improve efficency of hubs...

[adsfx]

Hi,
am new to this scale of networking so bear with me...
in a system it looks like there are 6 16port hubs connected sequentially.
the collision lights seem to be flashing a lot and I know enough that this is not the ideal configuration for the lan.
do I need a switch to connect each hub to?
will this improve the performance of the Lan?
thanx in advance

 

[ImpetusEra]

Switch will deffinitely improve performance. Are all the ports filled on each hub?

 

[adsfx]

yeah, 1 or two free...
ideally need to get rid of hubs and use switches altogether?
are there any ways to improve the performance in short term?

 

[TimRegester]

I would purchase a 48pt switch and have all the hubs uplinked to it. Then add any servers, routers etc to the switch. I would then try and identify your power users and migrate them, if physically possible, to spare ports on the switch. If the hubs are in the same physical location as the switch you can at a later date add a second switch and migrate users from the hubs eventually eliminating the hubs completely.

There may ba a broadcast issue on your network if all the lights flash simultaneously. If possible use a packet analyser to identify the source of the broadcast and the levels of traffic involved and if it is a problem and is possible eliminate it.

 

[adsfx]

Hi TimRegester,
am downloading a network tool called openxtra...have you heard of/used it, any tips?
cheers

 

[adsfx]

...sorry i mean the packet analyzer is called ethereal

 

[TimRegester]

Ethereal will do the packet analysis well but may not provide the stats that will tell you the %age of traffic from broadcasts. It should tell you the source and destination though.