Question Which Ethernet switch should i use?

[Shantrex]

I’m making a gaming room with 10 gaming computers. Every computer is up and running, and now i’m trying to figure out how to set up the internet. I have 1Gbps speeds and the way i was thinking of doing it was to use a Ethernet cable from my main router to another router or Ethernet switch in the gaming room and two Ethernet switches info that (5 computers per switch).

Im wondering if this is a good solution or if i should do it another way?

Im also wondering if i should use gigabit switches or 10/100mbps switches? I have a friend who said i should use 10/100mbps switches because if i use gigabit switches it would be possible for one computer to take up all the internet speed(for example download something big on it). He also said that the computers would only get 100mbps each anyways since i only have 1Gbps speed on the internet(his logic: 1000/10=100).

I have vert little knowledge on this topic, so it would be much appreciated if someone could help me.

 

[kanewolf]

I’m making a gaming room with 10 gaming computers. Every computer is up and running, and now i’m trying to figure out how to set up the internet. I have 1Gbps speeds and the way i was thinking of doing it was to use a Ethernet cable from my main router to another router or Ethernet switch in the gaming room and two Ethernet switches info that (5 computers per switch).

Im wondering if this is a good solution or if i should do it another way?

Im also wondering if i should use gigabit switches or 10/100mbps switches? I have a friend who said i should use 10/100mbps switches because if i use gigabit switches it would be possible for one computer to take up all the internet speed(for example download something big on it). He also said that the computers would only get 100mbps each anyways since i only have 1Gbps speed on the internet(his logic: 1000/10=100).

I have vert little knowledge on this topic, so it would be much appreciated if someone could help me.

Is this a commercial or personal project?
I would use a single 24 port switch.

 

[Viking2121]

You would definitely want a gigabit switch, 10/100 switch are just too darn slow especially if you need to download an big update for some games or even if you use steam and allow it to transfer game downloads to other PC's on the network, it can only do it around 100mbps, not gigabit or 1000mbps, be sitting there for a while.

Im going with personal non commercial sort of setup as I got no experience in commercial grade network setups.

Also I would avoid running multiple switches/routers, it can work, but I've also seen it cause problems, and it does make it difficult diagnosing something especially if you are trying to setup some sort of local file sharing.

As mentioned above, a 24 port gigabit switch are cheap enough, don't need it to be managed for this kind of setup, but if you need some managed settings like slowing down a port or even some QoS features, might want to look into one.

Good Luck!

 

[Shantrex]

Is this a commercial or personal project?
I would use a single 24 port switch.

It’s just a personal project im working on.

 

[Shantrex]

You would definitely want a gigabit switch, 10/100 switch are just too darn slow especially if you need to download an big update for some games or even if you use steam and allow it to transfer game downloads to other PC's on the network, it can only do it around 100mbps, not gigabit or 1000mbps, be sitting there for a while.

Im going with personal non commercial sort of setup as I got no experience in commercial grade network setups.

Also I would avoid running multiple switches/routers, it can work, but I've also seen it cause problems, and it does make it difficult diagnosing something especially if you are trying to setup some sort of local file sharing.

As mentioned above, a 24 port gigabit switch are cheap enough, don't need it to be managed for this kind of setup, but if you need some managed settings like slowing down a port or even some QoS features, might want to look into one.

Good

You would definitely want a gigabit switch, 10/100 switch are just too darn slow especially if you need to download an big update for some games or even if you use steam and allow it to transfer game downloads to other PC's on the network, it can only do it around 100mbps, not gigabit or 1000mbps, be sitting there for a while.

Im going with personal non commercial sort of setup as I got no experience in commercial grade network setups.

Also I would avoid running multiple switches/routers, it can work, but I've also seen it cause problems, and it does make it difficult diagnosing something especially if you are trying to setup some sort of local file sharing.

As mentioned above, a 24 port gigabit switch are cheap enough, don't need it to be managed for this kind of setup, but if you need some managed settings like slowing down a port or even some QoS features, might want to look into one.

Good Luck!

I was acctually thinking of using a 24 port switch, but because of the amount of Ethernet cables i would need i thought it would be better to use more switches. I guess i’ll just have to manage the cables better.

Thanks for the help!

 

[kanewolf]

It’s just a personal project im working on.

If it is a personal project, then would you expect individuals to hog your bandwidth? A personal project, has a much higher standard for participation than an commercial situation. In addition to networking, you really need to focus on power. Two or even three dedicated circuits to the mains panel would be my recommendation. Then cooling is next on the priorities. Networking is WAY down the list. Get the physical environment right first.

 

[USAFRet]

Im also wondering if i should use gigabit switches or 10/100mbps switches? I have a friend who said i should use 10/100mbps switches because if i use gigabit switches it would be possible for one computer to take up all the internet speed(for example download something big on it). He also said that the computers would only get 100mbps each anyways since i only have 1Gbps speed on the internet(his logic: 1000/10=100).

Your friends reasoning is wrong.

On a gigabit switch, every port is individually gigabit capable.
All connected systems won't be "downloading" at the max, all the time.
The brain in the switch negotiates who gets what.

But yes, the entire traffic from the switch to the router goes over the same Cat5e, so it IS shared.

As above, get a 24 port gigabit switch.

 

[gggplaya]

If you have a spare computer, or computer parts laying around, you can convert it to an x86 router by loading DDWRT, OpenWRT, pfsense or whatever software you like. The processor can be very old, but power consumption should be taken into consideration. Perhaps you have an old motherboard laying around, you can simply buy an old low power chip for that board on ebay. After that all you need are a couple of used network cards on ebay. I'm using used Intel NC110T cards on my router.

Once you have a good x86 router made. You can implement a traffic shaping QOS like CAKE or FQ_Codel. That way, no one can hog all the internet bandwidth for themselves. The traffic shaping will automatically bandwidth limit people in an equitable manner. Making the most of your internet, but allowing people to download game updates. With 10 gaming pc's, you'll will get saturated at time, fully using your bandwidth. But with traffic shaping, you don't have to worry about anyone lagging for more than 1-2 seconds when a new download starts. It'll automatically scale back the download to allow for everyone to enjoy the network. Standard QOS algorithms don't work that well. Cake and FQ_Codel work great, but require an x86 processor to shape gigabit internet. ARM processors built into routers typically can't get over 300-500mbps of traffic shaping with these algorithms.

You can give the network a good test by launching several steam updates(will use all bandwidth) and then trying to play a game on another PC to make sure it's lag free. I use CAKE at my house, it really does work well.