Ethernet switches in "series"

[bebster]

I have a single cat5e line coming off an ethernet switch in the basement C4 closet. That line runs to the 2nd floor. But I need a few more lines there.

Can I run that line into the uplink port of a small 5 port ethernet switch and run my additional cat5e lines to that small switch? In effect it becomes a "sub-switch" and my single line from the 2nd floor to the basement becomes a "trunk line". Other than the obvious capacity limitation caused by the single cat5e line between the main switch and the sub-switch, are there any negative considerations with this approach?

[henniae]

You can absolutely do this and it is done all the time. As you mentioned the only real drawback is that you now have 4 devices on the 5 port switch contending for the uplink from the second floor to the basement switch. This is not usually a problem because most of the time the devices you will have plugged into the 5 port switch probably will not all be using the network simultaneously.