On Tue, Aug 09, 2016 at 03:14:27PM -0400, Stefan Monnier wrote: > > Nope. Buy a $20 5-8 port ethernet switch. Very reliable. That's > > in the diagram above as "switch". > > But it also means one more box. If you had one box before, that doubles > the number of boxes, and might also double the 24/7 power consumption.
An 8 port ethernet switch, such as the one on my desk here, is roughly the size of a paperback book. It sips electricity, with a maximum consumption of about 3W, and has no configuration at all. Lifetime warranties are reasonably common. A typical AP needs 10-20W, is a full-fledged computer running a configurable operating system and has an expected lifetime of 1-4 years. -dsr-
