How will multiple network switches affect the network?
If a company is using multiple switches, just because it’s easy to just place switches in a room, rather than to wire cables from the wall-outlets to a switch, how will it affect the network?
It’s the difference between direct cabling to the wall-outlets and switching from the server to multiple switches to the end-computer.
direct cabling:
server => switch => wall-outlet => computer
multiple switches:
server => switch => switch => switch => computer
Will the multiple switches really decrease the performance on the network?
In your example, you only have one computer networked through a series of switches connected to a server. Of course, this kind of setup will never be as efficient as a straight link between the nodes, i.e. server<->switch<->computer, but it will be pretty close; this is mostly dependent on the quality of the hardware in use.
Once we get into situations where multiple computers are connected to each of the switches, then performance will be severely impacted. Not only will the switch have to handle the local traffic, but it will also have to "pass on" the trunk traffic. The trunk of each of the switches is the bottleneck. This is why enterprise networks mostly use Gigabit trunks (for main switch->child switch), and try to minimize (or eliminate) the daisy-chained switch example.
September 4th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
In your example, you only have one computer networked through a series of switches connected to a server. Of course, this kind of setup will never be as efficient as a straight link between the nodes, i.e. server<->switch<->computer, but it will be pretty close; this is mostly dependent on the quality of the hardware in use.
Once we get into situations where multiple computers are connected to each of the switches, then performance will be severely impacted. Not only will the switch have to handle the local traffic, but it will also have to "pass on" the trunk traffic. The trunk of each of the switches is the bottleneck. This is why enterprise networks mostly use Gigabit trunks (for main switch->child switch), and try to minimize (or eliminate) the daisy-chained switch example.
References :
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