I want to get the most out of my local network, I have 1x2.5Gbps port on the PC and 2x1Gbps on the server.
What switch do I need, what should I watch; Supports Link Aggregation, supports static and dynamic link aggregation (LACP)?
Is Mode 4 (802.3ad) the right one for maximum speed?
My goal is 2Gbps, will you post it?

Your maximum speed to the server is 1Gbps. The only way to change that is to put a faster network card in the server.

Link aggregation, at most, increases your bandwidth - but can't do anything for speed. More bandwidth means more streams at UP TO the same speed. Which means the potential to support more users. So unless you have 2, 3 5 people accessing your server at the same time, you won't saturate the available bandwidth. A good network file copy of very large files is a good way to saturate a link.

 

You want more speed everywhere, then you need to put 2.5G nics in all your machines, potentially 5 or 10G on your server (if you have multiple ppl accessing)  and get 2.5, 5 or 10G switches.

Edited October 27, 20241 yr by Espressomatic

Forget it!

The term "link aggregation" is a misleading marketing gag. It does not aggregate, it just seperates multiple connections (of different clients) onto "more than one" card.

No single link can be faster than a single card. No mode will give you what you are looking for.

 

Worst thing you could do is to put cards with different speeds together. This will result in random speeds depending on which card the connection is put on.

 

This "link aggregation" is mostly used (and was developed) for interlinks between switches ("uplinks"). 

 

As already proposed by @Espressomatic, the only real way is to put a faster card into your server and get a switch that can handle the higher speeds.

Edited October 28, 20241 yr by MAM59