Gigabit Ports?

[jagblade]

Okay, going to be ordering from either Realm Computers or Ibuypower next week. To make my choice I only want to know one thing. When on Live chat with a Realm Tech/Customer support employee, he told me all computers they sell comes with (if I remember correctly) Dual Gigabit Ports that support "teaming." Can anyone tell me exactly what this means and what kind of speeds I could expect from this if using Cox High Speed Internet? I have a feeling my cable modem will play a factor as well.

P.S. - I did google this, but I could find nothing relating exactly to what I'm asking.

Thanks, -Jag

[Bobcat]

Here's an explanation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_aggregation).

Short answer, nothing.

Long answer: Nearly all current home networks are 100 Mbps (unless you run outdated hardware), the connection you want is 50 Mbps, so even if you raise your network bandwidth to 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps), your connection's bandwidth will still only be 50 Mbps, meaning you gain nothing.

Link aggregation means essentially nothing to the end user, you can't "make use of it" or anything. It's merely a standard in networks to increase throughput stability.

In regards to speed, it depends on how far you're located from the hub you'll be connected to. Generally, if you're right next to it, you can take the speed and remove 15% of it which is commonly the overhead, what's left would be your speed. The further away you are, the more your speed deteriorates (calculated before deducting the overhead).


On a seperate note, when ordering the 50 Mbps line, if they don't provide you with a router, you might want to confirm that your own is capable of the bandwidth on the WAN port. Most cheap routers only provide 10 Mbps.

[jagblade]

So essentially, just sticking with the ports linking directly to my modem will only ever run at about 50? So a network card won't affect any significantly?

[Sir. TheHeartSmasher]

From your modem to the internet the max you will be able to get is what your paying for. So if your paying for 50Mbps internet you might be able to get 50Mbps down/up depending on what your ISP is providing you along with the congestion of the network.

For LAN use I would recommend you have all your computers hooked up to a gigabit switch then the gigabit NIC ports on the computers you have will come in handy if the hardware inside is able to sustain and transfer 1Gb+ across the LAN. Which can be good for an internal LAN Backup Server, Media Center, File Server, etc.

Internet = Public IPs
LAN = Private IPs

[jagblade]

Okay then, so either way I should be good. So in your personal opinion should I go with Realm's default motherboard Gigabit ports? Or Ibuypower's options of an Intel Pro 10/100/1000 or Killer Xeno Pro?

[Sir. Crackerjam]

How is your 50mb line coming in? Cable? If they have it coming in over something else you might have to set up an enterprise router, which is difficult if you don't know how. (Did you even say anything about a 50mb line or was that just an example?)

[jagblade]

I was just responding to Bobcat. It will be over cable yes. Cox High Speed internet so I'll be using a motorola cable modem. As far as speeds I have no idea.

[Sir. Crackerjam]

Ahh, alrighty then. :)

[jagblade]

Update: Okay, know what speeds I'm going for. Aiming if I can for around at least a 30mbps Download speed. So again my question stands, will that be possible with default motherboard ethernet ports w/ Cox High Speed Internet using the latest Motorola Cable Modem? Or would I need a network interface card 10/100 0r 10/100/1000?

[Sir. XaliaS]

Cat6 is where it's happening baby!

[Sir. Crackerjam]

I would suggest doing a bit of research on your router, because some do have a 10mbit internet designated port, which would obviously cut your speeds.

Also, cat6 is unnecessary, unless you're using the cable primarily for VOIP, and other UDP protocols (UDP protocols send information and assume it was recieved correctly, TCP protocols use error checking, I could go more in-depth but I don't want to bore you, most things do use TCP). A standard cat5 will do fine, and if you're worried about interference you can always get a shielded version. I have a feeling cat6 is more expensive, but I'm not sure.

[Sir. MatDef]

For the love of god, do not buy from ibuypower! Their computers are poorly built, and the customer support is even worse, stay as far away from them as you can.

For the cable question, just buy here:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10232

Now you can't afford not to buy cat6.

[Sir. TheHeartSmasher]

$22.43 is pretty good for 100Ft. of pre-made CAT6

[jagblade]

Alright, this is new stuff to me. Never heard of this Cat5/6 thing before. But looking into it (not sure if I'm right) it's a network cable that regulates my transfer speed and bandwidth? Also to explain again, I won't be using LAN or a router. I'll be running a line into my Motorola cable modem and then straight into my computer.

[Sir. Crackerjam]

Cat stands for category, and 5/6 is just the version of the IT regulation standard for types of ethernet cable (networking cable). Basically, ethernet cable is made of smaller cables, twisted around each other in a cable housing. The only difference between the different catagories is the number of twists per unit of length (which isn't directly proportional to the category number). More twists reduce interference between the different wires.

Also, it's generally a good idea to have a router, they have features that help protect your computer from bad things on the internet. And they help if you decide to get a wireless laptop, or an extra computer.

Oh, and it looks like cat6 is the way to go, there's no point in paying the same price for a lesser quality cable.

[Sir. TheHeartSmasher]

Normally these are some of the setups:
Cable Modem -> Router -> Firewall -> Switch that the computers connect to.
or
Cable Modem -> Router with built-in Firewall -> Switch that connects the other computer connect to.
or
Cable Modem -> Router with built-in Firewall -> Then different computers connect to the router.
or
If the cable modem can act as a router with built-in firewall
Cable Modem -> Computers
or
Cable Modem -> Computers with Firewall software

[jagblade]

Thanks heart, now I understand it a bit better. I do Have the D-Link Xtreme Gaming Router if that works.

[jagblade]

Update - Going to be going with the last setup given by Heartsmasher. I'll be putting some firewall software into the new gaming PC I'm ordering so now all I need to know is this. Would I run the Cat6 cable from my modem to the gigabit Ethernet port on my new PC? Or do I require a router to use it?

[Sir. Crackerjam]

You can run your internet directly into your PC if you don't want to put a router in between, without any issues.