I was just wondering how i can use a switch with the hub 5 and it's in modem mode. I am a noob at this kind of thing and i got given a 2.5gbps switch/ethernet card for nothing from a relative so i may as well use it. I am using the Archer AX11000 from TP-Link and thanks in advance.
In modem mode, you can only use one port and that will be connected to your Router. If you need to setup a 2.5Gb network, then your Router will need to have several 2.5Gb (or better) NIC connections so you can connect the switch.
If it's an unmanaged switch you can simply plug the switch into any ethernet port on your TP-Link router and now you have 2.5Gb available. If it's a managed switch it may need some configuration or resetting back to factory defaults.
Unfortunately you wont see any benefit on the internet side of things as the uplink is only 1Gb, because your TP-link has only 1Gb LAN ports. You will only see benefit on your local network. For example if you have a home server or NAS with 2.5G and a PC with 2.5G you'll be able to transfer between the two at 2.5G.
What model is the switch?
The Archer AX11000 supports link aggregation, meaning you can link two 1Gbps ethernet ports to make 2Gbps. However, your switch needs to support this.
The most important thing to do is have the switch behind the router, so connect it to the Archer with the hub remaining in modem mode. My preference is to then connect all my devices to the switch. Even if the switch has 2.5Gbps ports (unlikely) it will be limited by the Archer's 1Gbps ports.
