gbps connection to the server, then either a 10Gbps SFP+ uplink or multiple connections with LACP would work. 

 

Which is cheaper really depends on what equipment you currently have. If you have a managed switch that supports LACP already, then going for a 4 port NIC would make sense. 

 

If not, a 1000BASE-T switch with SFP+ 10Gbps uplink(s) would allow more devices to max out their connection, though will likely be more expensive (likely more than $150). Cables for SFP+ can be fairly expensive too. 

What would a reasonable LACP switch example be? Id need roughly 8 ports

[Levisallanon]

Could you give an overview of the whole network? Looking at the usecase you describe it doesn't sound like the network interface of the server is the problem. Sounds to me like there is a bottleneck somewhere else.

[Oshino Shinobu]

14 hours ago, Nikaiwolf said:

What would a reasonable LACP switch example be? Id need roughly 8 ports

To be honest, pretty much any managed switch with LACP support (most managed switches will support it) from a known brand such as Netgear, TP-Link and such will handle SOHO usage just fine. 

 

It can be worth looking on eBay for some used Cisco switches. They come up fairly often, though they're normally 24 ports+

[Oshino Shinobu]

3 hours ago, Levisallanon said:

Could you give an overview of the whole network? Looking at the usecase you describe it doesn't sound like the network interface of the server is the problem. Sounds to me like there is a bottleneck somewhere else.

A single gigabit link to 15 users is definitely the issue. Won't take much to max out that connection spread across that many devices 

[beersykins]

1 hour ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

A single gigabit link to 15 users is definitely the issue. Won't take much to max out that connection spread across that many devices 

Debatable, Plex and Minecraft don't suck up that much bandwidth, even with a gigabit you have ~65 Mbps per user as dedicated bandwidth. It's impossible to 'definitely the issue' without any observable performance metrics.

 

OP what does your network look like?  I assume these users are remote/internet?

[Falconevo]

Game servers literally user KB/s in data transfer between clients.  If it's maxing out a 1Gbit connection then something isn't right.

Have you logged in to the server and performed a check on the current and average network utilisation?  I've run game servers in the past and they use absolutely no bandwidth.

[Nikaiwolf]

 im also trying to get a personal website going as well and a cloud server (own cloud, still trying to figure out how to set up on server 2016) on the same server. I have 1Gbit in my own network. And users will be remote for plex and the cloud once i get it working. Website is for remote access to cloud and maybe add a function to let users upload their own movies into the plex directory. Movies on plex are 1080p and 4k.

My mobo does have a dual nic.

[beersykins]

44 minutes ago, Nikaiwolf said:

And users will be remote for plex and the cloud once i get it working.

You'll be more limited by that than the local connection within your own network. 

[Nikaiwolf]

How would the Quanta LB4M switch worth purchase? @Falconevo found it for a reasonable price online

[Falconevo]

2 hours ago, Nikaiwolf said:

How would the Quanta LB4M switch worth purchase? @Falconevo found it for a reasonable price online

I have never used one personally so I couldn't really comment.  If you only need layer2 functionality then it is probably just fine, if you want anything done layer3 on the switch its going to be unlikely.