# Solved: Can you just plug one switch into another?



## Jak-S (May 21, 2007)

Hi, 
Sorry for the (probably stupid) question, but I've never actually been sure on this one. I have a Netgear DSL Modem/Router/4-Port Switch. Three PCs are plugged into the switch, one of which is at the end of a 25m cable as its on the other side of the house. I want to plug another device into the network that's going to be in the same room as the far away PC.

Can I just get a switch or hub (would it matter which in this situation?) and plug the cable coming from the existing switch into that, and then run two more cables to the PC and the new device? Or am I going to have to run another very long cable, which wont be easy.

Thanks in advance, 
Jack


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## pinntech (Aug 26, 2004)

The quick answer is YES. You may plug a switch into a switch. Check the switch for a port labeled UPLINK. Usually the UPLINK port is the HIGHEST port on the switch&#8230;. I.e. on a 4-port switch, it would be port 4. On an 8-port switch it would be 8. If the switch doesn&#8217;t have an uplink port, stay with the theory of the HIGHEST port anyway.

No, you do not want a HUB. They are slower than switches. That was a basic description of why you don&#8217;t want a HUB.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

If there is no uplink port on the second switch, you need to use a cross-over cable unless one of the switches has auto-sensing ports. So, since you already have the long cable, make sure your router has auto-sensing ports or make sure the switch you buy does (or has uplink).


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## Jak-S (May 21, 2007)

Excellent, thanks. So either the switch in the router needs to have auto-sensing ports, or one of the switches needs to have a uplink port (not both), and it doesn't matter which is the one with the uplink?


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## Jak-S (May 21, 2007)

This is the description from the switch I currently have:



> LAN Ports: Four (4) 10/100 Mbps auto-sensing, Auto Uplink™ RJ-45 ports (one Cat 5 UTP cable included)


So it looks like I have both?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You can plug them in with plain CAT5 patch cables.


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## Jak-S (May 21, 2007)

Great, thanks everyone for all your help.


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