SH3 and Ethernet Switch
 

As lots of things these days now require to be connected to the internet, and a lot of these do not have wifi connectivity (i.e. security camera hubs, home heating/lighting hubs, powerlines etc), I have now run out of available ports on the back of my SH3. I am looking to get an Ethernet Switch. I am not yet sure whether to get a managed or unmanaged one (I suspect a managed one but I haven't read up enough about this yet - advice on this also greatly appreciated).

However, I have a question about using a switch with the SH3. If I connect a switch to the SH3, do I have to remove ALL other ethernet cables from the SH3 and connect them to the switch? Or can I just remove one, plug the switch into it and then just connect all future ethernet cables to the switch? Is there a best ethernet port to connect the switch to or are they all the same?

Thanks in advance...

Re: SH3 and Ethernet Switch
 

I have many things on my router and switches but the switches are unmanaged. Unless you want some specific feature of the managed one then a dumb one is cheaper. Much like an adaptor on a mains socket.

You might like to consider getting one with POE (power Over Ethernet) support on some of the ways. Handy for VOIP devices and cameras. Avoids extra plug-top PSUs

Just plug any port on the switch into any of the ports on the SH3 and the cable that was in there plugs into any port on the switch.

Re: SH3 and Ethernet Switch
 

you can think of ports on switches as like daisy chaining extension leads. You can leave whatever you have currently got connected as is and just disconnect one cable and attach the switch instead and all ports are equal. I don't want to sound too harsh because it is good that you have asked the questions that you have however the fact that you have asked them shows that you know very little about how switches work which means you don't need a managed switch. I know a lot about managed switches and I can assure you you don't need one so don't waste your time reading up on them and trying to choose one. Something like either of the links below will be good depending how many ports you think you are going to need.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linksys-SE2...+8+port+switch

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linksys-LGS...managed+switch

I would recommend starting off with an 8 port switch (or even a 5) and if you need more ports buy a another switch and connect to a different port on the shub. You have got to remember that each switch is only going to have one 1gbit link to the shub so if you got something like the 16 port switch for convenience and had a tonne of devices using the one switch, they have all got to share that one link to the shub. If in contrast you had four 5 port switches connected to the shub, one on each of the shubs ports, the same load is now balanced across 4 independent links and running at 4gbits instead of 1. This is what I do with my Asus router, I have got cables coming off running to other switches and routers in different rooms of the house and downstairs and it allows me to effectively scale my network.

Re: SH3 and Ethernet Switch
 

Thanks General..... I have ordered an 8 port unmanaged switch....

Re: SH3 and Ethernet Switch
 

Hi all... just wanted to give a quick update..... I installed an Ethernet switch at the weekend (and took the opportunity to do some cable management/tidying up... but that's another story). The switch is working brilliantly, I must say. Was pretty simple to set up... I was expecting to have to fiddle about with things a bit to get it working but not at all. Thanks for all the advice...

Re: SH3 and Ethernet Switch
 

that is why you wanted an unmanaged switch. Managed switches are good under the right circumstances but they require a lot of configuration and you didn't need one.

Re: SH3 and Ethernet Switch
 

Many thanks, General... actually,. just looking back at your advice earlier, I realise I need to put a few of the ethernet cables I had attached to the bridge back onto the router... a quick 2 minute job, though.

Re: SH3 and Ethernet Switch
 

np dude, below is my network diagram just to give you an idea of how you can connect things. The lines indicate wired connections and the hashed lines indicate different rooms of the house.