Gigabit on Server Causing Slowdowns?

[Fuzzy]

Have you compared it to the H300 connected to just the server to eliminate the server? You may also have a cable issue, which is why Flow Control may be helping.

[peternm22]

I haven't tried just connecting it directly to the server. Will I need a crossover cable for that? Will I need to setup a DHCP server on the PC so that the HD300 can get an IP address?

[peternm22]

Just had a thought. If I connect the HD300 directly to the server, then it will force the NIC on the server to run at 100mbps will it not? Which would defeat the purpose of the test in the first place.

When I get a spare moment I'll upgrade the routers firmware. If that doesn't fix it I'll try some different cables. Beyond that, I don't know what could fix it.

[Fuzzy]

A separate Gigabit switch.. ;-) seriously, it DOES make a difference. A hardware switch is MUCH different than the multi ports on the router. A router is more like a mini-pc with, say, 5 separate NIC's, and it does the routing between them (which is why that tomato firmware can let you split individual ports into separate networks if you so choose). A hardware switch is a more optimized device, that ONLY does network switching.

[peternm22]

I'm beginning to get the impression you think I should get a separate switch for my network.

I'll try the other (free) ideas first. Up until recently everything was working fine though, I've been using this router and the HD300 for about half a year with no problems. Only recent change I can really point to is the new SageTV betas. If there is an underlying problem with the network though, perhaps the newest betas have just brought it to the forefront.

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

A separate Gigabit switch.. ;-) seriously, it DOES make a difference. A hardware switch is MUCH different than the multi ports on the router. A router is more like a mini-pc with, say, 5 separate NIC's, and it does the routing between them (which is why that tomato firmware can let you split individual ports into separate networks if you so choose). A hardware switch is a more optimized device, that ONLY does network switching.

Not necessarily true, especially with newer gear. Many of the current routers will use a dedicated switch chip for the LAN ports, with the CPU providing the connection between the WAN port and the switch fabric.

But it is the most suspicious chunk of the network when you're having issues.

[SimeonPilgrim]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

A separate Gigabit switch.. ;-) seriously, it DOES make a difference. A hardware switch is MUCH different than the multi ports on the router. A router is more like a mini-pc with, say, 5 separate NIC's, and it does the routing between them (which is why that tomato firmware can let you split individual ports into separate networks if you so choose). A hardware switch is a more optimized device, that ONLY does network switching.

If user in questions is just doing layer two switching (LAN) then I would say there is zero difference between the router and a pro-switch. The only reason the router has five/four ports is because it's using a 1 dollar switch chip, in fact most modern routers are using a system on a chip asic where the CPU and switch are on the same chip (eg a Broadcom chip). Now you may see difference if it's doing L3 routing, as this most likely will be done in software.

The five different networks example you note are five layer 2 networks, and this is all done in chip with L2 port map tables.