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Looking for the best wired gigabit 8-port router

M

MasamuneXGP

Member
Greetings all. It seems like everyone in my house has their own computer now, and our current 4-port router isn't cutting it anymore. I'd like to upgrade to an 8-port, and since I plan on building a file server eventually, I'd like it to be gigabit. We already have cat5 cable running everywhere it needs to go, so there's no need for it to be wireless. Can someone recommend me a good one?

PS: I'm not really sure of the difference between routers, switches, and hubs, so I'm not sure I've got the terminology right. I want my transfer speeds from the file server to be fast and I want my torrents to be speedy, so I want whichever device can do that for me =p
 
First off, You would need cat5e (or cat6) cable. cat5 won't support gigabit.

You could get an 8 port gigabit switch and probably be all right.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833122111 I have one of these.. 55 A/R.

The router should hook into your highspeed modem of some sort, keep that and plug it into this new switch, and then from there hook up your computers...

 
Originally posted by: MasamuneXGP
I'm pretty sure the cable is cat5e, I wasn't aware there was a difference. Is there a way for me to tell?
Click to expand...

It will designate on the cable itself whether it is 5 or 5e, etc...
 
Okay, for the Netgear switch OoteR02 linked too, are you saying I would have to keep my existing router and plug that into this thing? I can't go right from my cable modem to the switch?
 
You can, but you won't have the benefit of being behind the firewall that the router provides (assuming it is in fact a router) What's the make/model on it?
 
it's a Linksys BEFSX41. I was kind of hoping to sell it after getting the switch to offset the cost, but I definitely don't want to sacrifice the firewall. Regardless, if I hook the router up to the switch, would I be able to use the other three router ports in addition to the switch ports? Obviously I the computers hooked up to the router ports wouldn't get gigabit connectivity, but not all the computers in my house need it... Also, will I be okay as far as port forwarding goes? Will the router still be able to forward ports to specific computers even though they're hooked up to the switch and not the router?
 
Originally posted by: MasamuneXGP
PS: I'm not really sure of the difference between routers, switches, and hubs, so I'm not sure I've got the terminology right. I want my transfer speeds from the file server to be fast and I want my torrents to be speedy, so I want whichever device can do that for me =p
Click to expand...
Hubs, routers, switches, DSL, LANs, WANs...? - http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.aspx?i=48

Home Giga Network: http://www.ezlan.net/giga.html

Giga networking - http://www.ezlan.net/giga_net.html
 
Probably the biggest hurdle of upgrading to gigabit Ethernet was the cabling issue. A lot of people seem to think that you can transmit data at gigabit speeds over standard CAT5 cable. This is a myth though. Currently, the only twisted pair cables that support gigabit Ethernet are CAT5E and CAT6.
Click to expand...

http://www.windowsnetworking.c...-Gigabit-Ethernet.html (not an amazing source.. but a source none-the-less.

Despite the considerable effort made to enable 1000Base-T to operate on cables meeting the Cat 5 specifications, some additional specifications were required (Cat 5e). Fortunately, most Cat 5 cables manufactured actually meets the additional Cat5e specifications. So Gigabit Ethernet should work with most Cat 5 cables, but if new cables are being purchased, one should check that the cables meet the Cat 5e specification. Cables that exceed the Cat 5e specification rated for 350MHz may be only moderately more expensive than Cat 5, while Cat 6 cables that support 500MHz are more expensive.
Click to expand...

http://www.sql-server-performance.com/jc_gigabit.asp

so it seems the general consensus is, it CAN run on cat5 (maybe, most likely it'll be flakey), but typically it needs to be cat5e or 6 for dependability.
 
As everyone else has said, get an 8 port gigabit switch (not a router). My 8 port trendnet cost me about $40. As far as your router is concerned, no one in their right mind would BUY the router you have from you. It's used and VERY old. If you have the funds, I'd recommend upgrading it as well to a newer buffalo wireless router. As you add in more PC's, the load on the router for internet content will increase. I am fairly familiar with the router you have and it's probably not going to be able to handle a medium to heavy size load on it from any more than 4-6 computers simultaneously, you'll begin to notice a lot of lockups and the router itself needing power cycled. My buffalo router has been running for 4 months solid without a single reboot and I push ALOT of internet traffic through it.
 
yep, thats why I mentioned it's not. It's several years old now..

# Cat 5: Currently unrecognized by TIA/EIA. Provided performance of up to 100 MHz, and was frequently used on 100 Mbit/s ethernet networks. May be unsuitable for 1000BASE-T gigabit ethernet.
# Cat 5e: Currently defined in TIA/EIA-568-B. Provides performance of up to 100 MHz, and is frequently used for both 100 Mbit/s and gigabit ethernet networks.
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_7_cable

There, Wiki notes. 🙂
 
The cable issue is a self excluding issue.

I doubt that there are new entry level user that have CAT5, people with CAT5 are long time Network users and by now know better.

If there is a problem it is probably enthusiasts that have the urge to self crimp, somehow by coincidence their crimpage holds 100Mb/sec. but would not hold higher frequency.

Given the prices of CAT6 the whole discussion is a waste of time.

Unfortunately the Current Giga, when using None professional None server installations is in a Lame Stage, which is the reason that it did not take the land by a storm, it would few years of hardware/software improvement to become a real entry level hit.

Giga is a cool word but when the x 10 translate to a functional x2.5.

Nah.:brokenheart: 😕 😱 :evil::frown::thumbsdown::|:shocked: 😀isgust; (LOL, I think I got all the Negative smilies).
 
Originally posted by: OoteR02
You can, but you won't have the benefit of being behind the firewall that the router provides (assuming it is in fact a router) What's the make/model on it?
Click to expand...

no....a router performs a specific function: It routes packets from a private network to the public via NAT. It operates a lot differently, as it works at layer 3 (IP layer). Switches don't care about IP's, routing, or anything above layer 2. A switch will ONLY work to share internet if you have public IP's for every computer (which is rare). So pretty much, you have to have a router (to perform NAT) and a switch (which is usually included with a SOHO router). It's more then just a firewall here, it's actually NAT and routing.


Router = Layer3
switch = Layer2
 
once again, i didn't specify what I meant well enough.

Some of the dsl modems in this area, typically at business sites, are connected directly to nothing more than a small office switch. They (the switch) offer no routing capability on their own, but the computers are statically set to goto the modem (modem/router?) as a gateway/dns server.

So, yes, what I said is technically incorrect, and I was half asleep when I made that post.... I was trying to not confuse him to far, and trying to help save some $ over trying to get a new router setup...

oh, and there is no wonder why Gig doesn't actually live up completely to the hype in home systems, try getting a p2, p3, to push out a theoretical max of 125 MB a second is just silly.

I just checked benchmarks, it seems some hdd's are getting closer to that number, many averaging in the 70 MB/s range for read/write.. not to shabby.

why am i still replying here? the OP hasn't been around for a day or so. 😛
 
business class DSL usually has multiple IP's, and somewhere, something is assigning the IP's and possibly even routing (sometimes it's in the modem itself). Most home DSL is limited to a single IP.
 
They are business, but they are running el-cheapo yahoo/att dsl. to be honest, I took one look at the setup, and was quite unimpressed with the 3com switch between the modem and the computers.
 
LOL, we should be really careful you getting too close to the Truth.

Most responders are too busy to show off what they know about the subject rather the attending to the OP.

When the OP (like the one here) states: "I'm not really sure of the difference between routers, switches, and hubs, so I'm not sure I've got the terminology right".

Do you really think he can understand 99% of the info given in this thread.

In reality the only layers that 99.9% of people heard of, is the chocolate layers in a German Chocolate Cake.

Given the state of Giga netwroking when using regular end-users system, ther is No best Giga Switch (or switch in a Router).

MasamuneXGP

Get a good None Giga Router, and buy the ckeapset brand name 8 ports Giga switch that you can find.

What a Good Router?

May be this can Help, http://www.ezlan.net/buffalo.html

 
lol, I WAS done with posting on this thread.. then I read Jacks helpful post to simplify everything and found the 8x more complicated posting of Modelworks following it.
 
No offense, but ignore what modelworks said. I consider myself a little more advanced with networking (not near enough to some others on this board though) and I don't run a custom pc based router, I see no need for it at this moment (I like keeping things somewhat simple). Go with Jack's advice (I think I also mentioned it in this post...somewhere), get a buffalo router and replace the linksys el cheapo that you have and then daisy chain a LAN port on it to an 8 port gig switch for your PC's. This should all be had for less than $100.
 
JackMDS seems pretty knowledgeable, but I am getting a little confused reading his posts. He has used the term "none" three time where I would expect to see "non-". Is that a typo or is "none" a term of art in networking lingo?

Also, This thread seems like an excellent follow-up to my thread about residential cabling, especially the part about Cat5, Cat5e and Cat6.

Third in the series should be the server discussion (briefly touched on in this thread) or home network-based storage.

MotionMan
 
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