Gigabit Lan?

[GimpyFuzznut]

Are there available 1000mbps routers for the home market out there? Better yet, are there are wireless routers that also have gigabit connectivity?

I don't understand why all new motherboards and even my fairly old Dell system come built in with gigabit lan cards but routers supporting the speed are nowhere to be found? Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[JackMDS]

Routers are geared mainly toward Internet Sharing, and thus do not care too much about Giga.

There is one Wireless Cable/DSL Router that includes Giga Switch, and it is expensive (D-LinkDGL-4300)

Therefore, you are probably better of buying an Inexpensive Regular Router and a stand-alone Giga Switch (SMC make Jumbo Frame capable Giga Switched that start at about $50).

Link to: Peer to Peer Giga Networks

Link to: Setting a Home Giga network.

:sun:

 

[bluestrobe]

I think the OP is looking for a GB switch. Probably got routers and swicthes mixed up. I don't see true GB internet for at least a few years.

 

[networkman]

Agreed, a Gigabit switch is more likely what the op is looking for. Being able to connect all of your PCs in a Gigabit network is fine, but you'll still encounter a bottleneck going out to the Internet since the link speeds there are nowhere near what you'd see on your local LAN.

As for why motherboard manufacturers include Gigabit capability on nearly every new machine - it's most because the cost difference between 100 & 1000bT capability when building the board at the factory is negligible.

But thanks for the links JackMDS - I can pass those on to friends of mine.

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

Well I was wondering about a router with gigabit capability for simplicity reasons. Have one box handling all my networking and provide gigabit capability rather than getting a router and a seperate switch. I understand the home internet connections aren't going to be going up to 1000mbps anytime soon, but I would like to have my home PCs running at that speed because I do a lot of large file transfers in betweeen systems.

So the best option at hand is to buy a gigabit switch, plug all my PCs into that and connect the switch to the router? Won't this be a real headache to configure and setup the DNS for the systems... or will the router automatically recognize 3-4 systems and assign xIPs to the switch.

Eitherway, from what I understand from the info posted... this whole gigabit lan business won't provide much of an improvement over 100mpbs lan anyway. That DLink router does look like a nice all in one solution.

 

[almach1]

i just got that expensive dgl-4300 from dlink. best router i got. me and roomates transfer files between computers at gigabit speeds. and that gamefuel works like a charm. no more wondering why i can't surf the web when my roomate is dloading torrents or limewire. Oh and i got the wireless one too.

 

[ivwshane]

Originally posted by: GimpyFuzznut
Well I was wondering about a router with gigabit capability for simplicity reasons. Have one box handling all my networking and provide gigabit capability rather than getting a router and a seperate switch. I understand the home internet connections aren't going to be going up to 1000mbps anytime soon, but I would like to have my home PCs running at that speed because I do a lot of large file transfers in betweeen systems.

So the best option at hand is to buy a gigabit switch, plug all my PCs into that and connect the switch to the router? Won't this be a real headache to configure and setup the DNS for the systems... or will the router automatically recognize 3-4 systems and assign xIPs to the switch.

Eitherway, from what I understand from the info posted... this whole gigabit lan business won't provide much of an improvement over 100mpbs lan anyway. That DLink router does look like a nice all in one solution.

Actually the setup is pretty much the same as hooking your pc's to a router. There isn't anything to configure on the switch, just configure your router like you normally would, plug your switch in and off you go.

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

Thanks for the help. I'll check out my options. Might consider that DLINK router cause it sure does look sexy.

 

[Gannon]

Originally posted by: GimpyFuzznut
Are there available 1000mbps routers for the home market out there? Better yet, are there are wireless routers that also have gigabit connectivity?

I don't understand why all new motherboards and even my fairly old Dell system come built in with gigabit lan cards but routers supporting the speed are nowhere to be found? Can anyone enlighten me?

Cost of the electronics, it's this simple: Router producers want to make the most money, this means the cheapest technology available. Since most people go for the cheapest routers they can find.

Just use a gigabit switch behind the router for local networking, there are no (mass market affordable) residential internet connections that can even take advantage of 10 megabits, let alone 10Gb.

 

[almach1]

Originally posted by: Gannon


Cost of the electronics, it's this simple: Router producers want to make the most money, this means the cheapest technology available. Since most people go for the cheapest routers they can find.

Just use a gigabit switch behind the router for local networking, there are no (mass market affordable) residential internet connections that can even take advantage of 10 megabits, let alone 10Gb.

true. but i finally got a router that ain't gonna die on me in 3 months. (hopefully) and it'll let me post here on this board while i'm dloading torrents for once. wooohoo!

 

[Nirach]

Seeing as this thread about matches what I want to know. Who pushes that much data anyway?

My network, with 8 players of CS-S has never lagged or had any problems with my 10mb/s network. No game that I've played on a LAN at my place has been that much of a bother on 10mb/s. I've never experianced lag on it, and just got wondering as to the point of 1gb/s transfer capabilities.. Anyone care to explain?

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: Nirach
Seeing as this thread about matches what I want to know. Who pushes that much data anyway?

My network, with 8 players of CS-S has never lagged or had any problems with my 10mb/s network. No game that I've played on a LAN at my place has been that much of a bother on 10mb/s. I've never experianced lag on it, and just got wondering as to the point of 1gb/s transfer capabilities.. Anyone care to explain?

some people do more than just play games.

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

I would like to have it for large (4-5 to 20 GB) transfers in between systems. I don't really play games on my lan....

 

[Nirach]

So, essentially what you're saying is that there is ah heck all point keeping networks bang up to date is pointless unless large file transfers are going to be going on a frequent basis?

 

[Captain4]

Originally posted by: GimpyFuzznut
I would like to have it for large (4-5 to 20 GB) transfers in between systems. I don't really play games on my lan....

Unless your PC is hooked up to a fibre channel SAN, I doubt you will see much benefit from upgrading to gig. Your disk is going to be the bottleneck.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Captain4
Unless your PC is hooked up to a fibre channel SAN, I doubt you will see much benefit from upgrading to gig. Your disk is going to be the bottleneck.

This is just flatly untrue. 100mbit ethernet = 12.5 mbytes a second. Any modern hard drive operates far faster than that. You should see quite a lot of improvement, especially with jumbo frames.

-Erwos

 

[JesseKnows]

Gannon said

there are no (mass market affordable) residential internet connections that can even take advantage of 10 megabits, let alone 10Gb.

Verizon says:

We offer downstream connection speeds (the speed that data is transmitted to your computer) ranging from up to 5 Mbps all the way up to 30 Mbps

 

[Gannon]

Originally posted by: JesseKnows
Gannon said

there are no (mass market affordable) residential internet connections that can even take advantage of 10 megabits, let alone 10Gb.

Verizon says:

We offer downstream connection speeds (the speed that data is transmitted to your computer) ranging from up to 5 Mbps all the way up to 30 Mbps

Again even if you obtained 30mbps downstream, it would mean very little on 10/100 cards, since most network cards are 10/100 you wouldn't even be close to maxing
100mbps, this also doesn't have much to do with the original question.

Also at what price I'm wondering and where is that? I get 5mbps down and ~1mbps upstream and I'm paying roughly $50Cdn a month, although I'm not in or very near a major city so this is to be expected.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Originally posted by: Gannon

Originally posted by: GimpyFuzznut
...there are no (mass market affordable) residential internet connections that can even take advantage of 10 megabits, let alone 10Gb.

Actually Verizon is rolling out a fiber network to the house which is slated to have 1GB internet speeds. NJ and TX I believe are the test states (I know for a fact NJ since it will be in my area in a few months...).

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: Fallen Kell

Originally posted by: Gannon

Originally posted by: GimpyFuzznut
...there are no (mass market affordable) residential internet connections that can even take advantage of 10 megabits, let alone 10Gb.

Actually Verizon is rolling out a fiber network to the house which is slated to have 1GB internet speeds. NJ and TX I believe are the test states (I know for a fact NJ since it will be in my area in a few months...).

Where did you hear 1GigaByte speeds?

Right now, Verizon is rolling out FIOS in many states nationwide. The fastest speed they offer is 30Mbitps download and I believe 15Mbps up. I could be wrong on the up.

 

[cmetz]

Verizon's FIOS service is based on a technology called BPON. That has an evolutionary path called GPON which requires replacing the customer and CO equipment but not the stuff in the middle. The GPON technology claims to be able to support 155Mb/s per customer down. That would mean a gigabit LAN would be needed, just to take advantage of the >100Mb/s connection. HOWEVER, this is all future stuff. I think as a practical matter, Verizon is not going to offer service that is faster than they need to in order to be competitive.

Today, the FIOS BPON network goes up to 30Mb/s down, which is carried quite comfortably by a 100Mb/s LAN.

So someday you might need a gigabit LAN, but today that's not justified. It simply depends on where you like to be on the future proofing curve. I would not personally suggest building a gigabit LAN only to future-proof for external connectivity. I would suggest building a gigabit LAN to support fast internal transfers.