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Forum Discussion
Solved
Ethernet switch to support multiple PCs on on workstation
I have the following home network:
Cable ISP with an Orbi mesh network, plus power line from the Orbi basestation to support wired network devices like NAS box and TV Humax box.
My workstation consists of a MacBook Pro, a work PC (Dell) and a legacy HP PC.
The HP will only connect over Ethernet using Powerline, the Dell and MacBook will connect wirelessly over the Orbi. I also have a NFC-enabled storage device that would like an Ethernet connection.
Can I add an Ethernet switch to manage the single available Ethernet connection (via Powerline) and distribute it to the NAS/NFC-storage/HP?
I am not keen on swapping Ethernet cables all the time and a switch sounds like it should work but I’m not too hot on networking....am I missing something? Will it work?
Thanks
Bruce
PS if I’ve missed any vital information...apologies. I will happily update to help anyone answer this...:
Cable ISP with an Orbi mesh network, plus power line from the Orbi basestation to support wired network devices like NAS box and TV Humax box.
My workstation consists of a MacBook Pro, a work PC (Dell) and a legacy HP PC.
The HP will only connect over Ethernet using Powerline, the Dell and MacBook will connect wirelessly over the Orbi. I also have a NFC-enabled storage device that would like an Ethernet connection.
Can I add an Ethernet switch to manage the single available Ethernet connection (via Powerline) and distribute it to the NAS/NFC-storage/HP?
I am not keen on swapping Ethernet cables all the time and a switch sounds like it should work but I’m not too hot on networking....am I missing something? Will it work?
Thanks
Bruce
PS if I’ve missed any vital information...apologies. I will happily update to help anyone answer this...:
- Thanks Michael. I took the plunge and bought the switch (Netgear, obviously 😉) and it’s currently handling the NAS traffic just fine.
Just a few more connections set up and test....
Thanks
Bruce
3 Replies
Bruceb_uk_1 wrote:
Can I add an Ethernet switch to manage the single available Ethernet connection (via Powerline) and distribute it to the NAS/NFC-storage/HP?I have a single powerline plug going out to a router that feeds other LAN stuff with more than one device connected. I haven't tried it with a switch, but I can't see why it shouldn't work.
- Thanks Michael. I took the plunge and bought the switch (Netgear, obviously 😉) and it’s currently handling the NAS traffic just fine.
Just a few more connections set up and test....
Thanks
BruceThanks for the confirmation. Glad it works
The annoying thing about these issues is that had we all thought we would need those extra ports at the outset we could have bought plugs with two or more ports.
But we all underestimate how many devices we will want to bolt on to our networks. I have gradually moved from four-port LAN switches to eight ports and now 16. Fortunately, the price has steadily fallen.
