We are moving! New user registrations to this forum is now closed. Posting here will be disabled eventually. Please go to the new community for your Snakeoil OS support and other discussions. (June 03)

New community website: https://community.snakeoil-os.net (June 03)

Join us in the new community by Creating a new account. (June 04)


Experimenting with network topology and throughput.
#2
So before we begin, let's introduce the hardware:

This is the new router:
   
Purchased off Aliexpress. It took about a month to deliver to Perth.

Here's the unit, plus:
  • 2x 8GB of 2133 MHz RAM puchased locally
  • Reused an old 500 GB HDD I have lying around somewhere
   

Here's a look of the insides. This is the base of the unit. Behind this board sits the CPU, and that's attached to the top of the case, where all the heat sink fins are. The picture doesn't give you a scale of how small and compact this unit is. The machining is done to millimeter perfection! There is no gap for me to pry the bottom cover off. I have to remove one of the sides so I can remove the top.
   

And here it is with RAM and HDD fitted. This should give you a scale of how compact this unit unit is.
   

Last but not least, my network is now broken up into:
   

So what is a VLAN? It stands for Virtual Local Area Network. In a network switch, all computers have the capability to talk to any other computer on this same switch. A virtual LAN is like inception, it creates another switch inside this switch (hence the word virtual), and computers can only talk to another computer if they are on the same virtual switch.

So in the above example, computers in "DEV" can only see other computers in "DEV". If there is a need to talk to computers outside the virtual switch, they need to go through the router.

In this setup, I have broken down the network communications logically, this in turn prevents a lot of unnecessary suprious network traffic on the network. The theory is, the overheads of VLAN will outweigh the constant traffic noise that is bombaring all the ports on the network. 

So if I design this right, the "Music" VLAN will be where my music server and players are. It can still communicate with any computer on the other VLAN, but it will no longer see the unnecessary broadcast messages (This is the noise I am referring to).

For this to work, the router has to be extrememly fast, and be capable of receiving and forwardinig packets at a moment's notice. Hence the choice of the Minisys router. It has 6 network ports. 1 is connected to the Internet, 4 goes back to the switch (This is called LAGG).

Don't worry if you don't understand any of the above. Big Grin

The unit is powered off a 12 V SMPS. Not ideal for sound quality, so it'd be something I'd look at addressing in the future.

For folks who are interested in specs, here's the router specifications:
   

There are faster versions - fanless i5 and even an i7 in a different case. But a router is designed to run 24x7. Figures a Celeron will be better for the environment.

My only worry was it is incapable of switching at the maximum speed. For now that seems to be OK. I doubt the Celeron can do full 6 ports at 1 gbps, but that is not a requirement for me.

My quick tests have showed me, not all network chips are built the same. Some chips are just faster than the others. The fastest chips so far are still made from Intel.

I don't  use any audiophile network cables in my setup at all. But in the future if I get a chance to try them out, will be interested to see the iPerf results Big Grin .. My guess is they'd be the same in terms of throughput.
Snakeoil Operating System - Music, your way!
Reply


Bookmarks

Messages In This Thread
RE: Experimenting with network topology and throughput. - by agent_kith - 04-Nov-2018, 08:27 AM



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
[-]
Our Sponsors

[-]
Latest Threads
Android Firefox issues with forum
Last Post: agent_kith
10-Jun-2025 04:45 PM
» Replies: 21
» Views: 2030
[split] Possible To Load Snakeoil OS in ...
Last Post: Snoopy8
09-Jun-2025 06:43 AM
» Replies: 14
» Views: 1498
Snakeoil 1.4.3 (High End U3)
Last Post: hkphantomgtr
05-Jun-2025 03:58 PM
» Replies: 67
» Views: 8846
Snakeoil with Ubuntu Desktop ?
Last Post: Snoopy8
02-Jun-2025 09:38 AM
» Replies: 8
» Views: 902
Add IR remote control using Flirc USB in...
Last Post: Snoopy8
31-May-2025 03:50 PM
» Replies: 5
» Views: 653
Work In Progress: 1.4.4
Last Post: hkphantomgtr
29-May-2025 11:44 PM
» Replies: 44
» Views: 4976
SQ difference - Raspberry Pi vs x86_64?
Last Post: Snoopy8
27-May-2025 02:16 PM
» Replies: 42
» Views: 5366
Snakeoil 1.4.0 (High End)
Last Post: aabman
25-May-2025 11:35 AM
» Replies: 93
» Views: 14800
new install issues
Last Post: carlodim
23-May-2025 09:56 AM
» Replies: 42
» Views: 4395
Is this project still alive?
Last Post: agent_kith
20-May-2025 03:11 PM
» Replies: 10
» Views: 1168

[-]
SnakeoilOS Mission Statement

Our mission is to create a free to use computer OS that is easy to install, intuitive to operate and play music that will connect and engage with you emotionally.

SnakeoilOS gives you the freedom to spend more time on listening, enjoying and exploring music. Wasting time on computers is now a thing of the past! Everything is constantly evolving/improving. Please check back often for updates.

If you like this project, do show your support with a small token donation. All donations collected will be used to run this website, and for purchasing new equipment for the project.