What is link aggregation?

[halfmonkey]

I just recently upgraded to Gigablast through Cox cable and I think it's time to also update my router as well. I currently use a D-Link DIR-880L as my main router and I connect it to an Airport Extreme on the other side of my house via an ethernet cable and set it to bridge mode. I have one ethernet cable from the back of the D-LINK connected to a Linksys switch which is located in the master bedroom where all of the cabling goes to and from there, I connect all of the ethernet cables to other various devices throughout the house.

I've been looking at upgrading the router to either the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 or the Netgear R9000 Nighthawk X10. I also noticed that ASUS shows a new router coming soon called the ROG Rapture GT-AX11000. Not sure when it's coming and for how much but I assume it's going to be very expensive.

In any case, I noticed that both routers have a feature called link aggregation and I'm not really sure what this is. I did a little research and I did find that you can connect Netgear Nighthawk X10 to the Nighthawk S8000 switch using link aggregation. I'm guessing this will somehow make it faster but can someone explain in layman's term what link aggregation is exactly and would it be to my benefit to invest in this set up in terms of maximizing speeds connected through ethernet?

 

[bopajuice]

Link aggregation lets a user connect things like a NAS (Network Storage) to your router and use two ethernet cables to send the signal as one channel. Both the router and the device you are connecting have to support link aggregation. If your Network storage had only one ethernet plug, and the network speed was 100mbps. It would send data at a max of 100mbps (Just an example). If you used link aggregation and your network storage and router supported it, you would plug two ethernet cables from the device into your router and your speed would double. You would now be sending data over your network from the NAS at 200mbps.

Speeds vary per system, type of cables, distance, etc. You will never get the rated speeds, but you get the idea.

I am using an ASUS AC5300 router connected to a QNAP NAS that supports link aggregation. My devices are connected wirelessly on the 5ghz channel, and with the NAS connected using link aggregation and two cables, data was being sent over the network from the wireless router much faster than if I used just one ethernet cable. You have to turn on the feature on your router and then set it up one the device you are connecting.

In other words if I want to watch a movie stored on my NAS on my phone, it will load faster and play better because the NAS is sending the data through the router at a faster rate.

In laymen's terms, using link aggregation is like using a bigger hose so more data gets sent and received.