Do you think I need a switch with QoS?

Whiffle

Whiffle

Whiffle

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Joined
27 Jul 2009
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386
Hi.

I am in the process of upgrading my home network at the moment and using ethernet, wherever possible, in preference to wireless.

I have quite a few devices and thinking of getting a 16 port switch (or quite possibly 24 for future proofing).

I was just wondering whether QoS might be something that I should be bothered with.

I record all my TV via a SAT>IP box to a Linux Server at the other end of my house.

I also backup my server to another NAS.

With the evergrowing number of devices on the network (Kodi boxes, Smart TVs, Desktop PCs) do you think there is the possibility of saturating the network?

It does seems unlikely but if I am recording multiple HD streams, I need to make sure that they are not disturbed by other less important activities like server backups or Netflix streams.

Ultimately, do you think I need a switch with QoS, to make sure that TV recording is given priority or, in reality, do you think that it is not needed on a home network?
 
If all devices are plugged into the same switch, then no it will make no real difference (as each transfer is a point-point operation)

If there is some other bottleneck e.g. 2 small switches with a single ethernet between them and backups/recordings/whatever else, going over that single link, then yes QoS both ends potentially could help (however you'd also need traffic to be QoS classified either by the source device, or intelligent switches that can classify different types of traffic)

EDIT:
It may be beneficial to add a 2nd network card with a different IP address, and dedicate that purely for backups (Not sure how you would do this on Linux)
 
QoS will only benefit you if you are saturating your LAN connection. Assuming gigabit, that seems unlikely based on what you describe.
 
Thanks everyone - really glad that you all agree that unmanaged is the way to go for me (cheaper and less settings to have to worry about).

Avalon said:
QoS will only benefit you if you are saturating your LAN connection. Assuming gigabit, that seems unlikely based on what you describe.
Click to expand...

Just to make absolutely sure of no saturation, I will make sure that backups only take place at a time when there is going to be little traffic anyway (e.g. 3am).

In terms of the switch itself, can anyone possibly recommend any brands/models or anything to avoid, please?

I do not need PoE and power saving, wherever possible, will be a major plus (though I guess most recent models are fairly frugal with power, anyway).
 
It's not totally clear from your OP - but if these transfers are happening to different devices (e.g. Device 1 shifts data at 1Gbps to Device 2, and at the same time Device 3 tries to stream HD video to Device 4) then you don't have to worry about anything. Any switch that isn't literally dragged out of a canal will have a backplane that can support all ports running at full tilt simultaneously.

If the device being backed up to is the same device that is hosting files you're streaming then you're better off doing the QoS on the device itself.
 
Perfect - thanks very much for that. Seems I am indeed being overly cautious and should just get on with things.

Can you recommend any 24-port switches in particular?
 
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