Uplink explaination please...

[Electric Amish]

Ok, I have a router to my cable internet access that has 4 - 10/100 ports. If I were to use one of those ports to go to an 8 -10/100 port switch, does that actually narrow the access to the internet to those on th 8-port switch? In essence, do those sharing the 8-port switch actually only have access to a total of 100 Mbps instead of 100 Mbps each?

I know the throughputs are theoretical and the internet connection is well below 100 Mbps, but is this theoretically the way it works.

Something tells this thinking is incorrect, but I don't know how to refute it.

TIA

amish

 

[Fencer128]

Hi,

I believe each device should have 100Mb access if operating alone. When more than one device is in contention for the bandwidth then, yes, they will have to share momentarily. Using a switch is the best way you can do that (better than using a hub for instance).

Succinctly, the way you have your switch plugged into your router isn't going to adversely affect your bandwidth in the way you fear it might. Each port is switched and because of that it shoiuld be ok as you have described it.

Cheers,

Andy

 

[jonmullen]

this is true as far as I know, but you have to keep inmind this should not be a problem for most users, and secondly you have a little more to work with thank to full duplex.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Any 4 devices on the 8 port switch will have 100mbps to talk to each other, so the 8 port switch is pushing 400mbps (assuming max, in theory, half-duplex).

But if you have 2 devices on the 8 port switch and 2 devices on the 4 port router and the devices need to talk accross to the switch at the same time (maxed out, half duplex), you would only have 100mbps between the router and the switch.

So you have a choke point there, but you probably wouldn't use that much bandwidth or simulatneously between the multiple devices across the router and the switch.

But to answer your question more directly, if the 8 devices on the 8-port switch were to access something on the router all at once, you would be constrained to 100mbps total.