If we need flexibility to react to an increase in the components of a network, we are seeking the help of a switchwhich will allow us to interconnect all the components through Ethernet cables.
In this way, we can achieve a network that can separate traffic with confidential information and adapt it according to the designed architecture. In addition, the work carried out by the switch must not be confused with that of the router or with a hub, although they have similar aspects.
in this post We will teach you what a WiFi switch isas well as all the aspects and benefits that exist when we lean towards the incorporation of this device.
What is a WiFi Switch and what is this device for?
Many people get confused between a router and a switch.Although it is true that they have similar functions and their physical appearance is similar, but there are important tasks that this device performs. To delve a little more about what a switch is, we will first have to distinguish these two technological equipment.
The router is the device that is in charge of carrying and bringing the required information between the components of a wireless network through radio frequencies. It obtains the Internet signal through the modem.
Instead, The switch is the equipment in charge of connecting through a cable the different devices that can have access to the network.. In turn, it is connected to the router so that it can transmit the Internet signal to all those work points that are connected to it.
A hierarchical network is formed in which the different nodes depend on this device. That is the function of the switch is to connect different devices to the network in a wired way.
In this way it is possible to minimize interference in data transmission, thus generating an increase in connection quality. Therefore, a printer, a computer and any device can have access to the Internet or any other data that can be transmitted between them.
What aspects should you take into account before choosing a good Switch for our network?
There are different kinds of switch that we can find in the marketeach one of them is characterized by different numbers of ports as well as by the capacity they have to transmit the connection in a fast way.
When we do not have specific requirements, we can choose according to the following parameters:
number of portsthe most common switches are those that come with between 5 and 8 ports, so if they do meet the expectations we have they will do very well. It must be borne in mind that one of those ports will be used for connecting to the routerTherefore, when we talk about a 5-port switch, we can only use 4 of them.
Existence of Gigabit Ethernet port, in this way we guarantee a very good speed so that the devices can be connected when we have fiber optics. If we need a lower speed, which is not recommended at all at presentwe can connect it with a 10/100 router, which will considerably limit the connection.
It must have the possibility of being configurable, since there are models “closed”.
For slightly more complex cases, the switch has to allow the network architecture to be hierarchical but also extensible and not resist the different firewalls that the network may have.
What are the benefits of using a device as an access point to our switched network?
When we add a switch to our network we can obtain the benefits that we mention below:
- Generate more bandwidth for those devices that can access Internet browsing, since it is not divided as it happens with other kinds of technological equipment.
- Performance improvementin that way also security that exist between the connections by causing them to merge.
- Increases the speed of data output between the interconnection of the different components of the network.
- The waiting time is much less when using one of these devices.
- we can get a longer range when we can configure the switch.
What characteristics should the equipment we use as a switch have?
As it happens in all things computing, not all the equipment that we can use may be suitable for our needs.
According to this, we will analyze what are the characteristics that a switch must have:
- Must be compatible with configuration methods that exist in the network architecture. In addition, it must also be programmed so that it can connect without conflicts with the router.
- Has to allow network separation for those that transmit confidential data, so that the rest of the other networks cannot access them.
- A bit related to the previous topic is that, must allow VLAN implementationin order to separate networks.
- A very important issue that is required of a good switch is that It must allow the improvement of the perimeter security of the network through a physical protection or any other method.
- must consent greater reliability that approves us to have a network availability that generates an optimization of resources.
Steps to mount a switch in our WiFi network to serve more equipment
As we have discussed before, there are different kinds of switch, some for domestic use and others that are much more complicated that will depend on the network architecture.
Configuring a switch from 5 to 8 ports for domestic use does not require great technical knowledge, since the switch is considered in the network as “transparent” because it has not been assigned an IP address by the router.
In the following paragraphs we will show you the steps we need to be able to mount a switch in our WiFi network. They are:
switch connection
The first step we are going to take is to connect our computer with an Ethernet cable to the router. PFor this we choose the appropriate port and insert the connector in it.
In the same way we will do it with our router.
electrical supply
The switches, like many devices, work with a voltage between 210 to 230 volts, therefore, we can connect it directly to the electrical installation of our home without any type of transformer.
That is, in this step what we will do is connect it to the electrical power of the house.
Device Onboarding
It is time to assemble our mesh or star network, for this we will have to connect each of the computers with the router.
These devices can be computers, printers, televisions and any other that we need to be on our network.
industrial switches
The same does not happen when we need a slightly more specialized switch where you will need an IP address of it and also other features.
In this case, a professional or much more advanced technological knowledge will be needed to perform this task.
How to configure an access point in our local network?
In order to convert a device into an access point, through which there will be intense traffic and then be able to distribute it to the different components of the network, it is necessary to take steps so that the configuration does not generate conflicts.
That is, generate an access point, means creating the gateway that a network will have to be able to access the Internet in a compatible way between the different nodes.
To configure we will follow this guide:
- We enter the configuration of the router, through our browser we write in the address bar “192.168.1.1”.
- Next, we dump the data from user and password.
- We go to the left side of the configuration panel. For this case we will use a brand router “Tp link”. It is necessary to clarify that, according to the brands, some names of the commands change, but not the configuration itself.
- We’re going to “Wi-Fi Settings”.
- we write in SSID the same one that the router has and the one that the access point will have.
- In “Password” We will do exactly the same as in SSID, we will put the same for the new access door and the router.
- We will do the same steps to “Security” Y “encryption”.
- In “Channel”, we will have to be careful at this point because it is the one that will differentiate the entire configuration. We will write different ones for the router and the gateway.
- we choose “To accept”.
Will installing a switch cause my internet speed to drop or is it just a myth?
Many people believe that when using the switch what it does is interconnect devices to form a network and at the same time divides the bandwidth between the different components to which it connects, just like a hub.
This is not the case, as long as there is a Gigabit Ethernet port connected to a router with a fiber optic connection, for example.
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