Question can I put two switches on the same circuit?

[hot_cocoa]

I wish to set up one of my connection points in my network like this:
device-1 and device-2 > small switch > patch panel > big switch > router,
where '>' is an Ethernet cable. That's because device-2 does not have it's own Ethernet jack.

I just want to confirm that this plan will work; that there is no restriction on number of switches in a circuit.

Someone suggested at my location I use a hub for device-1 and 2. When would I use a hub, and when would I use a switch? If switches are faster, why would you ever need a hub?"

Thanks,

 

[siaan312]

Realistically, you would never use a hub, dunno who told you that.

As for your setup, yes this should work perfectly fine, but I would like to ask what you mean by
device 2 has no ethernet jack.
You mean, it doesn't have ethernet in+out only in?

 

[MagicSakura]

Device 2 does not have an Ethernet jack, how did you connect it to the small switch.

 

[hot_cocoa]

In an office cubical, an Ethernet cable from the patch panel usually ends in jack - a fitting that allows you to connect an Ethernet cable from your device into it. Panduit seems to think they're called "jacks."

I only have one incoming Ethernet cable (jack), but I have two devices that need to use that jack - thus the need for a switch.

How to install a Panduit Cat6 jack on an UTP cable

 

[MagicSakura]

If so, it is possible, I have used the solution and can connect to the network with good results.

 

[BFG-9000]

There is no hard limit to the number of switches you can daisy-chain one after the other. It's just usually not recommended as standard practice, because if one switch fails it will take out more than one device (yet not all of them, to complicate troubleshooting), plus of course there's a bottleneck as both of your devices will have to share the bandwidth of one port.

In the olden days of 10/100 ethernet, a hub made it easier to monitor traffic as all of it was broadcast to every port. Nowadays any managed switch can do the same, so nobody even makes gigabit hubs.

If the devices are so low bandwidth that 10/100 is all you need, there is a way to wire a single 4-pair cable into two 2-pair ones (which is all 100Mbit requires) so you can plug both devices into the big switch directly and not need to run a new wire or use another switch.

 

[Ralston18]

Two devices:

Simple 4 port unmanaged switch.

Wall jack > [Port 1] Unmanaged switch [Port 2] > Device 1 and [Port 3] > Device 2.

Port 4 being extra/spare.

You could do the wiring mod; however, that is likely to be cumbersome and problematic.

4 port switches are readily available and inexpensive.

And overall provides more flexibility for growth and/or change.

 

[ajohnson30]

Just be careful you don't inadvertently plug any "extra" cables either into two ports on the same switch, or between the same two switches, creating a redundant or looping path, which can take down the entire network in many cases. Some companies don't even allow small unmanaged switches in cubicles to prevent just such a thing from happening.

 

[hot_cocoa]

@ajohnson30 ok, that's a very good injunction. I will remember!
Thanks,