Mixed speed devices on network...

[ciphermonk]

Would a dedicated switch be worth it in this case? My LAN at home consists of

Linux box - GBE
ReadyNas NV+ - GBE
MacBook Pro - GBE/802.11n 5Ghz
Mac iMac - 802.11n 5Ghz
ThinkPad T61 802.11n GBE/2.4Ghz
ThinkPad T61 802.11g GBE2.4Ghz

For the wireless devices, I have a DIR-655 and a WNHDE111 AP.

Currently the WNHDE111, ReadyNas, Linux, and the Laptops (on occasion), plug into the DIR-655. I'm considering adding a GS108T to the mix and all of the wired devices connected to it with a single uplink to the DIR-655. Do you think that I'd see a throughput boost by going to a dedicated switch vs. using what's build into the DIR-655? Thanks for your help.

[thiggins]

Nope. Unmanaged switches are pretty much the same.

[ciphermonk]

Isn't the GS108T a quote "smart switch" that allows for some degree of manageability?

[thiggins]

Right you are. But still won't improve performance over the DIR-655 switch.

[ciphermonk]

Thanks Tim... Saved me $100

[ciphermonk]

Is there a switch that you would recommend where I would see an increase in throughput?

[valentin]

The switches are pretty much the same, using the same electronics. No way to have magic throughput increase. If you think your throughput is low, look for other reasons - e.g you use laptops, their hard drives are usually slow. Benchmark them. The switch cannot pass data at a higher speed than the hard drive reads or writes it.
Next - look at the CPU utilization on the laptops. On mine laptop it is 40 to 45% when using the gigabit link.

[ciphermonk]

The bottleneck is probably the ReadyNAS more than anything else. I need a switch anyways because I'm always having to decide what I want to have connected to the network at any given time. I just figured that I might pick up a few MB/s in the process as well. The network is working fairly well at the moment but of course good is never enough right? :-) At least with the ReadyNas I can play a couple 1080p movies over smb or afp without hiccups. I just figure that taking some of that load off of the router might be beneficial.

[tipstir]

Switches are just use to extend your network. Some have more memory buffer management and some don't. Whatever the router main switch ports offer won't be any better with unmanaged, smart, web, managed switches that have faster chipsets.