Megabit vs Gigabit speeds

Hey, I currently have a Netgear wpn824v2 wireless router and I was going to use it in an office environment where there will be two desktop systems transferring video files between each other every so often (like say five times a day), the video files are of HDV quality and could be in the vicinity of 2-20GB. On this network there will be the internet (2Mb down, 256Kb up), a shared printer (all in one with scanner and fax) and the possibility of a NAS for backup storage.

Will the netgear with its megabit ethernet connections be able to handle this at reasonable speeds (reasonable being I don't have to wait around 10-15 minutes for file transfers as I have spoken about or wait 30 seconds for the printer to react nor the NAS storage to respond)?

Or should I go for a Wireless N Router, which now has the added features of Gigabit ethernet connections?

Essentially I am wanting to know if the extra money for the N is really required or can I hold off until I get say, 5 systems and require a switch?

 

100Mbit/s is about 12MB/s so 20GB file would require almost half an hour to complete the transfer. You would be better off with a Gigabit router (that's all calculated for wire connection).

 

thanks man. just the response i was looking for. another question, what are the views on the linksys wireless n 160? does that have gigabit ethernet?

 

No, Linksys WRT160N doesn't support Gigabit Ethernet.

 

Other than for transfering files, a 100Mb connection will be fine for your needs.

The 160N does not have gigabit ports.

 

Weird, im reading a router shootout review on a PC magazine and it says the Linksys N Ultra Rangeplus WRT160N does have gigabit ethernet.

 

PC Magazine http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2317419,00.asp

 

A failure on the magazines behalf then. It had gigabit ethernet as one of the pros.

Ive got the WAG160N and it definitely doesnt have gigabit ethernet.

 

Check your router specs performance here

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/component/option,com_wireless/Itemid,200

The new HP Buffalo has gige lan and wan ports.

 

Just buy a $50 gigabit switch and hook it up to the router and connect the desktops to it.

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Switches/DesktopSwitches/GS105.aspx

those are pretty good, you'll probably get a 3x speed boost with gigabit. It won't be more because hard drives, etc. are slow and create a bottleneck so expect about 20-35MB/s.

 

Ick.. I guess you haven't read the reviews on those models. I don't know if this holds true for the 5-port, but the 8-port GS108s were plagued by poor capacitors that burst or bulged within a year. The very common multiple port flashing issue came to mind. Who cares if they have lifetime warranties, if they aren't reliable.
While they very well may have fixed it, it was still an issue at some point in the same model #.

I would recommend the D-Link switches over Netgear: DGS-220# (replace # with a number 5, or 8).

smallnetbuilder.net is a pretty reputable site. The publisher definitely knows what they are talking about *which doesn't always hold true with networking knowledge!*

 

I use a Netgear GS748T Prosafe gigE switch at work. Its been rock stable for nearly 2 years non stop.

 

Supposedly any switch from the ProSafe line over 8-ports wasn't effected, as far as I know it was just the 5 and 8-port model ProSafe unmanaged switches.

Netgear ProSafe is generally good, but of course the 2 most affordable products in that line had those problems (I had a 8-port model that acted up, interesting Netgear sent me a 16-port model instead).

 

I agree with this. If you're doing any real networking (between internal devices) as opposed to just a pc connected to the web then you need to stop thinking of the router (and its cheap switch) as the central piece between the internal devices. Get a decent gigabit switch to handle the internal traffic and leave the router for serving up the internet. In fact I'd go one step further (and I do) and get a gigabit switch, good quality non-wireless router, and then a separate WAP for wireless needs.

Only thing I'd say is to spend a decent amount on the switch. It's a device that will be useful for a long time.

 

my fast ethernet one has been good to me but the gigabit might be different, I guess you should avoid it then if it has issues.

 

If you plan on transferring large files gigabit is a must. I often get 60MB/s+ on sequential transfers of large files.

 

So wait, with a system like this, with the desktops on the switch and the switch connected to the router, would the desktops get internet from the router? I ask because I've never really dealt with switches before, just routers in general.

 

Right. Just connect a port on the router to a port on the switch and you're in business. In the old days you had to worry about uplink ports or crossover cables when going from switch to switch, but modern gear handles this sort of thing without fuss.

 

Sounds like a plan, thanks for all the info people.

 

I second this easy peasy plan.

 

I have a 16 port DGS116T DLink gige switch connected to a Netgear FVS338 router. The router takes care of all internet access. All else goes through the gige switch. I average over 60MB/s with it. I had a Dlink 5 port gige switch and it failed in less than 2 yrs. I could not find the sales receipt and dlink would not honor the warranty.

My big managed switch has not had any problems. It supports virtual lan so you can optimize for the best performance.

 

I got a Dlink 5 port gige switch right now somewhere.....