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We have an ADSL modem which has four 100 Mbps ports. In one of them we have a 20 port 100 Mbps switch where all the networking devices are currently connected. If I buy a gigabit switch and connect it to the ADSL modem, do I get any benefits? I thought something like this.

In the situation described in the image, is it possible to get 1 Gb transfer rate between "Server" and "2" PCs? What about if the server has 2 NICs, is it possible to get 1 Gb transfer rate between "Server", "2" and a third PC connected to the 1 Gbps switch when the NICs are teamed? I mean, if "2" and "3" would like to download stuff from the server, do they both get about 1 Gb transfer rates?

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In the situation described in the image, is it possible to get 1 Gb transfer rate between "Server" and "2" PCs?

Yes (assuming they have gigabit NICs), because they are connected via a gigabit switch.

What about if the server has 2 NICs, is it possible to get 1 Gb transfer rate between "Server", "2" and a third PC connected to the 1 Gbps switch when the NICs are teamed? I mean, if "2" and "3" would like to download stuff from the server, do they both get about 1 Gb transfer rates?

Yes, because all computers in this situation are connected to network nodes that all support gigabit Ethernet.

"1", however, will not be able to utilize the gigabit speeds with "Server" or "2", since one of the nodes that "1" has to travel across is not gigabit.

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  • Thank you for your answer. That's what I thought but better to be sure before buying extra switches. Thanks for slhck too, I wasn't able to insert a image because of my reputation.
    – MikkoP
    Jul 31, 2012 at 8:21
  • "...since one of the nodes that "1" has to travel across is not gigabit" - If these switches are store and forward (quite likely) rather than cut through, then each link or hop will be at full speed regardless of the speed of the adjacent link. That is, Ethernet frames from "1" to "2" would not be transmitted at a constant rate, but rather be transmitted at different speeds depending on each link and be fully buffered (i.e. stored) at each switch. So the gigabit speed would benefit all traffic that occurs in the subnet.
    – sawdust
    Jul 31, 2012 at 20:00

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