Will I gain anything running a gigabit switch with a 100M router?

I have a linksys router that seems to do a good job of routing! I have now
got several gigabit devices plugged into it.
Would I achieve a significant speed increase by getting a gigabit switch and
plugging all my new devices into it and simply ask the router to route or
would the fact that that router is limited to 100M at each port of it's
switch limit me?

On 19 Oct 2006, "JohnW" wrote:

>I have a linksys router that seems to do a good job of routing! I have now
>got several gigabit devices plugged into it.
>Would I achieve a significant speed increase by getting a gigabit switch and
>plugging all my new devices into it and simply ask the router to route or
>would the fact that that router is limited to 100M at each port of it's
>switch limit me?

Previous posts have suggested higher transfers (of up to 300/400 Mbps) may
be achieved between devices, but I am at a loss to know why you'd expect
the current 100 M unit to have any effect if you plugged your kit into
a switch with lots of gigabit ports. If you mention some model numbers
of units you have seen, and what you're using at present, it might get
a bit clearer. Of course there will likely be something needed to
"step down" the traffic bound for slower devices (eg broadband access)
so one of the gigabit router's ports will need to handle 100 Mbps for
interaction with the current Linksys router (linking to slower kit)

JohnW wrote:
> I have a linksys router that seems to do a good job of routing! I have now
> got several gigabit devices plugged into it.
> Would I achieve a significant speed increase by getting a gigabit switch and
> plugging all my new devices into it and simply ask the router to route or
> would the fact that that router is limited to 100M at each port of it's
> switch limit me?
>
>
Yes, get a gigabit switch and plug all your devices in to it IF you need
high speed transfers (say over 80 Mbit/s) between the devices,
because all traffic between the devices will go direct through the
switch. But if you think it will boost your Internet performance, save
your money - you won't get more than the bandwidth on your wide area
link, which is somewhat less than the router can handle.

Biggles

JohnW wrote:
> I have a linksys router that seems to do a good job of routing! I
> have now got several gigabit devices plugged into it.
> Would I achieve a significant speed increase by getting a gigabit
> switch and plugging all my new devices into it and simply ask the
> router to route or would the fact that that router is limited to 100M
> at each port of it's switch limit me?

You'll get faster transfers between PCs , but as your internet connection is
8 or 10M at most then the 100M connection from router to switch is no
limiting factor at all.
--
Alex

"I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it goes away"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk www.ebayfaq.co.uk

"Dr Zoidberg" <alexNOOOOOO!!!!!!!@drzoidberg.co.uk> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> JohnW wrote:
>> I have a linksys router that seems to do a good job of routing! I
>> have now got several gigabit devices plugged into it.
>> Would I achieve a significant speed increase by getting a gigabit
>> switch and plugging all my new devices into it and simply ask the
>> router to route or would the fact that that router is limited to 100M
>> at each port of it's switch limit me?
>
> You'll get faster transfers between PCs , but as your internet connection
> is 8 or 10M at most then the 100M connection from router to switch is no
> limiting factor at all.
> --
> Alex
>
> "I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it goes away"
>
> www.drzoidberg.co.uk www.ebayfaq.co.uk

Thanks for the answers - despite using them for over 10 years I really don't
know how a router routes (I must educate myself) but I know what I need it
for!

I know my Internet connection won't be improved (my wireless laptop
connection is overkill for that!) but I've just got a gigabit NAS drive and
I want to improve my internal network to make better use of it - sounds like
my plans will bear fruit.

"JohnW" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:ajQZg.45212$(E-Mail Removed):

> I have a linksys router that seems to do a good job of routing! I have
> now got several gigabit devices plugged into it.
> Would I achieve a significant speed increase by getting a gigabit
> switch and plugging all my new devices into it and simply ask the
> router to route or would the fact that that router is limited to 100M
> at each port of it's switch limit me?
>
>



Anything within the gigabit network would benefit, and the quality of
the bandwidth would improve if you are relaying within the gigabit
network, however the 100MB limit would obviously limit you within that
layer of the whole network.

Overall Conclusion:

It depends how the whole network is setup.


--
Kind Regards,

Alex Davies
TGTBT Media Web Design & Hosting Services

http://www.tgtbt-online.com