{"id":4014,"date":"2021-03-29T09:23:32","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T09:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1344249"},"modified":"2021-03-29T09:23:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T09:23:32","slug":"run-out-of-ethernet-ports-on-your-router-heres-the-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=4014","title":{"rendered":"Run out of ethernet ports on your router? Here\u2019s the solution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ever look at the back of your router and ask yourself \u201cWHY!?!?\u201d There are only four ethernet ports there. Four. <\/em>How can anyone live and thrive with such a measly amount of wired network connections? Well, friend, this article is for you and anyone else who has run out of ethernet ports on their router.<\/p>\n

The solution to this is surprisingly simple: you need a network switch.<\/p>\n

Without getting bogged down in too much detail, a network switch is a box that you connect to your router. On that box are a range of ethernet ports. And you can plug more things into those ethernet ports. It looks like this:<\/p>\n

\"netgear
<\/i><\/a>This little box is a godsend to anyone who has run out of ethernet ports.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And it\u2019s utter magic.<\/p>\n

The other week I ran out of ethernet ports and had a couple of days where I was seriously scratching my head at what to do. There\u2019s a range of equipment in my household (NAS drive<\/a>, Apple TV<\/a>, Bluesound audio streaming gear<\/a>, Xbox Series X<\/a>, and so on) that requires<\/em> to be plugged into the router for optimum performance \u2014 and I had no desire to connect wirelessly.<\/em><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s an issue no longer \u2014 and it\u2019s all down to the network switch.<\/p>\n

[READ: How to use AI to better serve your customers<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

Out of ethernet ports? Then a network switch is your best friend<\/h2>\n

An important note here: make sure you get a network switch and not a network splitter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"network
<\/i><\/a>This is a network splitter. Just so you know what NOT to get.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A network splitter (also known as an ethernet splitter) doesn\u2019t actually allow you to increase the number of wired connections you can make on your router. A network switch does.<\/p>\n

All you need to do is plug the network switch into your router and connect more devices to that. Suddenly, you have access to a whole load more wired connections in your home or office. It\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n

The two types of network switches<\/h2>\n

Okay, so you\u2019re out of ethernet ports and you want a switch. Thing is, you keep seeing mentions of \u201cmanaged\u201d and \u201cunmanaged\u201d network switches. Which one do you choose?<\/p>\n

Long story short, a managed switch allows you to change settings, such as QoS, traffic levels, channel prioritization. An unmanaged switch doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

After some consideration, I selected a managed switch. Both types allow you to plug-and-play (I literally just connected mine and everything worked perfectly), but I found the idea of paying a bit more just in case I needed more customization options in the future too alluring to pass up.<\/p>\n

The other decision you need to make is how many extra ethernet ports you want your network switch to have. I went for eight \u2014 because you never know what\u2019s going to crop up in the future. I\u2019d suggest you do the same.<\/p>\n

So\u2026 you want a managed network switch with eight ethernet ports. That much is clear. But which one?<\/p>\n

Well, there are a range of reputable companies making network switches. I got mine from Netgear (the model is the GS308E) and I\u2019m incredibly happy with it, but I would assume most major manufacturers of networking gear would make solid switches for the home.<\/p>\n

Anyway, run out of ethernet ports on your router? Then get a network switch, friend.<\/p>\n

Did you know we have a newsletter all about consumer tech? It\u2019s called Plugged In \u2013 and you can subscribe to it right here<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n

Published March 29, 2021 \u2014 09:23 UTC <\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever look at the back of your router and ask yourself \u201cWHY!?!?\u201d There are only four ethernet ports there. Four. How can anyone live and thrive with such a measly amount of wired network…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}