Piggy-backing 100Mbps switches for LAN

slavick07 · 05-25-2006, 08:51 PM

hey guys. im going to have a home lan soon and i currently have a 5 port D-Link 100/10mpbs switch. i was wondering if it is possible to get a 8 port switch and connect it to the 5 port switch with a patch cable. thereore i could have 4 ports on one and 7 ports on the other; for a total of 11 ports?

would the computers still be able to communicate with one another over the seperate switches? cheers.

mgmcc · 05-26-2006, 04:00 AM

Yes, you can do this. Some network switches have a button to toggle one of the ports between a normal LAN port and an "Uplink" port to connect to another switch. If you don't have an Uplink port, just use a crossover cable to connect the two switches.

**johnwill** · 05-26-2006, 03:01 PM

The rule of thumb is three switches/hubs stacked, but I violate that regularly.

Many switches sold to day have autosensing ports, those don't require crossover cables.

05-25-2006, 08:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
slavick07 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bundaberg, Qld, Australia Posts: 83 OS: WinXP Home + SP2	Piggy-backing 100Mbps switches for LAN hey guys. im going to have a home lan soon and i currently have a 5 port D-Link 100/10mpbs switch. i was wondering if it is possible to get a 8 port switch and connect it to the 5 port switch with a patch cable. thereore i could have 4 ports on one and 7 ports on the other; for a total of 11 ports? would the computers still be able to communicate with one another over the seperate switches? cheers.

05-26-2006, 03:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,940 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	The rule of thumb is three switches/hubs stacked, but I violate that regularly. Many switches sold to day have autosensing ports, those don't require crossover cables. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

05-26-2006, 04:00 AM	#2 (permalink)
mgmcc Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Dundee, Scotland Posts: 244 OS: XP, Vista, Mac OS X	Yes, you can do this. Some network switches have a button to toggle one of the ports between a normal LAN port and an "Uplink" port to connect to another switch. If you don't have an Uplink port, just use a crossover cable to connect the two switches.