Ethernet Switch

[PeterLe]

Hi
Ive run out of ports on my hub and wondered if anyone has added a network switch. Any recommendations please?

Thanks in advance
Regards
Peter

[andyfuller]

I will be interested to hear about this as well as I need to get one soon as I am in the process of sorting out my AV equipment. I was thinking of going for something like this Netgear one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002 ... =computers

Just got some of these HDMI over Cat5 cable extenders to set up this weekend, hoping they work!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet%C2%AE-Exte ... i+ethernet

[PeterLe]

Blimey, that must be some set up Andy! Ive seen smaller switches in datacenters!

I virtually rebuild the house and tripled the size about 8 years ago and thought I'd future proofed it for sound and vision, but now it looks old and out of date.

I did think about running ethernet around the house at the time (mainly for the computer) and decided against it. I never though that it would be suitable for sound and HD vision.

The problem now would be getting all the cabling in place, the bedroom TV's are all sunk in the walls as is the Main sitting room, I hate cables on view!

It would be good to get a picture of your set up once its all in place

[LeTiss]

Jeez, where does Andy Fuller live?

He must be responsible for any power surges in his area!

[andyfuller]

I haven't worked out exactly how many I need but the price difference between the 16 and 24 switch makes me think I may as well just go for the 24 one if I went for the Netgear one.

For each TV around the house using those HDMI over Ethernet extenders requires 2 ethernet cables (from what I have figured out so far) so with 3 TV's to hook up that is 6 ethernet cables, then if I am running the cables for the TV to each of those rooms I may as well run a third for a wall mounted Ethernet port at the same time so that takes it up to 9 and that is before considering having more than one port to each room (tbh for the cost of cable it would probably be worth running more to future proof to some extent) then there are all the other bits and pieces like Xbox, BluRay etc and the number of ports required soon add up.

More than happy to post up pictures but it will be some time yet, there is a new bathroom and kitchen to be done first along with a wood burner, windows etc etc

[JollyGreen]

I have used a few switches it all depends on how many ports you want.

Netgear POE

Netgear 8 Port

Netgear 16 Port

[andyfuller]

What are you needing the extra ports for out of interest Peter?

[PeterLe]

What are you needing the extra ports for out of interest Peter?

Thanks for the reply's gents
I have the BT hub which has 3 x ethernet and 1 Gige port.
I have a cat 6 plugged into the Gig port and this is hardwired direct into my trading system. you get the same speed as the fibre apparently (and no dropping of wireless)
The other ports are for my DVD (Netflix), Skybox and Devolo (brill devices for distributing wireless to all parts of the house)
Im going to buy another Apple TV for that room and Im going to have some IP cameras mounted outside (after the mrs disturbed someone trying to get in my car! )
Bloody technology, it wasn't like this in my dad's day!

[andyfuller]

Homeplugs are great - think it was Peter Webb that recommended them to me several years ago. I use the wired ones which send the internet around the house's electricity circuit. Got some for my parents who have a very old house with very thick brick walls which meant wireless was next to useless. The house has 2 electric circuits and amazingly they work over both circuits which was a big surprise.

Can't recommend them highly enough (apart from the price).

I have an Apple TV and virtually never use it tbh so I have been looking at options to use it as a Jailbroken device and install some other bits on it so it acts as my media server.

If you find any decent CCTV camera let me know please - they are on my list of things to do as well.

[ChrisCGN]

One thing you should keep in mind is the size of the backplane. In normal scenarios the common switches are more than sufficient. But if you stress the switch, e. g. copying lare amounts of GB over the network and parallel streaming TV and trying to follow betfair, the backplane will make the difference:
If you have a 8 port gigabit-switch, every port can send and receive data with 1 GBit of speed. But if a switch has e. g. a backplae of 3 GBit, there will be a lack of capacity if the fourth port also polls into the network. The maximum speed of data transfered on the switch is the strength of the backplane. In this case, the overall speed would be reduced, no port gets the full GBit speed.

One other thing you could consider is buying a manageable switch. These switches can be configured to meet your needs. Quality of services (QoS) can be used to priorize data. And you might be able to priorize several ports (for example the port where your betangel-stuff works on).

I made good experience with the switches from Hewlett-Packard or Cisco - in business with huge amounts of data. Although they are approx. 3 x more expensive, it might be a good invest. I've enver seen a hp switch failing. And if so, they are covered with a lifetime warranty.

Hope it helps,

Chris

[PeterLe]

Thanks Chris for that comprehensive answer, ill check them out

[EyePeaSea]

Homeplugs are great

Totally agree. They are an excellent product and faster models get released every 12 months or so.
I use a combination. WiFi for casual laptops and phones, 1Gb switch between my main PCs+Servers, and then homeplugs for the links down to my BTInfinity router. While the homeplugs don't have the rock steady throughput of hard-wired connections, they really are so, so much better than WiFi.

Ian

[redtra]

Homeplugs are great

Totally agree. They are an excellent product and faster models get released every 12 months or so.
I use a combination. WiFi for casual laptops and phones, 1Gb switch between my main PCs+Servers, and then homeplugs for the links down to my BTInfinity router. While the homeplugs don't have the rock steady throughput of hard-wired connections, they really are so, so much better than WiFi.

Ian

I've not heard of homeplugs before. I live in an old cottage with thick walls and use a wifi connection. The signal doesn't travel far. Would a homeplug enable me to use the internet in other rooms?

[PeterLe]

Homeplugs are great

Totally agree. They are an excellent product and faster models get released every 12 months or so.
I use a combination. WiFi for casual laptops and phones, 1Gb switch between my main PCs+Servers, and then homeplugs for the links down to my BTInfinity router. While the homeplugs don't have the rock steady throughput of hard-wired connections, they really are so, so much better than WiFi.

Ian

I've not heard of homeplugs before. I live in an old cottage with thick walls and use a wifi connection. The signal doesn't travel far. Would a homeplug enable me to use the internet in other rooms?

Hi
I use one called Devolo (check out their website they have some videos on there explaining what they do), I recommend them
Regards
Peter

[redtra]

Hi
I use one called Devolo (check out their website they have some videos on there explaining what they do), I recommend them
Regards
Peter

Thanks Peter, I will have a look. At the moment I have to be in one part of the cottage to use the internet because the modem picks up the strongest signal. If it was possible to set up in my studio, life would be a lot easier!