Subnets and switching

[Jed_G]

Hi All,

Setting up a home network right now.

Ive checked out www.ratemynetworkdiagram.com and seen quite a few of the home networks running multiple subnets. What benefit is there in this approach? All of these networks are small so I think the performance benefits would be negligible....Or does having multiple subnets/network domains done for security reasons and access permissions? Am I missing something here? A router is needed for each subnet right so running multiple subnets sounds expensive.

Also, Ive read that switching is faster than routing and that computers on the same subnet use the NIC address of their ethernet card to pass data/switch frames.
If this is the case, should I avoid using DHCP wirelessly and stick to using cat 5 plugged into a switch (the cables dont annoy me that much but i would need a NIC)?

So many questions!

Cheers,

JG