Network question

[Yoda007]

Hello I have a question about networking:

Currently i have  a modem,a  router and 2 PCs in one room and the STB + TV in the other part of the apartment. The connections are something like:

TV                            2 PCs (WLAN -not the best signal)

STB

|  10 m cable

-------------------------------------------------------------

rooms between

-------------------------------------------------------------

|

modem—router

|

PCs

I am wondering if i can use 2 switches on either end like this:



Or would the better option be just another 10m UTP cable connecting the raspberry and router  ?

[Chromatix]

I don't know the details of the IPTV stuff - so I don't know whether there is a DHCP server running on the modem for that purpose.  If there is, it would conflict with the one running on the router if you connected both to the same network.

If that is not a problem, then it should work just fine.

[grumpyoldgit]

Yes. Daisychaining switches is not going to be a problem in a domestic setup. The issue to me would be if the IPTV setup is using a different subnet from the rest of the network. If you could list the IP adresses of all the devices, it would make it a bit clearer. I also know didley squat about IPTV but a quick check on a couple of sites suggests that the signal comes into your premises over your domestic internet provision. Is that the case?

[Chromatix]

Different subnets would not matter for this - I would be more worried if they used the same subnet!  They are just packets, they will be routed appropriately by the switches.

[emg]

What really will drive the feasibility is the traffic you intend to send between switches. Anything that involves streaming or long sustained downloads can saturate the link (media streaming, VOIP, torrents, etc). You did not mention the speed of the link (100mbit, 1Gbit)? If you had the right gear you could perform a bit of traffic shaping and QOS to prioritize for best performance. You could also use 2 cables and port trunking to double the bandwidth.

As others have said, if you have never joined these 2 networks together before (and are expecting them to communicate) and are not using a router between each segment, you will need to align the networks so they are reachable under the same subnet mask. The easiest way is to re-number one side to match the other. You >can< do this with subnetting but this is probably beyond the scope of a home network.

If you can plug a device into each network and receive an IP address, you have 2 DHCP servers running. One will have to be disabled or you will have issues. Normally for best results use DHCP from your ADSL router as it will probably have the most options. It will probably provide DNS for your network as well (or at least relay to your ISPs DNS).

Good Luck!

[Yoda007]

Did not know that that was called "daisychaining". Googled it a little bit and I will probably just get another CAT5 cable which is probably cheaper than buying another switch (have only 1 lying around).

Thanks for the replies.