Do I need another router, switch, or hub?

rbarr110

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Messages
278
I currently have a wireless router but am in the process of hard wiring the house for internet sharing and xbox. My wireless router is in the basement and I have finally ran a line through the wall cavity to the attic where i will drop more lines into the walls to wire the upstairs.

I only want to have to run the 1 line to the attic and branch out from there to the other rooms. I really dont want to run four lines from the router in the basement to the attic. Can I add another piece of hardware in the attic to support the other four rooms I want to wire.

If so what do I need, a switch?

Thanks
 
Originally posted by rbarr110
I currently have a wireless router but am in the process of hard wiring the house for internet sharing and xbox. My wireless router is in the basement and I have finally ran a line through the wall cavity to the attic where i will drop more lines into the walls to wire the upstairs.

I only want to have to run the 1 line to the attic and branch out from there to the other rooms. I really dont want to run four lines from the router in the basement to the attic. Can I add another piece of hardware in the attic to support the other four rooms I want to wire.

If so what do I need, a switch?

Thanks

yes.
 
You don't need another router.

You could use either a switch or a hub. Switches are pretty cheap these days, so you could go with that, but hubs are even cheaper. Generally switches will give you better performance, BUT, in this scenario, a home network wouldn't really have any benefit of a switch.

So if you want to save a few bucks, get a hub.
 
hubs and switches are pretty close to the same price these days, but if it came down to getting more ports or something, i'd definately go with the hub option for a home network as long as there won't be much traffic- for instance 25 machines running CS or something.

this may be over your head, but hubs extend a collision domain, so those 25 machines would all be on 1 collision domain. a switch, however, seperates collision domains so each port is a seperate collision domain.

collisions slow networks down.

a router wouldn't help you all too much- why buy a new mustang for off-roading when an old, beaten up 4X4 would be fine and easier to use in the situation?
 
you definently dont need a router, but a hub or switch would be fine - this new Linksys 10/100/1000 switch made by cisco rrocks, but its expensive :mad: :(
 
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