LAN Configuration

I have a network that has slowly grown over time and now seems to need to be redesigned.

All of the servers (5) and all of the clients (20) are hanging off of hubs. The network would look something like:

Internet | Siemens se5940 T1 Gateway Router | 32 port Hub |

-------------------------------------------------------->>

| | | | | | | Svr1 Svr2 etc Hub Hub Client Client | | ------- ------- | | | | Client Client Client Client

You get the idea.

Anyway, I recently went to add another hub to the 32 port hub. I later realized I bought a "Switch". I added it to the network and

*some* of the clients started experiencing latency.

When the switch is unplugged, things go back to normal.

I realize that I could simply return the switch and get a hub, but I thought it may be time to reconsider the entire design. I do see ALOT of collisions on the 32 port hub. My background is in database design and programming, not network design so I thought maybe I could enlist the help of some experts such as yourselves.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

probably means there is an issue with the device - a switch shouldnt make for a big degrade in performance, even though all traffic goes intot he hub segment.

every network has bottlenecks - it sounds like yours is the shared 10M Ethernet in all the hubs at the moment.

however, the practical limit for the servers and clients you have is probably the connections to the servers - so you need to improve the capacity into the servers.

put a 10/100 switch in the centre of the network. connect each hub to the switch on a separate port. connect the servers on dedicated switch ports, and make sure they connect at

100 rather than 10 - if you dont have enough spare switch ports, then choose the servers with the highest traffic usage 1st.