Which ethernet port?

[audiobomber]

The manufacturer of my 8-port gigabit network switch says to connect the router LAN to port 1. I don't understand why this might matter. I've heard someone else say not to use adjacent ports. What is the reasoning? Is there any strategy for which Ethernet ports to use?

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, audiobomber said:

The manufacturer of my 8-port gigabit network switch says to connect the router LAN to port 1. I don't understand why this might matter. I've heard someone else say not to use adjacent ports. What is the reasoning? Is there any strategy for which Ethernet ports to use?

There is no hard and fast rule about switch ports, that works across brands and models. Some have hard coded uplink ports, others split the bandwidth between two sets of four ports (8 port switch), some slow down all ports of X number of devices are at a slower speed, etc… It really depends on the exact switch. 

[MarcelNL]

I was puzzled by this too, my current switch informs about priority of  ports on the front 

(it's sitting idle 'on the bench' while building the second rail of the linear power supply for router and switch)

 

[audiobomber]

On 3/6/2023 at 5:00 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

There is no hard and fast rule about switch ports, that works across brands and models. Some have hard coded uplink ports, others split the bandwidth between two sets of four ports (8 port switch), some slow down all ports of X number of devices are at a slower speed, etc… It really depends on the exact switch. 

The only instruction I can see regarding my switch is to use port 1 for the router LAN cable. Why might that be? Is there's something different about port 1? 

[krass]

I suppose if there was somebody here with the answer, then it might help them to know which switch you refer to (& even add a photo ?). Without any further info it’ll all be a bit of guesswork.

[audiobomber]

10 minutes ago, krass said:

I suppose if there was somebody here with the answer, then it might help them to know which switch you refer to (& even add a photo ?). Without any further info it’ll all be a bit of guesswork.

Silent Angel Bonn N8

https://www.silent-angel-audio.com/_files/ugd/74d562_549a9831af5d4cc3b05a9f92023afd3d.pdf

 

[krass]

The Silent Angel line are not standard switches, but built for audio (as you know).

Maybe they included some galvanic isolation to isolate port 1  from the other ports, such that all your downstream audio connections are isolated ?

[yamamoto2002]

10 hours ago, krass said:

The Silent Angel line are not standard switches, but built for audio (as you know).

Maybe they included some galvanic isolation to isolate port 1  from the other ports, such that all your downstream audio connections are isolated ?

All the ports are galvanic isolated if you use UTP cables. In the past, Some MIT student had connected 10BASE2 to AC mains to break down all the computers of the network! Subsequent Ethernet standards provide galvanic isolation of all the ports for recurrence prevention.

[audiobomber]

I emailed the manufacturer for an explanation. They suggested to use port #1 for the router, even though it is not in my critical music chain, and port #8 for the DAC connection. I requested an explanation as to why the ports may be different, but did not receive a reply.

[MarcelNL]

that is weird, so either there is nothing to it, or they are not willing to share proprietary info or they just don't want to explain...at least they should let you know WHY they don't say why (IMO)