Two cables connected to switches result in quicker performance.
Two cables connected to switches result in quicker performance.
This may sound stupid, but it is a legitimate question. I have two switches, an eight-port gigabit (Ethernet in from the wall) and a 16-port 10/100 (for devices that need Internet, but less bandwidth). I am a little worried that the devices on the 10/100 switch will get bottlenecked by the single 10/100 link connecting it to the gigabit switch, however. Therefore, if I just... add another cable will it be faster?
It won't work, you're probably going to disrupt the network because of a loopback. On premium switches you can link multiple ports together, but with basic equipment it's not possible.
Simple on/off switches won’t help with extra cables. More advanced controls usually allow bandwidth pooling, but if you’re concerned, consider purchasing an affordable gigabit switch.
Relies on the type of switches employed: Without STP in unmanaged switches, connecting two cables forms a loop that overflows the network until the extra cable is removed. With STP support, only one switch-to-switch connection remains active. Managed devices enable port pooling or trunking to achieve a speed close to the sum of the aggregated ports, though some overhead is involved.
It hinges on the specific switch model and its setup. However, given a device that supports port bundling, you can leverage multiple connections to boost performance—but this demands more advanced hardware and careful tuning. For switches running Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), they will identify loops and disable one port to avoid network collapse. This won’t increase speed but protects against overloads. In extreme cases, if STP isn’t enabled, loops form, causing packets to repeat endlessly between switches. Each loop iteration amplifies delays until the network fails completely, only recovering after a restart. Broadcast traffic becomes confused, sending duplicate packets back and forth, eventually exhausting bandwidth and bringing the whole system down.