Gigabit Networking

[mbaldw]

Hi folks,

Iââ?¬â?¢m looking to upgrade my existing router (Linksys WAG54G), which I think is on the way out, with a Wireless Pre-N one ââ?¬â?? at the moment Iââ?¬â?¢m looking at a Buffalo WBMR-G300N Nfiniti ADSL 2+.   However, I was also thinking about speeding up the network a little.   The current setup is one desktop hardwired (CAT 5e Ethernet) and two laptops wirelessly connected (both have wireless G/N cards).

The Buffalo router Iââ?¬â?¢m looking at only has 10/100 ethernet ports, so Iââ?¬â?¢m thinking that may seriously hamper network speed (i.e. file transfers from laptop to desktop or v/v - esp. if the two laptops are connected at 300 MBps).   With this in mind I had started to look at gigabit routers, which would alleviate the problem (my desktop has a 10/100/1000 network card), but theyââ?¬â?¢re currently about twice the price of the ââ?¬Ë?fast ethernetââ?¬â?¢ ones.   On another forum, someone suggested getting this one and boosting the speed of the network with a gigabit switch.   Iââ?¬â?¢m wondering if that would actually work?   Surely if the router only supports 100MBps ethernet throughput, simply sticking a gigabit switch in isnââ?¬â?¢t going to speed things up?   I could understand if I hard-wired all the PCs to the switch it would work, but that would defeat the point of a wireless network!   Any thoughts?

Additionally, I guess the alternative is to buy a USB/PCI wireless card for the desktop and have all the PCs connected wirelessly, and none hard wired.

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Marc.

[Buffalo2102]

If you want gigabit network speeds then you will have to have a wired network.  Wireless N standard will not support much more than about 200Mbs and you would have to have a perfect signal for that.  Wireless G is only about 54Mbs.

As you have found, there are very few domestic routers that support gigabit networking and they are much more expensive than the regular 10/100Mbs.  Unless you regularly transfer very large files across the network (between your own PCs) then gigabit networking is just pointless.  Your internet connection will probably never be that fast and, unless you have a serious RAID setup and a lot of RAM, your PCs will have difficulty transferring at gigabit speeds anyway.  100Mbs is plenty fast for anything in a domestic setup IMO - save your money.

Buff.

[mbaldw]

Sounds like good advice - thanks Buff.  I've ordered the Buffalo N router and will stick with 10/100 for the time being.   If I want faster transfer across the network, I'll just hook up a wireless-N USB adapter to the desktop and have them all running at 200/300 MBps.

Cheers,
Marc.