Advice requested: upgrading my home network

Hi all. My kids are moving lots of movie files. I am therefore thinking of
upgrading my home network speed from 100 to 1000Mbps and add a Network
Attached Storage (NAS).



My home network has currently got 4 permanently installed PC's, one router,
one switcher, one laptop and a printer with print server :



- everything runs WinXP Pro.

- All network cabling with RJ-45 plugs

- One 10/100 switcher.

- One router with built-in 10/100 switcher and Internet DSL
connection (NetGear RP614).



I would plan to do the following:



- Replace the switcher with a 10/100/1000 Mbps unit

- Buy a 1000 Mbps NAS (some 200 GB)

- Replace some of the network cards (some are already 1000Mbps
capable).

- Keep the router, because it connects only to 100Mbps devices or
lower, like the printer server or the Internet connection.



I have some doubts about the following things:



1.- Should I worry about the cabling? It's the same plug for a 1000Mbps
connector, isn't it? But maybe the higher bandwidth requires higher quality
cabling? If yes, how could I find out what cable quality I've got right now?
I would hate the idea of having to replace my cabling.

2.- I presume the existing router will not "clash" with a 1000Mbps network
behind it, or would it?

3.- BTW, any suggestion of a low cost 1000Mbps 200GB NAS would also be
welcome.



Many thanks to any friendly person sharing his/her knowledge on this.

Langholm wrote:
> Hi all. My kids are moving lots of movie files. I am therefore thinking of
> upgrading my home network speed from 100 to 1000Mbps and add a Network
> Attached Storage (NAS).
>
>
>
> My home network has currently got 4 permanently installed PC's, one router,
> one switcher, one laptop and a printer with print server :
>
>
>
> - everything runs WinXP Pro.
>
> - All network cabling with RJ-45 plugs
>
> - One 10/100 switcher.
>
> - One router with built-in 10/100 switcher and Internet DSL
> connection (NetGear RP614).
>
>
>
> I would plan to do the following:
>
>
>
> - Replace the switcher with a 10/100/1000 Mbps unit
>
> - Buy a 1000 Mbps NAS (some 200 GB)
>
> - Replace some of the network cards (some are already 1000Mbps
> capable).
>
> - Keep the router, because it connects only to 100Mbps devices or
> lower, like the printer server or the Internet connection.
>
>
>
> I have some doubts about the following things:
>
>
>
> 1.- Should I worry about the cabling? It's the same plug for a 1000Mbps
> connector, isn't it? But maybe the higher bandwidth requires higher quality
> cabling? If yes, how could I find out what cable quality I've got right now?
> I would hate the idea of having to replace my cabling.

The cable may have printed on the site if its 1000Mb Certified or cat5E
or cat6.
1000 Mbit requires the use of 4 pairs of cables (cat 5e or cat6),
although there are 4 pairs in cat5 cable only 2 pairs are used, and the
state of the unused pairs is unknown.
To be safe just replace any suspect cables.


>
> 2.- I presume the existing router will not "clash" with a 1000Mbps network
> behind it, or would it?

As long as the new switch supports the speeds needed by the router then
it should be ok. I assume the router is for connection to the Internet ?

>
> 3.- BTW, any suggestion of a low cost 1000Mbps 200GB NAS would also be
> welcome.
Personally for home use i would leave a PC on with 200Gb disks in. At
its most basic thats all a NAS is anyway.



>
>
>
> Many thanks to any friendly person sharing his/her knowledge on this.
>
>


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On Sat, 1 Jan 2005 16:36:10 +0100, "Langholm" <(E-Mail Removed)> strung together
this:

>1.- Should I worry about the cabling? It's the same plug for a 1000Mbps
>connector, isn't it? But maybe the higher bandwidth requires higher quality
>cabling? If yes, how could I find out what cable quality I've got right now?
>I would hate the idea of having to replace my cabling.
>
I've used cat5e for gigabit before. As long as it's well installed,
i.e. unkinked, decent connections etc, it should be OK.

>2.- I presume the existing router will not "clash" with a 1000Mbps network
>behind it, or would it?
>
Shouldn't do, the switch should auto-negotiate down to 100Mbps.

>3.- BTW, any suggestion of a low cost 1000Mbps 200GB NAS would also be
>welcome.
>
I use an old PC with RAID set up. I like building things rather than
buying them if I can. It also means that I've got some security on the
machine as I'm not knackered if a single drive goes down.
--

SJW
Please reply to group or use 'usenet' in email subject

Thank you Andrew Welham and Lurch. That helped a lot. I am particularly glad
about your reassurance the 100-1000Mbps link will work and about the cables
which I don't want to replace (it says "5E" on the outer insulation so they
should be ok). So I go for it.