i have a few general questions about gigabit ethernet:

after a recent upgrade of my main home computer, i now have 3 "gigabit-ready" machines, including the new pc, a ps3, and a home server. i have all 3 connected (hard-wired) to a Linksys WRT54G2 router (which does not have gigabit ports), which also provides wireless access to our 2 laptops (both of which only have wireless-g cards)...

i'm trying to figure out what i need to do access the potential of gigabit ethernet if i can, or if it would really matter at all. at first i thought about upgrading the router to one w/ wireless-n and gigabit ports (and potentially later upgrading the wireless card in our laptop), but then i read something about switches, although i'm not quite sure what they do / how they work...

i would like to use the ps3 for watching downloaded videos and home videos on either the main pc or the home server - so i didn't know if gigabit ethernet would benefit me in anyways

if useful, i've read that cat5e is okay to use, but would there be any benefit to using all cat6 cable?

also, does routing the cable internet through a gigabit-able router do anything for download speeds? if so, does the modem matter at all in these scenarios?

1/28/2010 2:03:05 PM

1.) cat5e is fine, you do not need cat6, especially considering the short distances you're talking about (though if you had to buy either and price didn't matter, i'd go with 6)

2.) it makes no difference if you run your cable modem through a 10/100 or a 10/100/1000 router, since cable speeds are so far below what those connections are capable of that you'll never notice any difference because there are none

3.) if you want to maximize speeds between the 3 gigabit machines on the network, pick up a gigabit switch and connect them all to the switch...connect the switch to the router (i can't speak as to the performance impact on intarweb interactions, but i'm betting they're minimal if at all present)

you can get an 8-port gigabit for $35 with free shipping from amazon right now, actually (check the right side of the page for amazon.com under the "more buying options") : http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Greennet-Auto-Negotiation-Auto-MDIX-TEG-S80G/dp/B001QUA6RA

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 2:30 PM. Reason : .]

1/28/2010 2:27:44 PM

Quote :

"i'm trying to figure out what i need to do access the potential of gigabit ethernet if i can, or if it would really matter at all. at first i thought about upgrading the router to one w/ wireless-n and gigabit ports (and potentially later upgrading the wireless card in our laptop), but then i read something about switches, although i'm not quite sure what they do / how they work..."

Routers usually contain switches. In the simplest terms, a switch passes data back and forth between your different devices. If you want gigabit connections between your machines, you can either get a router with gigabit ports, or you can get a gigabit switch, plug you machines into it, then plug the switch into your existing router.

Quote :

"i would like to use the ps3 for watching downloaded videos and home videos on either the main pc or the home server - so i didn't know if gigabit ethernet would benefit me in anyways"

Only if both devices are gigabit

Quote :

"if useful, i've read that cat5e is okay to use, but would there be any benefit to using all cat6 cable?"

Cat5e is fine. Cat6 will give you the ability to have longer runs.

Quote :

"also, does routing the cable internet through a gigabit-able router do anything for download speeds? if so, does the modem matter at all in these scenarios?"

No. You cable internet isn't going to come anywhere near the maximum speed of a 100 or 1000 mbps link.

1/28/2010 2:32:30 PM

I have nothing to contribute here. The information already provided has been accurate.

1/28/2010 2:44:48 PM

Quote :

"2.) it makes no difference if you run your cable modem through a 10/100 or a 10/100/1000 router, since cable speeds are so far below what those connections are capable of that you'll never notice any difference because there are none"

exactly, you will only notice any difference at all if, for example, you link your ps3 to your computer as a media center (though i still think 100 is still plenty for this, at least it's been my experience so far), or with large file transfers on your own intranet, or even lan games (negligible though)


[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 3:18 PM. Reason : ^ pretty much what he said]

1/28/2010 3:17:48 PM

I don't see the advantage of spending money to achieve gigabit speeds on a home network.


althought i have never tried streaming 1080i/p movie rips yet.

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 3:31 PM. Reason : ss]

1/28/2010 3:30:22 PM

Quote :

"althought i have never tried streaming 1080i/p movie rips yet"

heck, your average full-1080p (including audio data) content is no more than 6-7mbps (absolute tops, and likely closer to 4mbps), which can be successfully achieved through USB 2.0...rips are no more than 2mbps and likely closer to 1mbps

not that USB is ideal for any number of reasons, but it can be done...gigabit is all but useless for anything other local networking (in a consumer world, i mean)

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 3:37 PM. Reason : quote]

1/28/2010 3:35:54 PM

^^ yeah, in general you don't *need* it, but if you do a lot of large file transfers between machines, it makes life that much easier. At this point in time, gig switches are so cheap that there's no reason not to go gig.


^Raw uncompressed 1080p video at 60 frames per second is about 3Gbps so even with standard HD DVD level H.264 compression at 107:1, you still wind up with 28Mbps


the 4-7mbps numbers you are citing are ultracompressed HD rips that are compressed to the point where you wind up at below-DVD level quality.



[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 3:51 PM. Reason : a]

1/28/2010 3:48:31 PM

I would say dont bother doing anything until you decide to upgrade to 802.11n. Then get an N router w/ gig ports.

1/28/2010 3:52:12 PM

Moving files around your home network is great on GbE. Totally worth the upgrade in my opinion.

1/28/2010 3:56:52 PM

Quote :

"Raw uncompressed 1080p video at 60 frames per second is about 3Gbps so even with standard HD DVD level H.264 compression at 107:1, you still wind up with 28Mbps"

okay, i'm showing my ignorance here, but...how can you have a 50gb bluray with a 120-minute movie if it's 28mbps? by my calculations, you'd need more than 200gb

maybe there's something i don't understand (very likely, i admit)

1/28/2010 3:58:20 PM

blu ray is 24fps isnt it?

1/28/2010 4:05:53 PM

Quote :

"okay, i'm showing my ignorance here"

indeed

(50 GB * 1024 MB/GB * 1024 kB/MB * 1024 B/kB * 8 b/B)
----------------------------------------------------- = 59,652,324 bps = 59.7 Mbps Average bitrate
               120 min * 60 s/min

1/28/2010 6:08:01 PM

Quote :

"I have nothing to contribute here. The information already provided has been accurate."

Quote :

"At this point in time, gig switches are so cheap that there's no reason not to go gig."

qft

and in like 10 years it'll probably be "at this point in time, 10gbe switches are so cheap that there's no reason not to go 10gbe."

1/28/2010 6:54:54 PM

thanks everybody... i'll probably go ahead and get a switch for now b/c i do plan to transfer large files occasionally and i would like to use the ps3 as a media center to a certain extent. plus, the switches are pretty cheap (and there's no good reason not to really)...

i might upgrade to wireless-n sometime in the future, but it's not worth the cost to me for now

and since it was brought up (although i'm not clear yet if gigabit is needed for it), i would definitely like to have the ability to have blu ray discs (and older DVDs) ripped to the server for access by the ps3

just so i'm understanding correctly... the routing would be modem -> router, then router -> switch, and then switch to the 3 machines

1/28/2010 8:13:48 PM

Quote :

"just so i'm understanding correctly... the routing would be modem -> router, then router -> switch, and then switch to the 3 machines"

yes

1/28/2010 8:19:28 PM

thanks

1/28/2010 8:21:57 PM

Quote :

" Moving files around your home network is great on GbE. Totally worth the upgrade in my opinion"

1/28/2010 9:46:49 PM

I love my full duplex 802.3ab network

I wish it were 802.3an 10 Gb over UTP

1/29/2010 7:44:30 PM