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Ok, I have a shiny new 8 port switch. One of the ports ig Gigabit capable. So if I plug my server (that has a Gb card) into the Gb port, does that mean that my workstations (at 100M/bps) shouldn't have any bottlenecking communicating with the server (if all 7 are really doing network intensive things)?

pretty much. well, it would be far better. it is still all about timing.

Greg

If only one of the ports is GbE (gigabit ethernet), it does you no good. Those ports are typically used to uplink with other switches. In order to get full GbE you need to have >1 GbE port on the switch and GbE NICs on both ends.

TRUCK, I don't agree. Your server should be on the gigabit port. That will optimize bandwidth to the server.

You DON'T want everyone on the network having a gigabit port - then one schmuck could potentially hog all the bandwidth to the server while sorting a big database (assuming it's an unmanaged switch).

the network will only send data one way, at timed intervals having one Gbit port will only speed data transfer from server to router. and there will still be a bottleneck. you could always install a second NIC on the server that would speed things up and lessen the bottleneck. there is a way to install more than one NIC i just cant remeber at the moment how to do it.

Originally posted by FlyingPenguin
TRUCK, I don't agree. Your server should be on the gigabit port. That will optimize bandwidth to the server.

You DON'T want everyone on the network having a gigabit port - then one schmuck could potentially hog all the bandwidth to the server while sorting a big database (assuming it's an unmanaged switch).

Sorry... misread the question. If all the clients are 10/100 AND you are not uplinking to another switch, then yes, its ok to use the GbE port for the server (assuming its RJ45).

However, I disagree with your second statement. Whether or not everyone gets GbE depends entirely on the type of content being served from the server. For example, if you are running games off of it or serving files <100Mb, then its OK to have everyone else on 100Mbit. However, if you're serving video files that are 100s of Mbs, then you want everyone to have GbE, otherwise they will hog server resources by taking forever to d/l the files. Just my .02 though.

True enough, but you're talking more of a LAN party situation I think, or a home power user, while I'm thinking more office network. Most offices certainly don't need more than 100Mbit for the workstations.

We just started using Gigabit at our LAN party, but the admins manage the server and switches very well so no one hogs all the bandwidth. before we actively managed things we purposely kept everyone on a 100Mbit port and the server on a Gigabit port.

I'm using a Gigabit switch at home now - strictly between my home file server and my workstation., all the rest of the systems are using 100Mbit NICs. Speeds up large file transfers (I do a lot of video editing and archive everything on the server).

For most people though, gigabit is a waste (although it's getting so cheap you might as well if your wiring is rated for it). Heck, I stream Divx movies from my server to my laptop on an 11Mbit 802.11 Wifi connection and it never burps. I do, however, jack into a hard line when I need to transfer a lot of files to the lappy.

Originally posted by FlyingPenguin
True enough, but you're talking more of a LAN party situation I think, or a home power user, while I'm thinking more office network. Most offices certainly don't need more than 100Mbit for the workstations.

Heh... I was thinking the exact opposite. I work for a computer graphics company and most of our workstations are GbE. The folks who don't need the speed (e.g. accountants, etc) are on 100Mbit, but the rest of us are on GbE. Transferring 2-3Gb video files (they deal exclusively in HD) can really suck bandwidth quickly.