Do you really need a faster home LAN than 1Gbps?

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In the past few years, internet speeds have reached some amazing new heights. Fiber internet has been rolled out to more residential users worldwide, with much higher speeds than previous cable and DSL connections. The question is, where is the sweet spot when it comes to speed, and how fast of a connection do most people really need?

With faster internet speeds also come faster LAN speeds. A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers and devices that are connected together in a grouped location such as a home or office building. Using a LAN allows you to transfer files from one device to another, and is generally quicker than having to download them from the web one by one. With the rise of home labs, LAN speeds are becoming more important than ever.

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1Gbps is currently still the go-to speed for users looking to create a LAN at home. It gives you enough bandwidth for anywhere between 10–50 devices, depending on how you are using them. Even when streaming 4K video from your home media server across multiple devices, you should have a bit of headroom leftover. Of course, a lot of this is guess work until you test it on your own LAN and see exactly what speeds are being used.

It is all going to come down to what you are doing. If you are constantly transferring larger files across multiple devices on your LAN, you may notice a bottleneck. Most home users shouldn't have this issue though, and if you are just using it for file sharing between family and backing up your devices, you should be fine. The amount of devices and how they are connected to the LAN all play a very significant role in how much bandwidth will be used.

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For most users, no, it is not worth it. While the idea of faster speeds is intriguing, there is a lot more to it than that. You will need to make sure all your devices are even compatible with 10 Gbps in the first place. This includes, but is not limited to, your router, switches, computers, Ethernet adapters on any other devices, Raspberry Pi's, and the fun doesn't stop there. You will also need to make sure that your storage can come anywhere near utilizing a 10Gbps LAN or else you will run into a bottleneck there as well. For instance, a PCIe 5.0 SSD will be able to utilize much faster speeds than a SATA SSD.

10Gbps is not the norm, so unless you have already been planning for this, odds are you will need to upgrade your equipment. This is not only going to be a costly endeavor, but also a pricey one once everything is said and done. Sure, you will have superfast speeds, but if you are not fully utilizing them, then it is all a waste.

While going from 1Gbps to 10Gbps may seem a bit extreme, a couple of other options are available. 2.5Gbps and 5Gpbs connections are quickly becoming much more viable options for those who need the extra speed. However, while more companies are starting to integrate 2.5Gbps connections into their devices, you will need to make sure everything you have is compatible and will utilize these speeds should you choose to opt for them.

Again, it all comes down to what your needs are. If 1Gbps is just not quite enough, then 2.5Gbps may be the way to go as it is 2.5X faster. This would allow you to essentially double the devices connected, or whatever you may be using it for, and leave you a bit of extra headroom as well. Of course, 5Gbps is going to offer even more speed (although I'd argue it's likely more than most people need), so consider what devices you may be using in the future as well. As always, you will need to consider how many devices you have and their connectivity speeds to see which is the best choice for you.

For the time being, a 1Gbps home LAN is going to be more than enough for most users, unless you're a family of 20 and all have multiple devices. This is still the current standard and likely will be for the next few years. Of course, we are seeing faster connections and products supporting faster speeds, but these generally come with a premium price tag as well.

There are so many variables to consider when it comes to deciding if 1Gbps will be enough for your home. People, devices, and more importantly, what those said devices are capable of all play a massive role in how much speed and bandwidth you will need. If you are unsure, it is time to do some research on all your local devices and start monitoring your LAN utilization to see if 1Gbps is still enough for you.

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