How much can one router port handle?

I wanted to see if I can get better performace with the network I
have.

It is something that I inherited, I have always had the view of
leaving alone basically.
However in an effort to speed things up...

I have a router connected to the interent, Wan port. I will call this
my WAN/router. This Wan/router has about 4 ports on it. Then there
is one cable running from there to a switch. From this switch feeds
all the other lines in the building to other switches, routers,
wireless routers in many cases computers.

My question is, Would it be better to use up the extra ports on the
first WAN/router to connect to other swtiches and routers inside the
buidling, rather than as it is curently a single cable running from
that WAN/router to a swtich and then to other devices.

My thinking is that right now, all the signals come into the first WAN/
router then out through a single port to the switch and other
devices.

I'm just thinking maybe spreading it out a little using up some of the
other ports on the first WAN/router out to the network would help to
share things a little.

If you have other suggestions I'm happy to entertain them but I would
like an answer to the question as at this moment this is what we have
and this is for a school where money is tight. I dont anticipate
making any changes in the near future.

Regards

steve wrote:
> I wanted to see if I can get better performace with the network I
> have.
>
> It is something that I inherited, I have always had the view of
> leaving alone basically.
> However in an effort to speed things up...
>
> I have a router connected to the interent, Wan port. I will call this
> my WAN/router. This Wan/router has about 4 ports on it. Then there
> is one cable running from there to a switch. From this switch feeds
> all the other lines in the building to other switches, routers,
> wireless routers in many cases computers.
>
> My question is, Would it be better to use up the extra ports on the
> first WAN/router to connect to other swtiches and routers inside the
> buidling, rather than as it is curently a single cable running from
> that WAN/router to a swtich and then to other devices.
>
> My thinking is that right now, all the signals come into the first WAN/
> router then out through a single port to the switch and other
> devices.
>
> I'm just thinking maybe spreading it out a little using up some of the
> other ports on the first WAN/router out to the network would help to
> share things a little.
>
> If you have other suggestions I'm happy to entertain them but I would
> like an answer to the question as at this moment this is what we have
> and this is for a school where money is tight. I dont anticipate
> making any changes in the near future.
>
> Regards

Since you didn't provide any model numbers for the router or switch or
the internet connection speed you have this will have to be generic
information.

Internet connection speeds are slower than intranet speeds. For example,
the best internet connection speeds I have heard of (and there certainly
may be faster ones available) are 50 Mbps. Depending on the age of the
router and switch, they are probably at least 10/100 Mbps. So, if the
computers have at least 10/100 cards, the entire intranet (LAN) is
capable of speeds greater than the internet (WAN) connection is able to
handle. The internet connection is the slowest item and therefore any
change on the LAN side will not have any internet performance improvement.

thanks for the answer. I didnt think that the switches and router
models mattered since perhaps foolishly that 10/100 is asumed, I
suppose nothing should be asumed. Your question on the type of service
we have is well taken. And frankly I'm not sure. Of course what ever
they tell us its probably about 1/2 of what we get. And then there is
also the issue of upload speeds to download speeds which I think
typically vary.

I suppose there may be web sites that can test your speed, I duno.

What you say makes sense. I suppose I wondered if there was some sort
of advantage to agregate thoughput through several ports rather than
putting it all through one.

Regards

"steve" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:f7cddb0e-c9fd-4620-aa0b-(E-Mail Removed)...
> thanks for the answer. I didnt think that the switches and router
> models mattered since perhaps foolishly that 10/100 is asumed, I
> suppose nothing should be asumed. Your question on the type of service
> we have is well taken. And frankly I'm not sure. Of course what ever
> they tell us its probably about 1/2 of what we get. And then there is
> also the issue of upload speeds to download speeds which I think
> typically vary.
>
> I suppose there may be web sites that can test your speed, I duno.
>
> What you say makes sense. I suppose I wondered if there was some sort
> of advantage to agregate thoughput through several ports rather than
> putting it all through one.
>
> Regards

Google "speedtest" and try several different locations, Close to you and far
away.

Dale

The first thing you need to do is educate yourself about how a switch works.

Switches build a table of the source MAC addresses observed, and
associates them with the ports on which they were received. Once
learned, the switch then forwards unicast packets out the associated
port "only".

e.g.: If a switch learns that the host with MAC address "X" is connected
to port 2, there is no longer a need to send traffic destined to that
host out all ports. It only sends the traffic out the port that it knows
the host is connected to.


With your current scenario (i.e.: one switch connect to the router's
integrated switch) the only traffic seen on that router's interface is
traffic destined to and from the Internet, as well as Layer 2 broadcasts
and multicasts.

That router interface is "not" seeing or processing LAN traffic between
intranet hosts. Therefore, the load placed on the router's integrated
switch is modest given the modest throughput of your Internet connection.


If you change your topology to, lets say four intranet switches, each
with a connection to a port on the router's integrated switch, the
following is the result:

When a host connected to intranet switch #1 wants to communicate with a
host connected to intranet switch #4, that communication is now entering
one port on the router's integrated switch, and exiting another. You are
now burdening the router's integrated switch with LAN to LAN traffic.
This is not desirable. Let the router do what it was designed to do
(route packets) with the lightest load possible.


Best Regards,
News Reader

steve wrote:
> I wanted to see if I can get better performace with the network I
> have.
>
> It is something that I inherited, I have always had the view of
> leaving alone basically.
> However in an effort to speed things up...
>
> I have a router connected to the interent, Wan port. I will call this
> my WAN/router. This Wan/router has about 4 ports on it. Then there
> is one cable running from there to a switch. From this switch feeds
> all the other lines in the building to other switches, routers,
> wireless routers in many cases computers.
>
> My question is, Would it be better to use up the extra ports on the
> first WAN/router to connect to other swtiches and routers inside the
> buidling, rather than as it is curently a single cable running from
> that WAN/router to a swtich and then to other devices.
>
> My thinking is that right now, all the signals come into the first WAN/
> router then out through a single port to the switch and other
> devices.
>
> I'm just thinking maybe spreading it out a little using up some of the
> other ports on the first WAN/router out to the network would help to
> share things a little.
>
> If you have other suggestions I'm happy to entertain them but I would
> like an answer to the question as at this moment this is what we have
> and this is for a school where money is tight. I dont anticipate
> making any changes in the near future.
>
> Regards