So I’m planning on running some ethernet cable in a house and want to get the highest possible speeds from device to device, as well as device to internet (up to 2.5gbe - the maximum lan port of any current devices as well as max speed currently offered by ISP), while buying as little additional hardware as possible.
Ideally, I’d like to use my existing router, a tp-link archer ax6000, which has a 2.5gbe wan port and 8 gigabit ports, and has always given really good wifi coverage.
My plan is to have most networking equipment in the basement, because that’s where it makes most sense space wise, where the fiber jack (the ISP device that takes in the fiber line and offers up a lan port) is, and where it will be easiest to terminate ethernet cable runs, but then to have the router on the first floor. So everything would run to a patch panel in the basement which would connect to an unmanaged 2.5gbe switch. The switch would than be connected to the router upstairs by running in-wall ethernet.
My original thought was I’d need to run two cables from the patch panel to the router upstairs. First to connect the router to the fiber jack via the 2.5gbe WAN port, and second to connect the switch to one of the LAN ports.
I’m wondering if something else is possible, though. Could I just connect the 2.5gbe WAN port directly to the switch, and then the switch directly to the fiber jack. If possible, this would allow me to just run a single LAN cable to the router, while having the bonus of eliminating the potential device->internet bottleneck of having the switch connected to a gigabit port on the router.
Can this be done? Is the outer agnostic about where it sits, so long as it has a path to internet, or does it need to physically sit between the unmanaged switch and the internet.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I’ll just run two cables. Compared to using a managed switch and VLANs, running a second cable isn’t that much extra hassle over running just one, and a gigabit internet bottleneck isn’t actually a problem since I don’t intend to purchase a multigig bandwidth plan.
It’s good to know that with my proposed set-up there won’t be any device-device bottleneck, as I actually do intend to use 2.5gb internally from time to time.
Another question I have: is here any real reason to go with a “well known” brand for an unmanaged switch? I’m seeing multigig offerings from places like mokerlink and trendnet for significantly cheaper than recognizable names like D-Link or TP-Link.
For the POA switch I’m hooking directly into the second NIC of my NVR, I’m going with a used unmanaged poe+ switch from a well known manufacturer, since poor power handling could be a potentially fire safety issue, but I’m wondering if anything can really go wrong with an unmanaged switch.