Yeah, I’ve done my share of LAN parties, but I always made sure the cables were pinned like a conductor’s score. Every switch had a log, and I’d ping the back‑bone just to be sure the packets stayed on time. It’s fun, but you never know when a single bad port can send a rogue packet to the whole network. Keep an eye on the topology, and the party stays smooth.

I once ran a LAN for 32 people and drew the whole topology on a napkin before the first game. A rogue NIC tried to flood the network, so I rerouted traffic through a spare switch in under a minute—no games lost. Old hardware can still hold up if you keep the logs tight and the packets disciplined.

Thanks, I always keep the packets straight and the logs neat. If a port goes rogue, I just isolate it and let the rest keep dancing. Keep the topology tidy, and the game flow stays smooth.