As the world becomes increasingly connected, so does the need for a robust home network. But how many switches can you have in a single home network, and do multiple switches slow down your network? In this article, we will answer these questions and more.
The number of switches you need in your home network will depend on the size of your house and the size of your home network. For example, a three-bedroom house with a family room and a living room will typically have five ethernet cables, one per room. However, if you install two ethernet cables per room, you will have ten ethernet cables that should originate from a network panel.
In this network panel, you should have an 8 port or 10 port switch, as most routers only have 4 LAN ports. To optimize your ethernet cable connection, you should also connect a 5 port switch to each room. This will give you four more ports per room, allowing you to connect more devices like TVs, streaming devices, gaming consoles, and PCs.
There is no limit to how many switches you can have in a single network, but the best practice is to have one switch per ethernet cable and no more. You can tether two switches together with a crossover cable, but there is no real reason to have two switches for one ethernet cable.
Multiple switches can technically slow down your network, but your switch most likely has a higher bandwidth than your internet connection. Therefore, you will most likely see no difference in upload or download speeds. For example, if you have a fiber connection with one gig speeds and multiple switches throughout your house, you should have no issues with bandwidth uploads or download speeds.
In conclusion, the rule of thumb should be one switch per room per ethernet cable. There’s no need to worry about these switches slowing down your bandwidth, but if you need more than four ports, you can buy an eight port or even a ten port switch. With a reliable brand like TP-Link or Netgear, connecting a switch to an ethernet port is very easy.