Gigabit Ethernet networking

Soldato
Joined
12 Jan 2006
Posts
2,547
Ok, for my next project i want to try get a gigabit network working in my home.
I currently have a 10/100 setup with 3 pc's and a laptop all connected through a US Robotics ADSL Router.

Ideally i would not want to add a ADSL modem into the picture but all gigabit switches i have seen do not encorporate a ADSL modem into them so i am assuming i will need to get a ethernet modem to put into the Uplink port.

I have a couple of questions tho,
1) What is the easiest to use Gigabit switch currently available
2) I currently have UTP 4 pair Cat 5e patch cables running around my house, would i need to change/replace these?
3) Is there anything additional i should know before i begin, or is it as simple as creating a 10/100 network

Thanks in advance
 
Chronictank said:
1) What is the easiest to use Gigabit switch currently available
2) I currently have UTP 4 pair Cat 5e patch cables running around my house, would i need to change/replace these?
3) Is there anything additional i should know before i begin, or is it as simple as creating a 10/100 network

1). Any standard non-managed switch designed for home use (ie. Netgear, Linksys, etc.) will be as easy as any other. Just plug the cables and go. It's only the high-end managed switches like Intel, Cisco, HP, etc that you'd need to worry about. Since they're well out of the price range for most home users you don't need to worry.

2). Cat 5e cable is fine for gigabit - I'm using it myself.

3). It's really exactly the same. If you've got a gigabit switch, gigabit cards and Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable, you're all set.

As a side note, you just need to plug your USR router into the gigabit switch, it's that simple. The chances are that the gigabit switch you get will have automatic crossover so you don't need to worry about uplink ports anymore.
 
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Goumet said:
Gigabyte Networking? Are you seriously going to use that-much bandwidth?

I do :) It depends on what you're going to use it for. Of course, if you're just using a network for an Internet connection and the occasional file transfer it's pointless but I'm guessing the thread starter does a fair bit of transferring between his 3 systems otherwise he wouldn't be considering it.

Besides, it's not like it costs that much anyway what with most motherboards having gigabit integrated and the cards costing around a tenner. Even switches are pretty cheap these days.

In short, It's easy to find 100mbit slow when you're transferring CD and DVD images between multiple PCs.
 
did this recently with my 3 pcs

needed x2 gigabit network cards (my rig has gb lan already) and a 5 port netgear gigabit switch

the 3 pcs are each connected to the gb switch then i run a patch cable from it to my adsl router. i still run my network storage and printer off the 10/100 router as they don't need the speed

works really well

only problem i have had is after a power cut i have to reboot router first, followed a couple of mins later by the gb switch to make sure the DHCP dishes out the addresses properly
 
Goumet said:
Gigabyte Networking? Are you seriously going to use that-much bandwidth?

It's worth it. Suppose you have a MCE PC in the living room and fancied watching a movie you created on the camcorder but only it's on the other computer, streaming it from the other computer would be ideal for Giganet.
The possiblilites are endless.
 
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