Mixed 100 and 1000 Mbit network

[Fire Lancer]

The LAN here is 100Mbit/s ethernet. I have two 1000Mbit/s capable devices, and would like to connect them both to the LAN but get 1000Mbit/s between these two devices.

My understanding is that I need some kind of switch to do this. I would connect both devices to the switch, and then connect the switch to the rest of the network.

However having looked on ebuyer I find the things range from like £20 to £20,000 and I really have no idea what the difference is except the speed of the ports and number of ports... So im guessing there is some other difference like the really cheap ones not being able to do what I want and give me 1000Mbit/s between my devices while 100Mbit/s elsewhere?

What exactly is it that I need to do what I want, and will any switch (if a switch is even the right thing ) be able to do it effectively or do I need to look out for the inclusion of certain features?

 

[Emerald]

here is an example of what you need. if you want 8 ports instate add about $10 to $15


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122128


some of the differences affecting the price are:

If switch is managed or unmanaged
Buffer size
number of ports
Power consumption
Warranty

 

[Fire Lancer]

ok, I got a similar product today. I am still not entirely sure on what effect things like buffer size actually have, but this defiantly does the job and I can stop getting out the crossover cable every time I have a lot of data to move over

 

[riser]

The more expensive switches will handle more traffic and are 'smarter.' If you have one or two devices for gigabit, you're fine. The 20k switch can handle dozens of systems.