Help with setup of a wired network using two routers

[frankcastle]

Okay decided that I didn't want wi fi anymore because
1) wire is faster
2) more secure than wireless
3) while a small risk if at all safer than wi fi for health reasons

So here's what I did

router #1 (8 port gigabit wired router by d link) is connected to
a) the cable modem
b) laptop 1
c) laptop 2
d) wire into the basement

managed to get all of these working BUT the wire into the basement is intended for a ps3, xbox 360, wd tv, wii

I was able to get the xbox and ps3 working but with great effort and the need to swap the cable back and forth

so since I didn't want to swap the ethernet cable back and forth I bought a second router (same as above except 5 ports)
a) connected to ps3
b) connected to xbox 360
c) wd tv
d) wii
e) router #1

I managed to get the xbox working (using the 2 router set up) but not the ps3....at this point I'd be happy just getting those two up and running for now

for ip address and what not I have the xbox and ps3 set to automatic
-tried reseting router #2 by unplugging for 30 s and then plugging back in..... no change (it worked yesterday but today had to unplug router #1 as one of the laptops stoped working

anyways any tips or helo woukd be great. I thought these routersr were supposed to be plug and play.

ps I would rather not have to run 4 wires from router #1 to the basement but is that an easier solution?!!!?? I thought 2 routers was kosher

 

[jjz]

Sorry, but have to ask but what are the IP addresses of your routers?

 

[larry]

wouldn't a switch work in the basement? probably you're having ip conflicts. what you've done can work but you need to know what you're doing. without giving this more than a minutes thought, i would get 2 routers with different address ranges and fully expect it to work first time. everybody dhcp. what cable modem do you have (i.e.: does it have a built in router?)

 

[PussyHunter]

Larry is correct!

You would be better off with just a 5 port switch in the basement. To make your second router work properly you will have to go into the setup and disable the DHCP server. This is what assigns the ip address`to your equipment. You probably have an ip address conflict going on because they assign the same address as Larry stated. Take your second router back and get the switch. It`s cheaper and you won`t have to do any configuration to make it work.

 

[frankcastle]

cable modem is the one from rogers.

so are you guys saying I need to assign different IP addresses to the two routers? Since they are the same brand except one is 5 port and the other is 8 port is it likely that they use similar if not the same ip address thus causing the problem?

how do you chekc the ip address of the routers? I went to control panel, then network but all I get is that I setup a private network and can see the two laptops as part of the network

 

[frankcastle]

Larry is correct!

You would be better off with just a 5 port switch in the basement. To make your second router work properly you will have to go into the setup and disable the DHCP server. This is what assigns the ip address`to your equipment. You probably have an ip address conflict going on because they assign the same address as Larry stated. Take your second router back and get the switch. It`s cheaper and you won`t have to do any configuration to make it work.

stupid question but what is the different between a switch and a router? I thought they were the same thing.

 

[frankcastle]

went and checked the box I have a 5 port gigbit ethernet switch and an 8 port version as well both by d-link.

should I swap one with a different company to get different ip ranges?

 

[dondada]

go into the configuration settings on the router(type the router address in the address bar of internet explorer ie. 192.168.1.1) and use your login and password...might default to admin / admin (check the manual) and disable the router function...don't have to return and have the router as a back up if necessary...

... google it to understand but hit up the dlink website and you'll probably find what you need to set it up...

 

[larry]

here's the sysopsis. a router can give out ip addresses on request (DHCP). a switch doesn't. if you think of a switch as a hub, you'll be ok. The details are not significant for this setup.

you didn't say which rogers cable modem you have. if it has a router, find out it's ip address (192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or...). if your #1 router is the same, no good. before we spend a lot of time on the possibilities, post the cable modem model # and your router models too. i'll check back tonight. this can work (lots of people do it) but will give troubles if you don't do it right.

just a suggestion: put a switch in place of your basement router. everything should work (i'm presuming you have no devices with a static IP).

 

[TheDr]

Routers and switches are essentially the same devices, they just function at different layers of the OSI model. But from the consumer equipment standpoint, a switch provide connection between devices on the same network, a router provides connection between devices on different networks - usually your local network on one side and your ISP's network on the other.

For your setup, in place of buying a switch for the basement, the easiest way would be to access the management page of your basement router, disable DHCP - this is what hands out IP addresses, not necessarily a router (an application on your computer can do it, some switches will do it as well). Also ensure the management IP address is in the same range as your upstairs router - if the upstairs router has IP 192.168.1.1 with netmask 255.255.255.0 set your downstairs router management IP to 192.168.1.2 with netmask 255.255.255.0 and default gateway 192.168.1.1. Most routers will give out a DHCP range of 192.168.100 upwards, so you shouldnt have any IP conflicts there. Plug the cable from your upstairs router into one of the switch ports on your downstairs router (not the one that says WAN or Internet). The downstairs router should then function as a switch and all will in theory be fine.

 

[frankcastle]

here's the sysopsis. a router can give out ip addresses on request (DHCP). a switch doesn't. if you think of a switch as a hub, you'll be ok. The details are not significant for this setup.

you didn't say which rogers cable modem you have. if it has a router, find out it's ip address (192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or...). if your #1 router is the same, no good. before we spend a lot of time on the possibilities, post the cable modem model # and your router models too. i'll check back tonight. this can work (lots of people do it) but will give troubles if you don't do it right.

just a suggestion: put a switch in place of your basement router. everything should work (i'm presuming you have no devices with a static IP).

First off guys thank you for taking the time to look at this issue.

I was wrong to assume this would be a simple plug and play as presented by the guys at the store.

So cable modem is a scientific atlanta 2100 I don't think it can function as a router as it one has one ethernet jack.

I conneted it to http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=65,4493,4055&webid=891412&affixedcode=WW

D-Link DGS-1008G

I connected this to the
a) laptop 1
b) laptop 2
c) 100' ethernet wire to the basement

In the basement I plugged c) into http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=65,4493,4055&webid=744169&affixedcode=WW

d-link dgs-105 I think the website is wrong and it is 1005 not 105

Anyways from this switch I hooked it to the xbox 360 and ps3..... ideally I would like to get the wd tv and wii added but at this point would be happy to get things to work

Things stopped working when I added the 1005.

APOLOGIES for mixing up the terms router and switch I thought the were interchangeable.

No I don't think the ips are static for xbox and ps I set them to automatic instead of manual for ip addresses.

 

[frankcastle]

I think I am unable to see ip addresses for the swithces as they are not routers?!

 

[jjz]

How are you getting on-line now?

 

[jjz]

What you would need to do is to return one of the Switch and get a Router.
This one should meet your needs as you did not want to go Wireless.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_1046_365&item_id=040444

As I recall with Rogers you will have to release the IP address that is associated with your cable modem before you can set up a network.
So you will need to connect a computer to the Modem directly and release the IP address. I have not used Rogers for years but that's what I needed to do to connect my router the first time.

Once you have release the IP address, you can connect the Router to your Cable Modem. The Network cable coming out of the cable modem should be connected to the WAN port of your new Router.
You will than need to configure the Router. Plug a network cable to any of the ports on your router other than WAN and connect it to your Computer.
Open up a browser and type in 192.168.0.1 that's usually D-link's default IP address for a router. Should get prompted to a user name and password. Look to the instructions for that information.

You will also need to have your Rogers Account information handy. So your User account name and password.
I think you will need to set the connection type to DHCP and the enter in your user name password, then connect. You should get a connection after that. I can't recall all the steps since I have not used a cable modem in a with. Just be warned don't expect tech support from Rogers if you want to connect a Router.

 

[frankcastle]

What you would need to do is to return one of the Switch and get a Router.
This one should meet your needs as you did not want to go Wireless.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_1046_365&item_id=040444

As I recall with Rogers you will have to release the IP address that is associated with your cable modem before you can set up a network.
So you will need to connect a computer to the Modem directly and release the IP address. I have not used Rogers for years but that's what I needed to do to connect my router the first time.

Once you have release the IP address, you can connect the Router to your Cable Modem. The Network cable coming out of the cable modem should be connected to the WAN port of your new Router.
You will than need to configure the Router. Plug a network cable to any of the ports on your router other than WAN and connect it to your Computer.
Open up a browser and type in 192.168.0.1 that's usually D-link's default IP address for a router. Should get prompted to a user name and password. Look to the instructions for that information.

You will also need to have your Rogers Account information handy. So your User account name and password.
I think you will need to set the connection type to DHCP and the enter in your user name password, then connect. You should get a connection after that. I can't recall all the steps since I have not used a cable modem in a with. Just be warned don't expect tech support from Rogers if you want to connect a Router.

LOL you know what in all these years I never set a userrname and password with rogers.

I had a wi fi router for the longest time and set the password via that thing. Plus I never wanted a rogers.com e-mail address with my name on it.

 

[TheDr]

You could also just add a router between your 8 port switch and your cable modem (which is actually a network bridge). i dont think you need a username and password for Rogers, but you may need them to release the MAC address binding for the connection to allow the router to work. Most routers have a MAC address duplication feature so you dont have to do this, but you need to know which MAC address to duplicate.

Whilst Gigabit is faster than wireless, you will only really see the speed increase between devices in your own network. You may well see lower latency, but your raw internet speed is still going to remain that of what you are paying Rogers for (if you are lucky... they say 'up to' for a reason - read 'The link we provide is technically capable of these speeds, but you probably wont get them').

 

[larry]

Rogers modems give out a max of 2 IP addresses (i'm 90% sure of that). that's why your setup failed as soon as you connected more devices. but this doesn't matter. plug a router into the ethernet port on the modem. connect your devices as you like. run a wire from any router port to your switch in the basement. plug in your devices. make sure all are DHCP. This will work.

caution: any devices with a static ip will mess this up. You won't need any username/passwords either. and you're right, a switch doesn't have an IP.

if you're real keen, you should be able to connect to your modem at http:192.168.100.1. i don't have one but people say use admin/w2402

 

[benstt]

First off guys thank you for taking the time to look at this issue.

I was wrong to assume this would be a simple plug and play as presented by the guys at the store.

So cable modem is a scientific atlanta 2100 I don't think it can function as a router as it one has one ethernet jack.

Okay, here's what I think.

The Scientific American is a cable modem, normally I would expect a home router like a dlink or linksys, etc to be attached to it.

The home router does a few things:
- allows you to run many devices and IP addresses on the network, hidden behind the router (called NAT, network address translation)
- gives a built-in switch so you can plug a few devices directly
- puts a firewall between you and the internet
- provides wifi, bridging it to the switch ports

I don't know if the scientific american device is doing all that - if it has only one ethernet port, I suspect not.

I would advise a setup like this:

cable --- scientific american ---- home router --- 100' cable --- dlink in basement

The dlink's you have above are plain switches, not home routers. You mentioned you had wifi before - what device did you have before? Those are typically what I'm calling a home router here; internet port on one side, a few wired ports on the other.

If you had a different linksys or dlink before as a wifi home router, you can use it, but turn off the wifi function. It will work as a router and switch.

If you don't have a home router anymore, this is an example of one without wifi built in - D-Link EBR-2310.
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=65,4493,4501&webid=663737&affixedcode=WW


You plug your laptops into the home router, and the 100' cable into it, with the basement dlink on that 100' cable. You could plug your other dlink switch into the home router if you really needed more ports.

One more point - that basement dlink switch likely needs to use port 5 for the 100' cable. Older switches had a special port, called an uplink, that is used to chain switches together. The picture on that staples site has ports 1-4 together, and port 5 apart a bit. Usually that means it is an uplink port.

 

[frankcastle]

I had a dlink wi fi router before. Stupid me didn't realize you could turn off the wifi as I was using it with the two laptops via ethernet cables and the rest of the house was wi fi.

Thanks everyone. But after another afternoon of fumbling around I got tired of it and came up with this solution.

cable modem - 8 port switch -long wires everything works and still have a port to spare if I want to run internet to the second floor.

 

[frankcastle]

Ughh spoke too soon had both laptops working and xbox 360 now xbox is down again.