Advice on gigabit switches for a home network

MysticalRain

I'm looking around for a gigabit switch for a home network (any suggestions welcome). Anyway, I have found this which listed below which looks like it will do the trick:
NETGEAR ProSafe GS108
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=315249

This probably seems like a silly question, but the question I have is how exactly will this interact with my existing ethernet Eircom router? Can I just simply plug my Eircom router into one of the ports on the switch and have it work?

Auvers

MysticalRain wrote: »

Can I just simply plug my Eircom router into one of the ports on the switch and have it work?

yep Router goes into switch and then switch to your home networked PCs

Syquus

That model you selected will do it.

The main feature to take into account is the multi-speed/port on the switch.

Cheaper/older switches link all the ports to the slower one.
But that model ps will link 10mb on your eircom router connection, and 1gbps on your glan adapters.


Regards

MysticalRain

Thanks guys.

MysticalRain

On second thoughts, perhaps I might be better off ditching my Eircom router altogether and going with a third-party one that supports Gigabit ethernet. Perhaps something like this D-Link. It doesn't have quite as many ports as I would like, but it looks like it would do the trick.

Syquus

MysticalRain wrote: »

On second thoughts, perhaps I might be better off ditching my Eircom router altogether and going with a third-party one that supports Gigabit ethernet. Perhaps something like this D-Link. It doesn't have quite as many ports as I would like, but it looks like it would do the trick.

Yeah, the DIR-655 Isn't a bad router, but remember it's a neutral router. that means it doesn't have a DSL adapter (RJ11) so yo will still need your eircom device.

If you are seeking on that high-range routers mixing:

• DSL access
• Gigabit switching
• Wireless

Then I'll suggest you to take a look on Linksys products, like this one

Anyway, I'll always use a VERY ROBUST router, no matter if it can be attached directly to your telephone line or not. The dsl task (with your eircom router in bridge mode) can be very reliable as it's a very simple taks, and then you deliver all the important stuff on your "brand new XXX€ router" (Dlink, Linksys...)

Re-think about what you really need!

Cheers

Capt'n Midnight

your eircom router is 10/100 which means it's operating at 100mb on the wired connection, wireless depends on the signal and could be as low as 1mb !

but if you have any decent wireless signal then the eircom router will be faster than your broadband - key point here is that if your home network is only used for broadband the 1Gb is just a waste of money since the bottleneck is not the ericom router. if you are sharing between computers on the home network then as posted above you just plug the eircom router into one of the ports and it will run happily at 100mb

MysticalRain

I understand the differences in speed. Wireless I don't even use. The reason I'm opting for gigabit ethernet is because I transfer a lot of HD content across the network from my main PC to my HTPC. That and the fact that I was running out of ethernet ports for all my devices.

In the end I got the netgear switch and it works fine with my Eircom modem. The only downside was that it came with a French plug even though I ordered it from Amazon.co.uk. It would have been too expensive to return the item, so I bought a UK/Ireland plug off eBay as a replacement.

BaconZombie

That technical illegal under EU law for Amazon to supply that fitting...

MysticalRain wrote: »

I understand the differences in speed. Wireless I don't even use. The reason I'm opting for gigabit ethernet is because I transfer a lot of HD content across the network from my main PC to my HTPC. That and the fact that I was running out of ethernet ports for all my devices.

In the end I got the netgear switch and it works fine with my Eircom modem. The only downside was that it came with a French plug even though I ordered it from Amazon.co.uk. It would have been too expensive to return the item, so I bought a UK/Ireland plug off eBay as a replacement.

MysticalRain

It was sold on Amazon via a third-party company - www.pc-look.com When I complained, they told me that a UK adapter should have shipped with it. But of course there was no such adapter to be found in the box when it arrived.

Yakuza

I have few of these in the house, one of which is connected to my Eircom Netopia, the 1GB is nice for streaming video to my PS3, or copying files between PCs. It won't affect your broadband of course, but if you have a few PCs at home, you'll notice the difference over 100Mbs in your network. I also have that 655 router (but I just use it as a switch / access point) as I get 130Mbs with it on 801.11n wireless. It covers pretty much the entire house. My Netopia is an old 3347, so it only has 11b.

Most of the stuff I buy from Komplett seems to have the european 2-pin plug, but they throw in a 3-pin converter (but the resultant combination is an awkward shape if you're using a power strip).

Cluster

MysticalRain wrote: »

I'm looking around for a gigabit switch for a home network (any suggestions welcome). Anyway, I have found this which listed below which looks like it will do the trick:
NETGEAR ProSafe GS108
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=315249

This probably seems like a silly question, but the question I have is how exactly will this interact with my existing ethernet Eircom router? Can I just simply plug my Eircom router into one of the ports on the switch and have it work?

Sorry, your router wont be able to handle Gigabit. Is it a netopia?

I doubt you have gigabit speeds coming into the house. Do you?

If I'm wrong I apologize.