new to networking, need simple advice for a switch

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monkeyskin

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Mar 24, 2013
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I need some direction on purchasing a switch with a min. 6 ports. Ive installed cat 6 to all the rooms in my house but I only have 4 ports on my router. I'm not certain what to look for on newegg so id like the expert advice im used to here on tom's. at any given time i could have up to 15 devices online wired/wireless. ill be getting fiber-optic service installed this weekend which boasts a minimum of 25mbps. mostly online gaming and my kids schoolwork will use the service so i hope not to pay too much, however i've learned my lesson about skimping on electronics so i want to buy reliability. if you could steer me in the right direction i can do the legwork.

thanks a ton
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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I'm in the design stage of redoing a house for ethernet, etc. By 'fiber' do you mean Verizon FiOS? If so, there are a few things you need to take into account. And we can go into that if needed.

You have all the rooms wired for ethernet...is there a central place where it all comes together?
 
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monkeyskin

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i am clueless about the fiber tbh.it hasnt been installed yet. the 15 mbps service i have now comes from the box outside via a new cat6 i installed last weekend to my router. from there i plan to use patch cables, all cat6, to a wall multiport hub with 6 rj 45 jacks i just installed and out to each room. i believe the router my provider ( tds) uses is an actiontec v1000 from some quick research ive done. apparently capable of 100mbps id just like to make sure the multitude of devices my family uses are hindered only by the isp i use and not the equipment i have throughout the home. im fairly certain i cant fully utilize the equipment im installing but if the availability of more bandwidth arises, i dont want to crawl around in my attic again. the critters up there arent exactly welcoming to visitors.

i dont have anymore info regarding the actual service other than that

thanks again and sorry for the slow response
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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In general terms, what you do is:
A cat5/6 cable from the ActionTec to a switch. Switch ports out to all the rooms in the house.
If all those room Cat6 cables terminate in one central location, good. ActionTec to the switch in that location. Plug the room terminators into that switch.

Pretty much any 10/100/1000 switch, with enough ports, from a major manufacturer, should work.
 
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monkeyskin

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704173

this one features the qos mentioned above, has enough ports and is 1000 mbps capable. im fond of netgear, or maybe i just happen to use them more frequently than any others. If the explanation above isnt eluding my understanding, i can prioritize bandwidth with the qos feature? i can only assume some manner of software would allow me to choose which ports are given priority and with the 'green' feature idle ports will draw no power.

if this switch will last and there arent any suggestions to surpass its performance for under 50.00 ill drop it in my cart and get it on the way asap
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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If you've wired Cat6 to every room, is an 8 port enough? Remember...multiple devices per room.
I'm looking at a 24 port for my house...7 rooms. 2 or more ports per room.
 
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MartinWilson

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That TP-Link switch 'supports' QoS. It's unmanaged so I assume that it allows QoS markings through it. You won't be able to 'mark' or actually prioritize the traffic on this device.

Of course, if your router supports QoS, then there's no need to worry about QoS on the switch, especially if you're only really worried about a bottleneck on the gateway to the Internet.

 
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bill001g

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You are in big trouble if you need QoS and you have gig ports. QoS in a switch pretty much says I have more traffic than will fit in a gig port and I must discard something which do I discard. That is all this switch can do it does not have the ability to change the markings in any way since it is not managed.

The joke is no matter how hard you try you cannot mark packets on a widows OS either layer2 or layer 3 packet markings. Microsoft thinks they need to protect you from the evil hackers and have disabled the ability to mark packets. It will appear as though you mark them, a packet capture on the PC will actually show you sending packets with markings but if you capture it outside the PC all markings have been removed. You must use group polices which is a domain related feature to override this...and it really is a hack you must mark by process name not by packet or something.

Because even small switches like these are "non blocking" the switch itself will never cause a bottleneck.
 
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monkeyskin

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oh wow. now im a little freaked out. im definitely concerned about what few transactions i make over the net falling into the wrong hands. i dunno that i can afford a switch that will prevent this. i really dont think i require prioritization of net traffic, but it sounded like a good idea. im very willing to look at any switch you can suggest around 50.00. i have 4 bedrooms i'll be hardwiring plus a computer in the great room. i have an additional cable for my t.v. in the great room as well. the gaming consoles in there are wireless so no need for more yet.

pls help me out. i thought with a little advice i could find one myself, however these few posts show quite a bit of terminology i dont quite get yet.
thanks guys
 
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bill001g

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Switch pretty much only have one purpose and that is to connect stuff together and allow traffic to flow as fast as possible. Security is handled by a router or firewall. You really don't need to worry about stuff that is in cables in your house. The gaming consoles that use wireless are the biggest risk and that is very low if you use encryption. Even a simple router will protect most the stuff in your house. The rest is being careful how you use your computers so you do not get tricked into doing something you shouldn't.

With the number of devices you indicate you have 6 cables plus one more you forgot that goes back to the main router. This means a 8 port switch will work just barely. If you go with netgear or dlink it will cost about $50 if you use a cheaper brand like tp-link it will cost about $40. They will all perform exactly the same. You are lucky in a way since if you needed 9 ports you would have to go to a 16 port switch which is closer to $100.
 
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