New switch
The new switch has been ordered, and delivered (actually, I had to drive another way home to collect it 🙂 ) and I just installed it – quite basically to start with. It is a managed one, I can do all kinds of fancy stuff with it, like separating network traffic using VLAN (for keeping cluster communications apart from normal LAN traffic, for instance) but I need to read and understand the manual first.
Second, it allows Gigabit Ethernet – given the cable quality is sufficient: CAT5e at least – and some of the cables are, some are not. And only the newer laptops (the previous company one, that I purchased, and the newest) have that built-in. Iĺl need 1GB Ethernet cards for the Alpha’s – if available AND affordable….
But the improvement is noticeable already: no more hiccups!
What goes on behind the doors of the (private) data center