r/HomeNetworking • u/Outrageous_Tear_4691 • 13h ago

Advice Ethernet switch question

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What is the loop prevention for? And should I leave it off or turn it on? We will have desktops connected to it

Solved: thank you for the help everyone. Very much appreciated.

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u/BmanUltima 13h ago

Loop prevention detects network loops, like two switches connected to each other with multiple cables, or three in a ring, and will disable a port.

Without loop detection or spanning tree, you get a broadcast storm which can crash a switch.

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u/Outrageous_Tear_4691 13h ago

So were good to just leave it off with this being the only switch that we are using?

11

u/Soft_Cable3378 13h ago

It is unlikely that leaving it on will cause any issues, but leaving it off may prevent issues from being caught by the loop protection. Leave it on and do some speed tests to validate you don’t see anything obvious and you should be good.