Adding wired LAN connections via switch to RT AC87U

[Mathieu]

Hi all
Apologies if this is not the right thread or the issue has already been dealt with (a cursory browsing didn't yield anything).

I am running RMerlin 380.63_2 (will soon upgrade to 380.65_2) on an ASUS RT AC87U.

I also happen to be running out of wired connections, and am thinking of plugging in a switch. My question is: are there any specific issues I should be mindful of with when doing so, and if the router/fw will be handling the new cabled connections as smoothly as it handles the existing ones?

Thanks in advance

 

[cliver]

I have the same set up here, albeit an AC68U. Most switches are "unmanaged" (automatic) these days. So, assuming yours is, just plug one port into your router as the others into your clients and at you go. The such will effectively be transparent and the router will do all the work. Assuming you aren't streaming HDTV through all the ports at the same time you are unlikely to notice much depreciation in performance although, of course, you will be sharing one port on your router with several clients so there will be some degrading in throughput, depending on the performance of the switch. I have a couple of generic, cheap switches that I use and they perform well for day to day use.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[sfx2000]

I also happen to be running out of wired connections, and am thinking of plugging in a switch. My question is: are there any specific issues I should be mindful of with when doing so, and if the router/fw will be handling the new cabled connections as smoothly as it handles the existing ones?

try to stay away from the LAN1 port on the 87U - it's shared with the 5GHz radio (Quantenna) - LAN2-4 is running on the Broadcom SoC.

 

[BMWDude49120]

I have five switches (3 managed and 2 unmanaged) behind my RT-AC88U and had the same setup behind my RT-AC87U previously. No issues at all.

 

[Mathieu]

Thank you guys. That is helpful.

 

[elorimer]

My experience is that it works fine, but I would use gigabit switches and gigabit cables to the arms of the starfish, and be alert to the specs of the switches (I had problems with an xbox 360 stuttering through a gig switch, fixed when I replaced it with another model).

 

[mikelees2]

We do a lot of streaming as well as editing on our network. I'm using the ASUS RT-AC5300 router with link agg 802.3ad 2 port to a TrendNet TEG-240WS 24 port switch. It's very smooth with no bottlenecks. If you need the bandwidth you should be able to do the same thing using your router and a 802.3ad compatible switch.
Also using Xbox and PS4 as well as steam computers with no problems.