# Airport Extreme - need more gigabit ethernet ports ...



## milhaus (Jun 1, 2004)

So, I need a few more ethernet ports on my AEX. I believe I need to find a hub, and would prefer passive, unpowered. However, I can't seem to find anywhere that sells them. I think I can do the same with just a switch, if I turn off its "brains," but I'm wondering if anyone can direct to me where to find unpowered, passive network hubs... Do they not sell these any more?
Thanks.


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

You want a switch, not a hub. Switches come in both managed and unmanaged models, and you'll want an unmanaged.

I've got a Netgear GS108-NA, which I'm very happy with. I got it from NCIX last summer for about $80 total.
GS108 - ProSafe® 8-port Gigabit Ethernet Desktop Switch 10/100/1000 Mbps - NETGEAR.com

Passive hubs have pretty much gone the way of the dodo, and for good reason - hubs send the same data to all computers plugged in, allowing data to be sniffed and logged.


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

+1 a switch is what you need. Also just to add to what JC said, if you plan on using a NAS and want to get the most out of it make sure your switch supports JumboFrames. You will get much better transfer speed with JumboFrame support... look for 9K and up.


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## ldphoto (Jul 9, 2009)

You will want an ethernet switch, preferably Gigabit. You will have no choice to use one that has a power supply however, becayse the Airport Extreme does not supply power over Ethernet (PoE).

Here is a good choice that's quite inexpensive and will provide you with 3 more ports after being connected: Canada Computers - D-Link DGS-1005D (Green Ethernet Series) 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch 10/100/1000Mbps

If you need more than three ports, the 8-port version is 10$ more and will provide you with a net 6 additional ports.


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## milhaus (Jun 1, 2004)

So, I'm a little unclear of the math here. I plug in one cable from my router to this switch, leaving me with 4 extra (for a 5 port) and 7 extra (for an 8 port) switch ... Am I missing something? 
Plan is for WHS-based NAS to go straight into the router, switch to be connected to router, and one major device to be connected to the router. This should work okay?


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## milhaus (Jun 1, 2004)

milhaus said:


> So, I'm a little unclear of the math here. I plug in one cable from my router to this switch, leaving me with 4 extra (for a 5 port) and 7 extra (for an 8 port) switch ... Am I missing something?
> Plan is for WHS-based NAS to go straight into the router, switch to be connected to router, and one major device to be connected to the router. This should work okay?


Never mind. Appears you can only use one of uplink or PC1 port at the same time. Which do I plug the cable from the router into?


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

milhaus said:


> Never mind. Appears you can only use one of uplink or PC1 port at the same time. Which do I plug the cable from the router into?


All switches I've seen in recent years have been autoswitching, so you can plug any device into any port. No need for an uplink port, etc. Same goes for routers, aside from the dedicated WAN port.

The scheme you outlined in your prior post should work, though I'd plug everything into the switch to better performance.


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## pcronin (Feb 20, 2005)

I'm looking at getting a 16 or 24 port gigabit switch for when I move to my next place. Just want to have the expandability to allow for at least 1 plug in every room, and the NAS/server(s) plugged in to the main switch. 

Except for very job specific PoE switches, I don't think you can even buy a "passive" hub/switch anymore other than ebay... As for the port math, depends on how your budget looks. Some of the upper consumer and mid "prosumer" level switches will have a dedicated uplink port, so all the 8-16-24 ports are available.


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