Increasing the number of ethernet ports on my router

Kemik · 25 Oct 2018 at 14:39

Hi guys,

Brace yourself for a stupid question.

How do I increase the number of Ethernet ports on my router?

At the moment I have:

Virgin hub acting as modem.
Asus RT-AC1200G+ Router acting as router for 4x ethernet ports and WiFi.

Problem is I need more ports. Am I better selling the Asus, sticking with Virgin then connecting an 8 port switch? Any recommendations for a switch?

I have Ethernet ports in each room plus a few different smart home items that are hogging the ports! I only really need 6 in total but good to have another two in case I need them.

Netgear Arlo (2x HD streams)
Philips Hue
Tado Thermostat
Living room Amazon Fire
Living room Virgin Media
Office gaming computer

Thanks

Hyburnate · 25 Oct 2018 at 14:44

Why not just connect a switch to your Asus?

Kemik · 25 Oct 2018 at 14:47

Hyburnate said:
Why not just connect a switch to your Asus?

Do I just need a basic switch? Not sure if the ASUS is overkill considering VM Hub does Wifi. I just found it a bit rubbish. It's another plug socket used too.

Hyburnate · 25 Oct 2018 at 14:48

Kemik said:
Do I just need a basic switch? Not sure if the ASUS is overkill considering VM Hub does Wifi. I just found it a bit rubbish. It's another plug socket used too.

Yeah just a basic (Gigabit) switch will do

Beerbaron · 25 Oct 2018 at 14:59

As above you just want a basic gigabit unmanaged switch.

Armageus · 25 Oct 2018 at 15:17

Something like this would be fine:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x TP-Link 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch (TL-SG1008D V8)= £16.99

Total: £25.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)

Kemik · 25 Oct 2018 at 16:25

Cheers guys

Rainmaker · 25 Oct 2018 at 19:26

I would personally pay the few pounds extra and get a Netgear ProSafe GS108 (v4). Overclockers don't sell them but if you shop around you'll find a prime example for under 24 quid. I personally have the uprated (office vs home) metal-chassis version of the switch Armageus posted (the TP-Link SG108), but while it's done great so far (and has a great heatsink on the ASIC), the Netgear ProSafe GS108:

* Is commercial grade.
* Is actually cheaper than the TP-Link SG108.
* Has no capacitors at all on the board (compared to worryingly mediocre-quality Taicon caps on the TP-Link).
* Has a metal chassis.
* Will outlive you, as the only failure prone part (all caps dry out at some point) is absent.

Your call, but I know what my next one will be. Just make sure you get the v4, as the earlier ones have crap caps on board.