Ethernet splitter vs switch: What's the difference and how do you use them?

The article addresses the common situation where users need to connect two or more devices to the internet through a single Ethernet cable, especially when located far from the router and unable to run an additional line. A closer look at the wiring inside modern cables reveals why passive splitters are problematic.

Standard Ethernet cables, such as Cat5e or better, contain four twisted pairs of copper wires (eight individual wires). Gigabit connections commonly use all four pairs for sending and receiving data. Older 10Mbps and 100Mbps Ethernet standards, however, only require two twisted pairs, leaving the other two unused. A passive Ethernet splitter essentially divides the cable's four pairs into two separate two-pair connections, each providing an RJ45 port.

According to Engadget, passive splitters have two major drawbacks. First, they can only support 10/100Mbps Ethernet. Second, a working setup actually requires two splitters: one at each end of the cable run. Using only a single splitter at one end will likely cause one of the connected devices to fail. Because a passive splitter merely rearranges the wiring, a router cannot communicate with two devices through a single physical port.

Active or powered Ethernet splitters solve that problem. They contain networking hardware capable of logically managing traffic between multiple RJ45 ports, so they function essentially as compact switches. These devices generally require a power input, which helps identify them. Active splitters make it possible to use the full bandwidth of the connection, including gigabit speeds, though simultaneous devices still share the upstream bandwidth.

As the article explains, active splitters are convenient when adding one or two extra ports, but they are often limited in port count. When more than two additional ports are needed from a single cable run, a conventional network switch is the better choice. Switches are available with dozens of ports and support future expansion. Even inexpensive switches now support gigabit Ethernet, while higher-end models begin to offer 2.5Gbps ports; enterprise models go up to 10Gbps, which exceeds most home needs.

Faster switches matter not only for internet speed but also for local network tasks. Engadget notes that users with network-attached storage (NAS) for backups or media serving through Plex can see significant improvement in transfer speeds, provided the connected devices also support the faster Ethernet standards. In a home setting, a simple unmanaged switch from brands such as Netgear and TP-Link is sufficient.