Hi,
My laptop doesn't have an RJ45 port.
I'm aware I can get a USB to RJ45 connector so I can plug a LAN cable into that to connect to a switch (since I have a couple of devices which I need to connect from the same location)
But is there any form of switch which I can directly connect the laptop to, avoiding the daisy chain of switch-cable-connector-laptop?
Google just brings up USB powered switches, rather than anything about being able to use USB instead of the LAN cable to connect.
Possibly such a niche scenario that no-one has invested in it.
No, what would be the point. All you would do is move the usb to Ethernet conversion to the switch instead of the laptop. The signal has to be converted somewhere.
Why can you not use WiFi?