Gigabit ethernet configuration

I wonder if anyone can offer me some advice.

I am contemplating buying a NAS device for storing pics, etc., and would like to use it at 1Gb.

Unfortunately, my Netgear ADSL wireless network hub/router, or whatever it is, is only 100Gb.

Would it be best (ie: cheapest, but workable) to replace the Netgear with a 1 Gb device, or should/can I simply get a 1Gb switch, and plug everything, including the Netgear, into that?

Cheers

G

PS: What are the differences between a hub, a router, and a switch?

I'd go with the latter idea. Get a small 1Gb switch (they're quite cheap these days) and plug everything into it as you said.

A hub can be either a router or a switch. A router is a dumb device that is box with a piece of cable in it that all the sockets plug into. A switch has some intelligence that routes packets directly from the source to the destination port. On a busy network this can significantly speed up connectivity as the network as a whole doesn't get clogged up with all the traffic.

BTW, you might need to upgrade some of your cables to be sure that they're capable of supporting gigabit ethernet. That is, Cat 5e or Cat 6 for cables from the PC(s) to the hub and from the NAS to the hub.

Get a Gigabit Switch George and plug everything into it. They almost all have auto-sensing ports nowadays so 10/100/1000Mb/s devices will all work fine.

For a home network, I can recommend these and for a corporate network, try these.

My best advice is always buy more ports than you think you need. If you have 5 devices and a 5 port switch, you are stuffed if/when a port fails.

My personal choice would be a GS108 or GS116. All of them are silent in operation without any cooling fans.

Make sure you use good quality cables too. Fast ethernet only uses 4 of the 8 wires in your Cat5e cables. Gigabit over copper uses all 8, 250Mb/s for each of 4 pairs.

Regards,

Many thanks. That seems to be all I need to know.

G

Hub:

Whatever comes in on one port gets re-transmitted on all ports. This can slow things down in a high traffic network situation because more data than necessary is being transmitted.


Switch:

Maintains a table of which computer is connected to which port, and relays data only on the port which leads to the receiving computer. Faster than a hub in high traffic situations because it is more efficient.


Router:

Connects to the internet or other wide area network with a single IP address. Also takes an address on the local network. The router then acts as a gateway to the internet, requests for internet data are sent to the router and it relays them outwards, likewise it relays incoming data to the local machine which requested it. Routers commonly also include either a Hub or a Switch, though technically speaking they don't need to.



Practically these days dumb hubs and single port routers almost never happen, so almost all modern products are either a switch or a router with built in switch.