Not enough ethernet ports

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Geektastic

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#119017 17-May-2013 11:28

I have a Vodafone Home Gateway wireless router that has 4 ethernet ports.

At present they are used for

1) Supply internet to powerline network
2) Supply internet to Mac Pro
3) Network printer connection
4) Vodafone Suresignal

I now need to connect our alarm system to the router as well and have no spare port!

What is the simplest and most cost effective way to get extra ports?

cyril7

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#821045 17-May-2013 11:30

Hi,

http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=344876

or

http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=344877

Cyril

freitasm

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#821047 17-May-2013 11:34

Go a step further and get a gigabit switch. Plug all your devices to the switch. This way everything that can go faster inside your house will.

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Geektastic

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#821162 17-May-2013 13:31

freitasm: Go a step further and get a gigabit switch. Plug all your devices to the switch. This way everything that can go faster inside your house will.

Sounds good!

Does it plug into the router?

freitasm

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#821165 17-May-2013 13:35

You plug one ethernet cable from the router to the switch. Then plug your devices in each port. There's no configuration. It's just adding more ports to your network.

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cyril7

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#821168 17-May-2013 13:36

Yep, patch one port to the router and all your devices into any of the remaining ports on either device. But ideally if all the lan devices are on the new switch then they have non blocked access to each other, otherwise devices on the switch and devices on the router will share the common link between the two. For most domestic uses this is not a biggie, but if you are moving big files around your LAN then its ideal to provide non blocked switching.

Cyril

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#821169 17-May-2013 13:37

Correct. Remember that if the switch has gigabit ports then most modern devices with gigabit ports should be plugged to it - the router has most likely 100Mbps ports and that would be a bottleneck.

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Geektastic

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#821171 17-May-2013 13:40

OK. I'm going to find one.

Any recommendations of brand/model? I don't want to spend a fortune on it as it is domestic not enterprise use. Just good quality and reliability.

cyril7

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#821174 17-May-2013 13:44

Hi, for 10/100 switches my recommendation above still stands, for GigE switches.

http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=9375927

or

http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=341553

Cyril

webwat

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#821539 18-May-2013 11:35

Geektastic: OK. I'm going to find one.

Any recommendations of brand/model? I don't want to spend a fortune on it as it is domestic not enterprise use. Just good quality and reliability.

You generally pay extra for reliability....

But cheap Ethernet switches are pretty reliable to start with. Decide how you will mount it, eg screwed to the wall or sitting under the modem, so you can find one that suits (eg rubber feet or holes for mounting screws). If you dont have a NAS or Multimedia/video box or mysky or anything then 100Mbps "fast ethernet" will be enough.

Time to find a new industry!

Geektastic

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#821844 19-May-2013 09:25

OK - it will just be on my desk next to the router so a standalone model will be the answer.

I'm off to Oz today for a week so maybe I will look whilst in Sydney. Probably more choice than out here in the boonies!

sidefx

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#821857 19-May-2013 10:31

gigE is definitely worth it if you have other wired devices you haven't listed above and IMO there's no reason not to go with the TP-Link option provided by cyril above. I have the 5 port version of that, along with various other TP-Link gear and have never had a single issue. And I know others on these forums have had similar experiences.

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