Extra Ethernet Ports
- Thread starter crazymilk
- Start date
Soldato
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2008
- Posts
- 12,083
Buy a network switch.
You want something that's unmanaged and supports Gigabit.
As you loose ports connecting the switch to the hub an eight port is usually the best value.
You want something that's unmanaged and supports Gigabit.
As you loose ports connecting the switch to the hub an eight port is usually the best value.
Last edited:
Yeah, just grab yourself a 5-8 port Gigabit switch (dependant on how many more ports you need).
Simply connect an Ethernet cable from your router to the switch to provide network/internet access.
Then you have the remaining ports free to expand in simple terms.
Simply connect an Ethernet cable from your router to the switch to provide network/internet access.
Then you have the remaining ports free to expand in simple terms.
Have the same issue with my new Sky Q Hub which only has 2 ethernet ports! Madness. I have sky+hd box, av receiver, NAS and powerline adapter all to plug in.
If I have one cable from the router to the switch, can I still use the other ports on the router? Will they all get equal 'priority', or if I have 4 cables coming from the switch, will they only get 50% of bandwidth if I have one other cable plugged directly into the router?
If I have one cable from the router to the switch, can I still use the other ports on the router? Will they all get equal 'priority', or if I have 4 cables coming from the switch, will they only get 50% of bandwidth if I have one other cable plugged directly into the router?
Soldato
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2008
- Posts
- 12,083
With a switch connected you can use all of the available ports on both the router and the switch.
You'll almost certainly never tell the difference between a device plugged directly into the router and one that's plugged into the switch. Just make sure the NAS is plugged into the switch rather than the router.
If you buy an eight port switch you'll be able to plug everything into it and have ports spare without having to use the other port on the router.
You'll almost certainly never tell the difference between a device plugged directly into the router and one that's plugged into the switch. Just make sure the NAS is plugged into the switch rather than the router.
If you buy an eight port switch you'll be able to plug everything into it and have ports spare without having to use the other port on the router.
Yes you can still use other ports on the router with the switch connected.
As an example I have the sky Q hub as well.
To one port I have an port switch connected that has my TV, Amp, Game Consoles, Media player and sky box connected to it, the other port on the router connects to a 5 port switch, this has my hive hub connected and a spare cable that was connected to a printer until I moved it upstairs. Also connected to this second switch is a cable to a wall socket, that connects on the other end to a cable router (for wifi and a switch). Connected to this is a TV and a second sky box, plus a cable round the room to the next room into a 5 port switch in the office that has the printer and a cable for the laptop for when I work in there. The final port on the upstairs cable router, connects to another network port, the other end of which is in the attic connected to another old cable router which does extra wifi and has my server and NAS connected to it.
Mostly neatly installed. Downstairs to upstairs is in small corner trunking that you cant see from any seating position in the living room, goes through a hole in the ceiling into the old airing cupboard and emerges into some boxing in with a 4 port face plate, which is the two from downstairs, and one that goes round the room in the boxing in and into the next room which emerges under some shelving that I added a single face plate 2 (I would have run two cables but the hole was too small to get more than one cable through and I couldn't increase it). The runs from the airing cupboard to the attic are on a 2 port faceplate in the airing cupboard up some basic trunking and into the attic, upthere I just ran it around the edge very roughly and into a bouble faceplate box near the servers. Clever placement of sideboards, doors and chests of drawers hides most out in the open cabling or it is tacked down and or painted.