Newbee to networking question

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CP

I have a A7N8X-E Deluxe Mobo and am currently connecting (just recently) to
the internet via a DSL modem and wireless router. Everything is working but
I have a question. There are two LAN ports on the MoBo: one is a Fast
Ethernet port and the other one is Gigabit LAN port. I am currently
connected to the Fast Ethernet port...but should I be connected to the
Gigabit LAN port or does it matter...??? Could one of you network gurus
explain this to me and what the difference between the two ports are if
any... THANKS CP
 
I have a A7N8X-E Deluxe Mobo and am currently connecting (just recently) to
the internet via a DSL modem and wireless router. Everything is working but
I have a question. There are two LAN ports on the MoBo: one is a Fast
Ethernet port and the other one is Gigabit LAN port. I am currently
connected to the Fast Ethernet port...but should I be connected to the
Gigabit LAN port or does it matter...??? Could one of you network gurus
explain this to me and what the difference between the two ports are if
any... THANKS CP
Click to expand...

To put it simply, the slower LAN ports are still 10 to 100 times faster
then DSL speeds. Look at Task Manager/Networking tab and download
something, no doubt the LAN is under 5% usage.

Ed
 
"CP" said:
I have a A7N8X-E Deluxe Mobo and am currently connecting (just recently) to
the internet via a DSL modem and wireless router. Everything is working but
I have a question. There are two LAN ports on the MoBo: one is a Fast
Ethernet port and the other one is Gigabit LAN port. I am currently
connected to the Fast Ethernet port...but should I be connected to the
Gigabit LAN port or does it matter...??? Could one of you network gurus
explain this to me and what the difference between the two ports are if
any... THANKS CP
Click to expand...

The way I use the ports, is I connect the fast port to the LAN side.
In other words, when networking to other machines in the house, I use
the fast port for that, so when transferring files between computers,
I get the maximum speed. In Win2K I could get up to 40MB/sec via
FTP, between the A7N8X-E and a P4C800-E (both computers having gigabit
LAN ports in that case). To achieve that "benchmark" speed, I used
RAM disks on each end, so real performance will not be that good.

The slow port goes to the ADSL or cable modem (as a WAN port). That
is because those devices have a lower thruput, like 10 Mbits/sec.
A 10/100 port is fast enough for that.

To use both ports, you need something like ICS (internet connection
sharing) or the equivalent. That allows computers with two LAN ports
to be "daisy-chained". A much better solution is to use your router
and the multiple ports on it. With a router, it means you'll only
need one port on each computer, and only the router needs to be powered
for the computers to have services. Also, in my case, my router
terminates the PPPOE protocol from my ADSL ISP, which is a more
reliable method than having my computer do it.

--- ADSL or ------- 10 base T ----- direct to one computer
cable modem

--- ADSL or ------- 10 base T --- router
cable modem | | |
| | |
100 base T or faster, to allow
faster local traffic between
the computers on the same LAN.

HTH,
Paul
 
Excellent...thanks, CP

Ed said:
To put it simply, the slower LAN ports are still 10 to 100 times faster
then DSL speeds. Look at Task Manager/Networking tab and download
something, no doubt the LAN is under 5% usage.

Ed
Click to expand...
 
CP said:
I have a A7N8X-E Deluxe Mobo and am currently connecting (just recently) to
the internet via a DSL modem and wireless router. Everything is working
but I have a question. There are two LAN ports on the MoBo: one is a Fast
Ethernet port and the other one is Gigabit LAN port. I am currently
connected to the Fast Ethernet port...but should I be connected to the
Gigabit LAN port or does it matter...??? Could one of you network gurus
explain this to me and what the difference between the two ports are if
any... THANKS CP
Click to expand...
Original Ethernet is 10 mbps
Fast Ethernet is 100 mbps
Gigabit Ethernet is 1000 mbps

DSL speed is typically about 256 - 1500 kbps (or .256 - 1.5 mbps), depending
on the service you signed up for.
 
The fast ethernet port has a maximum transfer rate of 100 Mbps. The Gigabit
ethernet port runs at 1000 Mbps. Your DSL modem/ router comination can run
no faster than about 1 Mbps. So you are correctly connected to the fast
ethernet port.
 
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