Network Switch Lag, Advice Wanted

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Network Switch Lag, Advice Wanted

ushare

483 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#128932 28-Aug-2013 20:03

Ok so i have 2 pcs in one room with only one ethernet cable coming into it. I need internet on both so my friend gave me a 4 port 100Mb Switch, which worked fine for the internet but when playing videos from my server/nas drive, playback lags lots.

Can someone recommend me a cheap switch that wont do this? I am sorry i have no knowledge in this area so would really like your help!

cheers guys!!

gehenna

8499 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#886130 28-Aug-2013 20:08

If it's only 10/100 then that'll be the bottleneck if your computers support 10/100/1000. If they do then you should get a cheap gigabit switch. Also make sure you're using Cat 5e ethernet cables at the least.

I've changed the title of this thread to something more descriptive than "Hey guys!"

ushare

483 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#886139 28-Aug-2013 20:13

Haha thanks mate! I realised as soon as i posted and went to change it, obviously you were quicker :) Sorry about that

Yes it is a 10/100 switch. I am running cat5e so i think the only bottleneck is this switch. Do you think the following switch would be fine?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/networking-modems/hubs-switches/auction-629863411.htm

I ask this because i dont understand all the technical stuff on this :P

Cheers guys!!

eXDee

4032 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#886144 28-Aug-2013 20:15

Even a blu-ray only has a max bitrate of 48mbit. So a 100 megabit switch should be able to handle this single task unless it has a poor chipset or the network is quite busy. In reality a lot of low end switches cant handle such throughput consistently, so i would also suggest a gigabit switch.

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek

#886146 28-Aug-2013 20:19

Any gigabit LAN switch is fine, assuming your PCs have gigabit NICs. Also, what does the switch plug in to at the other end - is it a gigabit-capable device? If the other end of the cable is connected to a 100Mbps port, you'll gain no benefit by swapping that switch to gigabit. The whole pathway from the NAS to the PCs needs to be gigabit capable. That said, it must be some seriously high bitrate media that 100Mbps isn't enough, or a crappy switch (perhaps even a hub!).

linw

2849 posts

Uber Geek

#886150 28-Aug-2013 20:25

Just be aware that randomly buying hardware before finding out what the real problem is can get expensive. It would be very unusual if a switch failed to deliver enough bandwidth for streaming. Good idea to test file transfer rates from/to the NAS.

ushare

483 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#886151 28-Aug-2013 20:26

i believe its a pretty crappy switch and kind of old i think :P

the switch is connected to a netgear r6300 which has gigabit ports and thats connected to a synology nas.

So i think its the switch. I plan to buy this one:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/networking-modems/hubs-switches/auction-629863411.htm

Its algood right?

cheers for the help guys!!

This is my current one:
http://global.dlink.com.sg/site_img/Products/DES-1005D/DES-1005D_main.jpg

networkn

Networkn
32350 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#886153 28-Aug-2013 20:28

Buy an 8 port they are marginally more and gives you more breathing space.

Tradepub

Free professional, reference and technical white papers (affiliate link).

ushare

483 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#886154 28-Aug-2013 20:31

networkn: Buy an 8 port they are marginally more and gives you more breathing space.

8port is out of my budget and i dont plan to add anymore devices in the room in the foreseeable future so i think ill just purchase the one i linked before.

cheers

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek

#886155 28-Aug-2013 20:32

ushare:
This is my current one:
http://global.dlink.com.sg/site_img/Products/DES-1005D/DES-1005D_main.jpg

The DES-1005D is actually a pretty well performing 10/100 switch, it can sustain ~1Gbps total throughput, although with one uplink you'll get 100Mbps in each direction total. That said, unless you've got some other serious traffic going on, that should be plenty. You can stream cinema-grade media with under 60Mbps.

Yes, the TP-Link switch is fine. But I'm not convinced it's your issue.

ushare

483 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#886162 28-Aug-2013 20:44

you do realize the DES0100D i have is different to the current model on the market. If you look at the picture, you should realize. The one i have is just over five years old.

I think its the switch because without the switch, and the Ethernet plugged into just one pc, it plays media absolutely fine, no lag at all but when i plug it into the switch, it lags.

What else could be the problem?

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek

#886166 28-Aug-2013 20:53

ushare: you do realize the DES0100D i have is different to the current model on the market. If you look at the picture, you should realize. The one i have is just over five years old.

I think its the switch because without the switch, and the Ethernet plugged into just one pc, it plays media absolutely fine, no lag at all but when i plug it into the switch, it lags.

What else could be the problem?

Ok, well, perhaps your switch is the problem. Yes, I realise it's different than the current generation, I have a Rev K model, which is the same housing as yours (though I believe there were two variations with this housing), and just got 981Mbps combined throughput out of it.

However, if taking the switch out of the equation resolves the issue, then, well, you're right, that's the most likely culprit. Perhaps it's failing to negotiate correct speeds and is running at 10Mbps or something.

Mark

1653 posts

Uber Geek

#886436 29-Aug-2013 11:58

ushare: Ok so i have 2 pcs in one room with only one ethernet cable coming into it. I need internet on both so my friend gave me a 4 port 100Mb Switch, which worked fine for the internet but when playing videos from my server/nas drive, playback lags lots.

Can someone recommend me a cheap switch that wont do this? I am sorry i have no knowledge in this area so would really like your help!

cheers guys!!

Just so I can picture this in my head you have ?:

PC1 <----> 100mbit switch <------------> Netgear <----> NAS
PC2 <---->

Is it both PCs that lag when playing video housed on the NAS ? Do they still lag if plugged into the Netgear ?
If they only lag when on the 100Mbit switch, maybe check the cable between the 100Mbit switch and the Netgear a dodgy cable will result in lots of error detection/correction, also make sure it is wired up properly at both ends and make sure that if the port speeds are configurable on the Netgear that you have set them to whatever speed/duplex the 100Mbit switch is defaulted too, normally "auto speed / auto duplex". If they settings don't match you'll get some wonderfullness like 100Mbit/half-duplex being used which would result in awful performance (if you can, set the Netgear to Auto/auto if is still lags, then hard set 100/full duplex and test again.)