Basic question re: upgrade from 10/100 to Gigabit Ethernet

[james-in-ca]

We have a Data and VoIP setup with and Adtran 1424S-ce into a Cisco 1900 that connects to a Cisco 2960 SI POE 48 Switch. Our Firewall/ Router is now an Adtran 3120.

This is a recent upgrade to VoIP and more bandwidth

Since this change we have much slower internal transfer speeds then we had before. Due I learned from our provider's tech after I called them out here, to the limitations of using this "new" 10/100 POE for the phones. I used to have my own 10/100/1000 Linksys 48 port. They replaced it with THEIR 10/100 switch and It did not occur to me to check that. That they wouldn't put in a Gigabit switch.
I'm not skilled at this, and have had good service in the past from them. "my fault..'

QUESTION:

I want to upgrade to a Gigabit E Switch from the 10/100 switch. Either from the provider or my own..My question seems basic:

Will I also need a Gigabit Ethernet Router  / Firewall to replace my 10/100 Adtran 3120?

If so can you recommend one? I am looking at your 4430. Would that be a logical replacement?

Thanks

james

[Anonymous]

James:

The question is more directly related to the type of Internet connection you have and the bandwidth you get from that ISP.

For example, if you have a Cable Modem service (Comcast, Charter, TWC, etc) that is 50Mbps download/10Mbps upload, then you need a router that can handle that. But since that level of bandwidth does not exceed 100Mbps, then having Gigabit ports doesn't do you any good.  A router with 10/100 ports that can actually handle the 50/10 bandwidth (aggregate of 60Mbps) is what you'd really be looking for.

Any Gigabit switch you purchase will have the ability for it's ports to "downrate" to 100Mbps or even 10Mbps in order to connect to a router with a 10/100 port.

Having said that, if you buy a router with Gigabit ports, which are certainly becoming more common every day, you'll still be fine. You'll just never get more than the 50/10 you're paying for from your ISP. The ISP is the bottleneck in this case, not the router or the switch.

As for a replacement for the 3120, I would recommend you look at the NetVanta 3140 rather than the 4430. You'll get the same performance as the 4430 for significantly less money.

Regards,

Ronnie Colvin

Adtran Applications Engineering

[james-in-ca]

Ronnie-

Thanks for the reply!

I understand the traffic limitation going in and out of my location. What I am trying to address is the slower speeds I am getting internally.

I was told by my ISP they could upgrade my managed switch which has to be their equipment to a Gigabit switch from a 100 MB switch for a fee of 200/mo... In my two years remaining on my contract at that rate, I thought that was outrageous frankly... and declined.

What I discovered is that if I connect let's say three computers together with a small Gigabit switch those machines can transfer at the much higher Maximum rate, then any two machines that are going through my ISP's switch and the Current Adtran router.

Would the router upgrade help this?

Thank you for your recommendation and advice.

james

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

James:

No, the router upgrade wouldn't help at all if what you're truly trying to get is faster machine-to-machine speeds on your internal network. Personally I'd have done exactly what you did: buy a GigE switch of your own, move all your local machines to that switch to take advantage of the higher port speeds, and then just uplink that new switch to the prior one. That way the only traffic passing through the old managed switch would be Internet access, which is going to be slower than most any switch anyway.

Now there's the issue of whether or not the 3120 you have is allowing you to get full bandwidth out of your Internet connection, but that's a different discussion than your machine-to-machine connections internally.

Regards,

Ronnie Colvin

Adtran Applications Engineering

[james-in-ca]

Got it.. So I'll put my old 10/100/1000 switch back into service in that manner!

can get one larger (more ports) gigabit switch and have all the machines go into that first.

If I elect to upgrade to the NetVanta 3140 as you suggest, I could copy and import my current config file I presume?

Thanks again Ronnie

[Anonymous]

James:

A straight Copy and paste of the config wouldn't be an exact thing, since those units have different port configurations, but it wouldn't be a major issue to move the config in pieces (cut and paste the whole config, then go back and tweak the bits that didn't go exactly where you wanted them)

Regards,

Ronnie Colvin

Adtran Applications Engineering

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