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I currently Have a 10Mbit Full duplex circuit connected to a small unmanaged switch which then connects to a Sonicwall Firewall / Router. I have several public IP addresses (/28) that are assigned to several devices in my setup. Now the problem is the small switch I have was lent to me and needs to be returned, I have replaced this switch with several other switches but for some reason any other switch I use causes the network to become extremely slow. I believe this is a problem with the autonegotiation of theses switches, so I am thinking of purchasing a small managed switch (cisco 300 series) and making the receiving port on the swith Explicitly 10Mbit Full Duplex and see if this works.

My question is, being that this is a managed switch and needs an IP, will I still be able to run my public ips through it? Say the circuit has 70.80.4.1 - 7 will I still be able to assign 70.80.4.2 to my firewall and 70.80.4.3 to my router connected to some other port in the switch? Will I have to assign the switch a public IP address in this range as well for it to "route" to those other devices or does the switch does not care what IPs goes through it while operating as a Layer 2 Switch?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advanced!

Just wanted to say that the problem was indeed the autonegotiation on those otehr cheap switches. With the new managed switch and a configuration that explicitly told the ports to be 10MB Full Duplex the problem was solved. Thanks for everyone who helped out.

And when you network is slower than it should be, always check your Duplex settings.

rii
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rii
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    At one point you say switch and then later say hub. If it is a hub, that is your issue. If it is a switch, you should update your question accordingly. – MDMarra Feb 06 '11 at 23:00

1 Answers1

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My question is, being that this is a managed switch and needs an IP, will I still be able to run my public ips through it?

If the switch has a console port, the address is not required.

Will I have to assign the switch a public IP address in this range as well for it to "route" to those other devices or does the switch does not care what IPs goes through it while operating as a Layer 2 Switch?

IP address use only for management. It does not affect the switching. Better use of private address and a separate port(or VLAN) for management(more security).

alvosu
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  • I would point out that while the switch will allow you to place your router adjacent to your firewall, you really should put it in line, and let that firewall protect that router and everything behind it. – SpacemanSpiff Feb 07 '11 at 20:05
  • Ah I see! The switch does have a console port, so that's good. Thank you for your response this clears up things. I will try isolating the management port via a vlan and will try to get this thing up and running. Hopefully it works. Thanks Alvosu! -rii – rii Feb 07 '11 at 21:07
  • SpacemanSpiff, Yes I do understand they should all be inline, that said I was giving an example, the point here is that I need to split the line with a managed switch and I was wondering if the fact that the switch had an IP would affect the "routing" so to speak. But apparently the ip address is just for management purposes. – rii Feb 07 '11 at 21:07