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Gigabit network w/ 100mb router

B

BD2003

Lifer
I'd like to keep my current router (tomatoed linksys), but I'd prefer a much faster transfer speed between my local computers.

Cable Modem
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100 mb Router
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Gigabit Switch 1 ----> Desktops in room 1
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Gigabit Switch 2 ---> Server/HTPC/Consoles in Living room

Since all of the PCs are within the gigabit segment of the network, will they be able to retain the higher connection even though there's a 100mb router at the "head" of the network?
 
No problems at all. But if you use jumbo frames on the gigabit some applications might not function correctly across the internet.
 
Originally posted by: spidey07
No problems at all. But if you use jumbo frames on the gigabit some applications might not function correctly across the internet.
Click to expand...

Any particular examples? I'm not expecting to hit anywhere near 1000mbps - I'd really just like network transfers to be able to reach 30-50MB a second rather than the 9MB/s or so they top out at now. Are jumbo frames really necessary?

I'll be using two of these for the switches - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817111480.

Would the consoles running at 10 or 100mbit have any effect on the overall speed - IE will the fact that a 100mbps connection exists in the gigabit part of the network drop that entire switch down to 100mbps, or is each port independent?

And given that I dont hope to reach anywhere near 100MB/sec, could I possibly get away with the standard Cat5 cables I'm using now, or would it just automatically drop down to 100mbit or cause problems if I try without Cat5e or Cat6?

And one last question - should flow control be on or off?
 
Nah, Jumbo frame contribution is rather small when using Windows Client OS and Entry Level Devices.

CAT5e and CAT6, are rated for Giga, CAT5 is not.

I would not take the risk of using CAT5 since it might appear that it is working, but you can end up unexpectedly with corrupt transfers.

Jumbo or No jumbo expect transfers of 30 to 40MB/sec. It is rare to get above 40MB/sec. using Entry Level Giga.
 
funny; I was just about to post a new topic on this exact question.. I'm going to be using 2 PC's that have gigabit ports, and the wireless g of my router.

so for me its

cable modem --> 100mbit wifi 802.11g router --> 5 port gigabit switch (for the 2 PC's) and I'm just using the wifi from my router for a laptop.
--- I just want to be able to stream hd quality videos from one pc to another without having to buffer

I'm guessing that should all be ok.. but if I can find a decent wireless router with 4 gigabit ports for ~100ish dollars i'd go for that option.. but I need the stability to be there; I'm tired of having consumer aimed routers crapping out all the time... but I don't want to dish out $150 - 200 for a high end "N" router.. wireless G is just fine for me for now.. at least until N is out of beta.
 
Originally posted by: JackMDS
Nah, Jumbo frame contribution is rather small when using Windows Client OS and Entry Level Devices.

CAT5e and CAT6, are rated for Giga, CAT5 is not.

I would not take the risk of using CAT5 since it might appear that it is working, but you can end up unexpectedly with corrupt transfers.

Jumbo or No jumbo expect transfers of 30 to 40MB/sec. It is rare to get above 40MB/sec. using Entry Level Giga.
Click to expand...

Alright then, a few more noob questions:

Would it be safe to continue to use Cat 5 for those connections which wont go over 100mbit? (consoles, cable modem ---> router, etc).

And related - say I'm on xbox live and data is trickling down at 20kb/sec on a 100mbit connection to one of the switches. If I were to then begin a file transfer from one PC to another that goes over that switch, can they maintain a gigabit connection to each other despite the 100mbit connection active on that switch?

In other words, is the connection speed determined by the weakest link on a particular switch, or the weakest link between one PC and another, no matter what else is going on within the switches, routers, other PCs, etc?

I'm obviously not much of a networking guru. When I first found out that a switch required *zero* configuration it blew my mind a little bit - so I should expect the same with two switches? Zero configuration, as far as the router can tell, it's a 20-port?

I've never used one before - does gigabit at 30MB a second feel "local" enough to feasibly use my server as a single centralized storage for pictures, music, downloads, etc? Right now I'm mirroring files to my desktops because the 100mbit connection feels ever so slightly less responsive.

And finally - is the 30-40mb limitation per connection, or is it some sort of physical or device limitation? Assuming HD speed wasnt an issue, would a single server be able to simultaneously maintain 30mb/sec to two separate PCs, or would each connection drop down to ~ 15mb/sec?
 
Thanks for the tips Jack MDS and pugh I will look into those options.

@bd2003: afaik, you should not have to worry about using some ports for 100mbit and others for 1000mbit, with a switch this should be fine.. as I remember the days of using 10mb vs 100mb in the switch and not having any problems.. so I think you should be in the clear as far as that goes..

and as for configuration yes you are correct just run an uplink from the switch to the router port and you should be good to go.
 
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/bd2003/network.jpg

This is what I'm considering right now for the setup. Everything look good, or any obvious issues or things I should consider changing?

Would the link between the router and the first switch be fine with cat5/100mbit, or should I make it Cat 6 because it'll be "routing" data to some of the gigabit PCs?
 
Originally posted by: JackMDS
Nah, Jumbo frame contribution is rather small when using Windows Client OS and Entry Level Devices.

CAT5e and CAT6, are rated for Giga, CAT5 is not.

I would not take the risk of using CAT5 since it might appear that it is working, but you can end up unexpectedly with corrupt transfers.

Jumbo or No jumbo expect transfers of 30 to 40MB/sec. It is rare to get above 40MB/sec. using Entry Level Giga.
Click to expand...

I agree Cat5E is needed.
I got a 64.5MB/s read yesterday. from my server. But my setup is anything but Entry Level.

As long as all of your moving files to another gig computer it will do fine. Doesn't matter if there is a 10/100 device on it, as long as your not moving to or from it.

And that network diagram looks good.
 
Originally posted by: NickOlsen8390
Originally posted by: JackMDS
Originally posted by: NickOlsen8390
And that network diagram looks good.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Wait, Spoke to soon.
On that second switch you have 6 devices on it counting the uplink. And i the links i have seen say you are using a 2, 5 port switches.
Click to expand...

My mistake, I mislinked. I'm using one of these 8-port switches right now, plan to add another.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817111479
 
Regarding jumbo frames - as far as I can tell, this is set on a NIC-by-NIC basis, so I assume I'll want to turn that on for the gigabit enabled PCs, and this shouldnt adversely affect the other PCs? This particular PC gives me the option of 1514, 4088 or 9014 bytes. Bigger is better?

Also, should flow control generally be on or off?

Is there any advantage to using Cat6 vs. Cat5e?

And is there any purpose to using IPv6 on my home network, or should I just disable it?

 
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