Q
Problem solve Get help with specific problems with your technologies, process and projects.

If I connect two 5-port switches, do I end up with the same throughput as an 8-port switch?

I have two 5-port Gigabit switches. They both have MDI/MDI-x on all ports. If I connect the two together with a single straight-through cat5, do I end up with the same throughput as an 8-port Gigabit switch?
Close, but not quite. Some switches have a back plane or bus attachment. This allows the customer to stack switches together and get the equivalent of one "big" switch. If the switches you purchased do not have this feature and you are forced to cable them together there will be increased latency. Here's a link to a site that has more information about switch-to-switch latency:
http://www.mcclellanconsulting.com/methods/methlat.html
This was last published in April 2004

Dig Deeper on Campus area network

Have a question for an expert?

Please add a title for your question

Get answers from a TechTarget expert on whatever's puzzling you.

You will be able to add details on the next page.

Meet all of our Networking experts

View all Networking questions and answers

Start the conversation

Send me notifications when other members comment.

Register

Please create a username to comment.

-ADS BY GOOGLE

SearchUnifiedCommunications

SearchMobileComputing

SearchDataCenter

SearchITChannel

Close