Home Network Setup Help

Nice diagram, thanks. It makes your installation easy to understand.

Everything is good, but wondering if making the iMac, the XBox, and the Apple TV wired would be worth it. If so, what is the best option? Router? Switch/switches?

Assuming you are using Gigabit devices, including switches, a wired network will always perform better than a wireless one. Anything that is likely to demand a lot of bandwidth should be wired, as is anything whose physical location is not likely to change such as desktop Macs.

For devices whose main advantage is portability, such as MacBooks, wireless is the more important consideration. Therefore use Ethernet for your DirecTV, Xbox, Mini, iMac, printer, and AppleTV if at all practicable. A wired network avoids all the vagaries associated with wireless networking such as interference from various sources and the limited electromagnetic spectrum allocated to wireless networks.

You can use as many switches as you require to distribute the Ethernet network to its various clients. Note that your DES 1105 is not a Gigabit switch. The chance of that limiting your Internet speed is practically nil if you are in the United States, but if you want to stream video or copy large files to and from other devices within your LAN a Gigabit switch would be preferable. They are not much more expensive than a 100Base-T a/k/a "fast Ethernet" switch such as your D-Link.

With so many expensive wired devices, damage due to the imposition of higher than tolerable voltage on Ethernet cables as a result of nearby lightning strikes or other electrical anomalies can become a concern and is the only potential disadvantage over wireless communications. There are Ethernet surge suppressors on the market from reputable vendors. I think they're worth the small investment, but in the event of catastrophic damage only your homeowner's insurance policy is likely to help you recover from it.

What are the benefits of a router vs a switch?

A router is the heart of your network, and you should use only one unless you have a need to create more than one network. If you run out of Ethernet ports, simply buy another switch. An additional router would convey no particular advantage.

If you determine that wireless coverage to all parts of your home is insufficient, adding an additional wireless access point (an Express, for instance) to the wired LAN in an appropriate location would fix that problem. The Express you're using do to that as you descibe is ideal - it's not configured as a router, nor should it be.

I was going to suggest some you may have seen on Amazon. I have had good success with D-Link, but their recent models have become more expensive than other alternatives I have used since.