How many switches can be chained

Some offenders suggest the redundant switch is temporary, and they'll return to properly run additional Ethernet cabling, but that rarely happens.

Instead, the client is left with interconnected and undocumented network switches, more unnecessary hops, poor network performance, and additional devices to fail following power outages and lightning strikes.

If you support so many network nodes that multiple switches are required, do it right. Purchase stackable switches designed to work together that scale to match the site's requirements. Cease interconnecting switches via an Ethernet cable whenever possible.

Seek switches featuring high-speed stacking ports such as via an HDMI interface. Then power the switches using a proper battery backup. Unfortunately, best business practices aren't always followed in the real world. I've lost track of the number of times my consulting office has inherited a client complaining of intermittent connectivity issues or just plain poor network performance.

Following a simple on-site assessment, the cause becomes obvious, at least to a professional. Frequently I find a network closet with a or port switch. If the client's lucky, the switch is powered by a battery backup.

Then I might find a port switch in a corner office that shares a single Ethernet drop with a half-dozen switches and a handful of printers. Then there's a five-port switch hidden behind a file cabinet in the receptionist area and another five-port switch in a nurse's station that shares a single Ethernet cable with a pair of machines and a network printer. Oh, and these extra switches are all plugged straight into surge protectors, too -- there's no battery backup in sight.

How surprising. WiFi is off the table, and so is powerline adapters, but thanks for thinking of that. Something achieving my diagram above is preferable. There is no practical difference between managed vs unmanaged in this regard — all switches regenerate the signal, and all of them use point-to-point full-duplex Ethernet connections. It's hubs which don't. So it should be fine to chain 3 switches and it's commonly done using this structure.

However, unmanaged switches generally do lack loop detection features, so make sure to not introduce a loop — don't try to directly connect bedroom A and bedroom B to make a 'shortcut'. Actually, connecting both bedrooms using proper Cat5e might be a very good idea if they're right next to each other — but only do this after disconnecting one of them from the central switch.

Managed switches can be useful for other tasks, such as separating ports into VLANs or measuring bandwidth used by each port. Three unmanaged 5-port switches, one in each room the CAT3 cables terminate in, and you'll be good to go. If you have any issues with your CAT3 cable runs not working after you convert them from RJ11 to RJ45 jacks, just remember that there is a spare twisted pair in each CAT3 run that you can use if need be, as you'll only be using two out of the three pairs for Mbps.

I have had the same problem as Jason who I presume has resolved his problem though I haven't seen mention of it. I have just resolved my problem which was the result of many years wiring ethernet using the concept of ensuring the wires connect pin to pin with a slight variation of the standard TB which works fine for 10 and Mbps but fails on I have just rewired two switch combinations to standard TB and now they all work fine.

I had carried out all the tests on all the wiring and components and everything worked until the two switches were connected. I have now collected 2 switches from the bin that I had thought were the culprits but they now work fine as well. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.

Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How to properly daisy chain network switches? Ask Question. Asked 2 years, 2 months ago. Active 1 year, 3 months ago. Viewed 14k times. My setup will be similar to the image I created above.

Let me summarize: My old Cat3 phone lines will be converted to ethernet by simply adding some ethernet plugs on the end of the cables. I'll then put a network switch in the 1st floor utility box, so the internet can be sent via Cat3 cable to "Bedroom A" and "Bedroom B". In bedrooms "A" and "B" I need to split the signal again to connect to multiple devices. Note - Cat3 cable speed is sufficient for my needs. Personally, instead of having multiple switches with few ports available, I would rather have a single switch with more than enough ports than I currently need as this allows for future expansion without the need for any additional hardware.

This will result in not having to daisy-chain switches and only one Ethernet port on the router being consumed by a connection to a switch. Theoretically, the number of network switches that can be connected to a router is infinite. A process known as daisy-chaining allows you to connect as many switches together as you wish, however, this is not recommended as it does come with the risk of creating a loop if they are not connected correctly.

In regards to a direct connection to the router, the number of switches you can connect is simply limited by the number of Ethernet ports built into the router itself. My recommendation would be to instead replace the multiple switches with a single switch that has more than enough ports than needed whilst allowing for future expansion.

This way, only one port on the router will be consumed for a switch, and a 24 or 48 port switch will be more than is ever needed for many home networks. If you absolutely have to use multiple switches, I would suggest connecting each switch to its own port on the router instead of daisy-chaining them together. Home Network Geek is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

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