Question Slow router, can I use 5 port switch to make 1 fast wired port ?

[leeleses]

Please forgive my lack of networking knowledge!

Could I use a 5 port switch to "split" the internet signal from my Motorola cable modem sending "half" the signal to a wired PC & then the other "half" to router's WAN port?

My old Verizon router is slow, but ok for most of my needs so far. I want to avoid a new router if I can.

The ONLY "network" components I have are an old VERIZON FIOS Actiontec MI424WR Rev. I Gigabit Wireless N GigE Router, and a relatively new Motorola modem.

Ookla at the modem's ethernet port tests at 450mbps.

I have about 450mbps out the modem, but the 4 wired ports & wifi on the router are like 15-25 mbps each. I have 4 wired ports & like 28 wifi devices that are mostly all Alexa's and Alexa lamp controls.

Can I "split" the 450 mbps with a switch, sending 1 port on the new switch to the Verizon router's WAN port and one port on the switch to a wire going to the desktop upstairs?

Does a 5 port unmanaged switch split the mbps equally 4 ways (110 mbps per port), or how does that work?

 

[bill001g]

A switch just connects the ports all the device then each have the ability to use all the bandwidth. Since you are not exceeding the speed of the gigabit ports in the switch the choice of which device gets to use the bandwidth is decided by your "modem".
When you are in a maximum load condition it is hard to say which traffic gets more it is not divided evenly, pretty much some applications are better at using data than others.

Pretty much the switch is not your issue it is not enough internet bandwidth and there is not simple solution for that. It does not sound like it matters in your case most the devices you have are low usage. Just be aware that if you download a huge file with your pc your are going to impact the other devices so set the limits in the download software to use the maximum or just don't worry about it since most download on a 450mbps connection only take a couple minutes anyway.

The key question is what is the device you call a "modem". Many people call whatever box hooks to the fiber/cable coming in from the ISP a modem. It can be just that but it can also contain a router.

So function your connection must go

----isp----modem---router----switch,devices,wifi.

If the modem and router are the same box you can connect a switch to that device.

----ISP---modem----switch---router Is not a valid configuration.

The main purpose of the device people call a router in their house is to take the single IP you get from the ISP and share it with all the devices inside your house. If you were to hook a switch up to the modem only 1 device would get the IP from the ISP and the other devices would not function.
Technically the ISP can give you multiple IP addresses but since there is a limited supply they would have to charge you a lot of money for them.

It is very strange that your verizon router does not function better. It should actually be able to get 1gbit wan/lan...even a $20 router can do that. It has older but still ok wifi.

Maybe factory reset the router to be sure nothing strange is set. Some things like parental controls or QoS setting can cause load issue on the router cpu. Check the lights on the router to see if you can tell if the ports are running at 1gbit especially the one between the modem and the router wan.

 

[leeleses]

It is very strange that your verizon router does not function better. It should actually be able to get 1gbit wan/lan...even a $20 router can do that.

Thanks for your response bill, I will read it more carefully tonight. Night shift!

It seems strange to me too how slow the wired ports are.

I almost replaced my Verizon router in 2021 with a Motorola MG7540 16x4 Cable Modem Plus AC1600 Router.

But it seemed easier to use a Motorola MB7420 16x4 686mbps DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem w Power Adapter instead, and keep the Verizon router in case I wanted to switch back to Verizon later.

I already hard reset the Verizon router and set it up again.

Was wondering if there's a speed setting somewhere in the Verizon GUI for the 4 wired ports. Weird.

I may try a Motorola MG7540 16x4 Cable Modem Plus AC1600 Router. They're cheap enough now...

 

[bill001g]

There are many cheaper options. The cable modem part is going to add a lot to your costs. You could if you wanted buy a $30 router that is better than your verizon but it gets tricky to avoid stuff like 100mbps ports at that low price.

Just a example would be a tplink ax21 you can get for about $70. It is nothing very fancy but has the basic wifi6 support. There are many other routers in this price range though that will work fine for you.

 

[leeleses]

There are many cheaper options.

I got a Motorola MG7540 16x4 Cable Modem Plus AC1600 Router on eBay for $20, including shipping and tax!

Would love to solve why the wired Verizon ports are so slow.

Going to try a switch in equipment first, for now!

 

[leeleses]

A switch just connects the ports all the device then each have the ability to use all the bandwidth. Since you are not exceeding the speed of the gigabit ports in the switch the choice of which device gets to use the bandwidth is decided by your "modem".
When you are in a maximum load condition it is hard to say which traffic gets more it is not divided evenly, pretty much some applications are better at using data than others.

Pretty much the switch is not your issue it is not enough internet bandwidth and there is not simple solution for that. It does not sound like it matters in your case most the devices you have are low usage. Just be aware that if you download a huge file with your pc your are going to impact the other devices so set the limits in the download software to use the maximum or just don't worry about it since most download on a 450mbps connection only take a couple minutes anyway.

The key question is what is the device you call a "modem". Many people call whatever box hooks to the fiber/cable coming in from the ISP a modem. It can be just that but it can also contain a router.

So function your connection must go

----isp----modem---router----switch,devices,wifi.

If the modem and router are the same box you can connect a switch to that device.

----ISP---modem----switch---router Is not a valid configuration.

The main purpose of the device people call a router in their house is to take the single IP you get from the ISP and share it with all the devices inside your house. If you were to hook a switch up to the modem only 1 device would get the IP from the ISP and the other devices would not function.
Technically the ISP can give you multiple IP addresses but since there is a limited supply they would have to charge you a lot of money for them.

It is very strange that your verizon router does not function better. It should actually be able to get 1gbit wan/lan...even a $20 router can do that. It has older but still ok wifi.

Maybe factory reset the router to be sure nothing strange is set. Some things like parental controls or QoS setting can cause load issue on the router cpu. Check the lights on the router to see if you can tell if the ports are running at 1gbit especially the one between the modem and the router wan.

THANK YOU --it is not divided evenly, pretty much some applications are better at using data than others.

THIS IS WHAT I WAS THINKING -- in your case most the devices you have are low usage.

THANK YOU, I INTUITIVELY SUSPECTED THIS ----ISP---modem----switch---router Is not a valid configuration. If you were to hook a switch up to the modem only 1 device would get the IP from the ISP and the other devices would not function.

"Check the lights on the router to see if you can tell if the ports are running at 1gbit especially the one between the modem and the router wan."

HOW CAN YOU TELL THIS BY THE LIGHTS?

 

[leeleses]

SEMI SOLVED! On the Verizon router under "advanced" > "port configuration" I had to take several of the lan ports off of "auto" and manually set them to "1000 Full."

Now seeing an Ookla speed on that computer / port of 469 mbps.

I'm remoted in to that computer, when I get home I'll see visually which port that is.

 

[leeleses]

With ALL ports set to "1000 full" only port 2 which was still set to "auto" and was reading "1000 full" was then the only port still "connected."

So I changed all the ports back to "auto" except port 2, I left port 2 manually set to "1000 full" instead of "auto" and now the computer on port 2 is Ooklaing at 469 and all other ports are still connected.

 

[bill001g]

It is somewhat surprising you can set the speed on the router most only run auto.

The problem with using this feature is that both ends must be set the same. The auto mode sends signaling and if it does not get signaling from the other end it can get confused as to what speed to use. It still most the time gets it right when only one end is set to auto but not always.

Check the setting in the pc it might be hard coded to 1000 full.

 

[leeleses]

Interesting. Where abouts would that setting be? On the network card?

May try the ethernet cable on this laptop and see if it performs the same.

 

[bill001g]

It would be nice if microsoft stopped changing basic stuff like this so there was one process that worked. Even better if they still took commands so you didn't have to dig through 20 menus to find stuff.

It general is a tab in the configuration of the ethernet controller itself. It used to be you could look at the properties for the ethernet connection and then use the config option for the ethernet adapter.