We have a couple of systems with 1G network cards in our computer lab that we would like to do some testing with at their full 1G speed when talking to each other. They are sitting next to each other.
However, they are apparently hooked to some kind of switch-- and the IT department claims "our network doesn't do 1G, it's 100M. Frankly, that suggests that there's no way a 1G network card could ever talk to slower networks which I don't believe.
Don't routers typically provide for differences in speed of the uplink vs downlink side (not sure it those are the right terms, but I think one would get my drift)? In this case, the uplink is the slower side but I wouldn't think that should make any difference when the two machines are talking to each other on the same side of the router (assuming the router has a built in hub on the downlink side that can run at 1G).
The question then becomes, they call what they have a "switch" not a "router"-- but from doing some research on the term, whether it can interconnect different speed networks, I gather may depend on whether or not it's a layer 3 switch (which is synonymous with router?) or not? What kind of "switch" is capable of this sort of thing, if any? We're willing to spring for a rounter or whatever we need to get this setup and it doesn't seem like rocket science, but our IT department here apparently thinks so...