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Forum Discussion
eaglepi
Oct 16, 2019Guide
I need more ports than my router has
I have a NETGEAR Smart WiFi Router with Dual Band Gigabit for Amazon Echo/Alexa - AC1750 (R6400-100NAS). I am building a new home and I would like to add more ports for future use. Which switch...
- Oct 16, 2019
Thats correct.
eaglepi
Oct 16, 2019Guide
So just to be clear because I'm not familiar with how a switch actually works as of yet. I would run an ethernet cable from my router to most likely port number one of the switch and then that would give me seven other Ports to use on the switch with the remaining ports on my router as well. Is that correct?
plemans
Oct 16, 2019Guru - Experienced User
Thats correct.
- antinodeOct 18, 2019Guru
> [...] when I look at the picture of this Switch I only see eight ports
> on the front There are no inputs [...]And, on your router, there are no outputs.
Ethernet ports are bidirectional, so none is (only) an input or an
output. Thinking about inputs and outputs in this context is an error,
and will likely lead to confusion.
> One of the 8 ports is used for the input.Not really. Any of the ports on a network switch can be connected to
any LAN port on a router. (Multiple LAN ports on a router are
effectively part of a network switch which is hidden inside the router.)An Ethernet switch can pass messages from any of its ports to any
other of its ports. (And in both directions.)
There's nothing special about a router LAN port in this sense. If
you have any two devices (other than a router LAN port) connected to two
ports on a network switch, then those devices can communicate with each
other (in both directions) directly, without involving the router.
> Is that correct?Yes. And you don't need to think about "inputs" or "outputs" to
understand it.