Vienna Symphonic Library Forum
Forum Statistics

181,786 users have contributed to 42,186 threads and 254,587 posts.

In the past 24 hours, we have 6 new thread(s), 23 new post(s) and 45 new user(s).

  1. Home
  2. General & Hardware
  3. Help Needed! Network Configuration: Do I need a Switch??

  • Help Needed! Network Configuration: Do I need a Switch??

    G
    G

    Hey guys,

    I have a Mac Pro tower that I want to use as a master, and want to connect to a PC tower to be used as the slave. I have poor networking experience/knowledge, can anybody help me? (I tried to consult some videos on Vienna Networking but couldn't find the ones who replied to my questions below).

    So, I have:

    The Mac Pro 5,1 (2012) has 2 built in Gigabit Ethernet Ports.
    The PC has a built in Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 10G Ethernet Port.
    Want to connect these units in master/slave with Vienna Ensemble Pro, for optimal speed and performance.

    My questions are:

    1 - Do I need a Gigabit Switch? If yes, which one is a good one? Which should be speed/model requirements? How do I use/connect it?
    2 - Can I just connect Mac to the home router, and then connect directly Mac to PC with a Cat Cable? Would this guarantee both computers their own static IP and optimal transfer speed?
    3 - If both solutions are usable (direct with ethernet cable, or using switch) which one is the best to ensure best data transfer speed?
    4 - Do I need normal or cross-over cables? Cat 6 or Cat 7 ?
    5- Why can't I (or can I??) just plug the two computers into the ethernet ports of my home router that came with my internet provider? Any disavantages?
    6 - If I use my router LAN ports to connect both computers, is 100 Mbps ok as LAN speed? That's what the router provides.

    (PS: any solution that would allow me to have internet connection on both machines would be preferred, as I'll sometimes use the slave also to surf internet...)

    Thanks a lot in advance!
  • C
    C

    I have a similar setup as yours. Just similar. Here's what I do:

     

    I connect my MacPro to my router from one port and connect to my windows slave using the other one. I have static IPs on both computers. Gigabit ethernet is enough. You don't need 10GB.

    With this setup I only have internet in my MacPro. Whenever I need to update software on my slave I just plug a wifi usb dongle, since this computer doesn't have wifi built in. If you want to have "cabled" internet on both computers, you need a gigabit switch. Most of the available switches will do the job.