Solved How does a network connection run?

[Sygron]

Hello,

I have a question about the way a network connection runs in the matters of speed.
For example:
My computer is connected to a hub (100mb) on the same hub I have my NAS.
The hub goes to my router that hands out the DHCP adres for my computer.

The router is also 100mb connection.

Now if I change my hub to a 1gb switch, will this make the connection between my pc and the NAS faster?
Or does the connection always run trough the router and thus the connection will stay 100mb?

I think it`s the last but looking for confirmation as it does hand out the DHCP adres.
And does it make any difference when putting everything on static instead of DHCP?

 

[MilesAhead]

Assuming you have a gigabit network card/interface, and the NAS can handler more than 100Gb/s speed, then it should run faster. All your machines should plug into the switch(assuming they have gigabit network capability) and just plug the router into the swtich. The only thing that should be held down to the router speed is internet.

edit: the above assumes your basic wired networking. WiFi stuff I haven't messed with yet. I know... weird.. but I haven't ownload a laptop as yet.

 

[chev65]

Hello,

I have a question about the way a network connection runs in the matters of speed.
For example:
My computer is connected to a hub (100mb) on the same hub I have my NAS.
The hub goes to my router that hands out the DHCP adres for my computer.

The router is also 100mb connection.

Now if I change my hub to a 1gb switch, will this make the connection between my pc and the NAS faster?
Or does the connection always run trough the router and thus the connection will stay 100mb?

I think it`s the last but looking for confirmation as it does hand out the DHCP adres.
And does it make any difference when putting everything on static instead of DHCP?

If the router can't handle Gb connections then all bets are off, it won't work. Everything needs to be Gb, the router, the switch, the NICs on all machines.

With the router at 100Mb all traffic going through the switch and hence the router will be limited to what the router can do. Static and DHCP same speed.

 

[chamjiee]

If your NIC is capable of 1gbits/s and the NAS is also capable of speeds above 100mb/s. Then just adding gigabit switch will improve the performance. Provided that the pc and the NAS are connected to the same switch that is they share same ip class.

The speed between the switch and the NAS will be at 1gbits/s and the router is there to take you to other networks that is which have different subnet.

So by adding a gigabit switch all the pcs on the same subnet as the NAS will benefit speed gains. But pcs sitting outside your subnet which will have to travel through the router won't see the speed increase as the router is still a bottleneck for them.

You can draw a small diagram with hand and snap it's picture and post here for further clarification.



You said you are using hub. Are you sure it's a hub or switch.

 

[Shadowjk]

Just thought to add that hubs are maxed out at 100Mbps so if you do have a hub (highly unlikely, they died out years ago) then you will have to change to at least a layer 2 switch

Josh

 

[MilesAhead]

With the router at 100Mb all traffic going through the switch and hence the
router will be limited to what the router can do. Static and DHCP same
speed.

My setup was 2 destop PCs and router connected to the Gb switch. The only thing directly connected to the Modem was the router. Router was 100 Mb/s while both desktops and the switch were 1000 Mb/s. I copied files between the machines at 1000 Mb/s (more or less, anywhere from 50 to 90+ MB/s for large singe file transfer) and shared internet access at the ISP max. There's no reason to buy a router that's faster than the internet access. You can do it what way but a switch is a lot cheaper.

 

[Shadowjk]

With the router at 100Mb all traffic going through the switch and hence the
router will be limited to what the router can do. Static and DHCP same
speed.

My setup was 2 destop PCs and router connected to the Gb switch. The only thing directly connected to the Modem was the router. Router was 100 Mb/s while both desktops and the switch were 1000 Mb/s. I copied files between the machines at 1000 Mb/s (more or less, anywhere from 50 to 90+ MB/s for large singe file transfer) and shared internet access at the ISP max. There's no reason to buy a router that's faster than the internet access. You can do it what way but a switch is a lot cheaper.

I would have to agree and disagree with this statement. Yes while there won't be any bandwidth advantage on getting a router above the subscribed bandwidth from the ISP however there may be an issue in terms of processing cycles. A switch operates at wire speed due to the ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) chip, this removes any negligible delay when transferring data in a switched environment. A router however has to process each packet through the software therefore increasing network latency and possibly overhead. Depending on how much traffic is being processed by the router you may receive some benefits on have increased bandwidth on the router. Also all traffic from the switch that wishes to connect to the internet will be limited to a theoretical bandwidth of 100Mbps. The more devices that are connected the more that this bandwidth has to be shared with between the clients. If there are too many clients then this may affect the maximum internet bandwidth available to each client.

Josh

 

[MilesAhead]

@Josh, that may be so if you have a room full of machines. I'm talking a couple of PCs on a table top. I'm no network guru. I thought i had to get a gigabit router when I got a gigabit card so that both my PCs had gigabit capability. Then a poster on another board suggested just getting a switch. I think at that time discounted gigabit routers were close to a couple hundred bucks. There were only a few models to choose from. The switch was under $30. Plus I had to buy a few ethernet cables rated for the speed at cablesforless or one or another online discount stores. Again I think it cost me $12 or so for the cables.

 

[Shadowjk]

Aye, gigabit switches are nice for local transfers Gigabit routers haven't been very popular in home environments since the ether-switch module that they carry would require more processing power hence the increase in price. Personally I think 100Mbps will stick for a good while... well until ISP's decide to upgrade their end user connections

 

[MilesAhead]

Aye, gigabit switches are nice for local transfers Gigabit routers haven't been very popular in home environments since the ether-switch module that they carry would require more processing power hence the increase in price. Personally I think 100Mbps will stick for a good while... well until ISP's decide to upgrade their end user connections

Yes. You'd think now that fiber inside the PC is on the horizon we'd finally see some fiber delivered by ISPs at home user rates. Paying "business class" rates for 50 Mb/s down is a bit high if you can't just pass on the expense to customers.

Ironically one of the reasons for all that bandwidth was to download super large files. Like video. But by the time it's delivered the content providers will crack down on the supply. There's only so many copies of Visual Studio I want to download.

It is tough to decline speed once it's offered cheap. But other than snappy response I'm wondering what I'll use it for? (Assuming I can't afford to stream every movie provider service out there.)

 

[Sygron]

Still end up with one question for the rest I must say very clear explanations.
I have a modem were my internet comes in from there it goes to my router now to crank up the speed to my nas,
I want to place a gigabit switch behind the router.
I have 3 computers that all go in the switch for a fast connection to the nas.
The hub will also be replaced( yes it's really a hub of 100mb).

Will my internet speed be slower as everything will go trough the switch?

For clearfication:
Current situation.
Modem->router100mb->2 pc's
Modem->router100mb->100mb hub->1 pc and 1 nas

Want to change to.
Modem ->router100mb->switch1gb->2 pc's
Modem->router100mb->switch1gb->switch1gb-> 1 pc and 1 nas

The second switch is needed because of bad placing...

 

[Shadowjk]

From my standpoint as long as your internet speed isn't greater than 25Mbps you should have ample bandwidth for all devices. Please understand that the speed between both switches will be limited so you won't always get a full 1Gbps to the NAS.

Josh

 

[Sygron]

Thx alot everyone for the explanations! All clear now.