Office networking hardware question..?

Question

As of now we have an 8 port BEFSR81 router. 2 small linksys EZXS55 switches. We are adding some more computer and need more open ports. My question is what is the best solution for the hardware configuration. The network has it's slow days. Can i use any of the 1000 MBPS switches in place of the router. I think some of them have built in DHCP. The router we have now is a 10/100 as are the switches. We have the fastest business internet that charter offers. To sum it up, what is the BEST hardware setup for an office of 15-20 pcs?

Answer 1

If your company is growing, then you might want to invest in switches that can grow with you. A product like the Nortel Ethernet Switch 5500 supports 24 ports of 1000BaseT (10/100/1000) and supports stacking capability, so you just add another unit to the stack when you need to go beyond 24 ports.

1000BaseT will soon be default Ethernet interface on new equipment. Intel discontinued their 10/100 MAC chips, all the new ones are 1000Base versions.

You WAN connection is probably your bottleneck. Odds are you Internet connection isn't 10Mpbs, therefore a really fast LAN doesn't buy you much.

Answer 2

Any time you add network hardware you increase latency (slow things down), add complexity (making troubleshooting difficult) and increase the chances for hardware failure.
You don't want to use a switch in place of your router, DHCP enabled or not.
My suggestion is this: Purchase a Trendnet 26 port 10/100/1000 switch and put it behind your router (leaving the router as the first network device between your LAN and the internet). There are other such switches, of course. For the price, I prefer Trendnet. Anything but Cisco will be fine.

Cable all your workstations, etc. directly to the switch. Use one of the Gigabit ports for your server (or the computer that is accessed the most if you don't have a dedicated server). Use the second Gigabit port for a second server if it exists. If not, cable it directly to the router. This will give you the best performance, both internally and to the internet.

From there, if you want to do anything fancy (subnetting, restricting access, port forwarding, port mirroring, etc.) you'll have all your router ports but one free. You'll also have room to expand as time goes on. If the 26 ports are not enough, you can allways add your small switches back to the network, plugging them into the spare ports on the router.

Answer 3

Since you already have a router that is supplying you with IP addresses, all you need is a SWITCH which you plug into your router to expand your ports. If you get another 8 port switch (NOT a router), you will end up with 7 more ports as you use one up on you router where the switch plugs in.

Answer 4

The community combines in utility. in any case, remember LAN Card is a Hardware, a community section community (LAN) is a working laptop or pc community protecting a small actual section (interior of a million KM), like a house, workplace, or small group of homes, which includes a school, or an airport. The defining characteristics of LANs, in assessment to huge-section networks (WANs), contain their frequently larger information-circulate expenditures, smaller geographic place, and absence of a want for leased telecommunication lines.