Fr Robert Ballecer, SJ thanks responding to my question on "Know How " I wasn 't expecting i...

[G+_Joseph Sacco]

Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ thanks responding to my question on "Know How" I wasn't expecting it. But one quick question you didn't answer. When hooking up a switch and router combination does the Ethernet cable from the modem have to go directly to the router or can It go to the switch

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

It should go to the router, you really don't want to plug a switch directly into an internet connection.  If you did everyone in the neighborhood would have access to your local lan.  I'd hope those types of devices wouldn't even have a WAN port, but who knows, other bad ideas happen all the time.

[G+_Ben Reese]

The cable from the modem should go to the router's WAN port (a few exceptions, of course...). You can then connect the switch to a LAN port on the router to expand connectivity.

[G+_Jason Marsh]

I'd add that, even though Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ was poo-pooing a single GbE connecting your switch back to the router, you'd need to be streaming a handful of 4K videos to stress the link. If you're not on a very high-bandwidth connection (100s of Mb/S), streaming multiple high-bandwidth videos, running all three media devices off that switch isn't going to be a problem at all.