I have an Apple Airport Extreme Gigabit router and some new machines I need to put on my network (PS3, Mrs' laptop etc.) but the router has only got four ports so I was thinking of getting a simple, unmanaged gigabit switch to increase this.
I also have a 10/100 switch which I decommissioned when I got the Apple router as I was under the impression using it would make all the network traffic run at 10/100 speed. I'm not sure this assumption was correct …
Ideally I'd like to have a gigabit and 10/100 running on the same network so that the older boxes could use the latter while the machines that have gigabit ethernet onboard could run at modern speeds. Is this possible on a single network or should I get two gigabit switches?
Schematic diagram to illustrate what I mean. Sorry, looks like ploader.net has gone the way of the Dodo.
Thanks.
Best Answer
Gigabit or 100Mbit (or 10Mbit) will be decided on a link by link basis, and it is possible to mix the two within a network. Each router/switch should automatically negotiate the fastest link speed (although sometimes it's better to specify this manually, if possible).
So, it makes sense to group all 100Mbit hardware with your existing 100Mbit switch; likewise for the Gigabit hardware and router. It will not slow down the Gigabit section of the network.