Adding a wired switch to a wireless router

[badmem]

I have a Netgear WGT624IS wireless router and all four wired ports are in use. I would like to add a gigabit wired switch to my network. I would like the existing wireless router and new switch to be on the same network. Is it just a matter of connecting a cable from a network port on the router to the switch, or is it more complicated than that?

I only use the wireless network for temporary connections. If I can join the router and switch, I will connect the lower speed equipment to the 10/100 ports on the router and the faster equipment to the new gigabit switch.

Is this setup possible and if so, what’s the best way to do it?

TIA

 

[Madwand]

Yes, that'd be just fine, and you wouldn't have to do any more configuration.

The link between the router and the gigabit switch would become a minor bottleneck, so I'd avoid for example having a bunch of 10/100 computers on the router and a file server on the gigabit switch, as they'd all go through the same 10/100 port to get to the file server.

So I'd probably get an 8-port gigabit switch and connect everything there first, moving the slower devices to the router if/when additional ports are needed on the gigabit switch or if it's more convenient for layout.

 

[RetRoe]

I'm in the same boat as OP. I'm a new member and also want to hook up a switch to my wireless router.

I just ordered the TEG-S80G 8-port Gigabit switch. It's a rather new product from Trendnet and has no reviews on the Egg (yet). I'm hoping I didn't make a mistake in getting this one. Was seriously looking at the D-link and Netgear offerings that were in the same price range with same specs (Gigabit, Jumbo Frames) but decided to take a chance. Good warranty (5-years), NewEgg's standard return policy (refund 30 days, replace 1 year) , metal case (D-link's was plastic), case looks cool and designed well (Netgear's has the power-supply jack one the opposite side of the RJ-45 jacks) and last but not least, I think Trendnet's customer service (from what I've read) is head and shoulders above the other two companies.

So if OP hasn't got a switch yet, I'd take a long look at Trendnet's TEG-S80G.

I do have one question: I'm trying to get Internet connectivity in the basement of my home. So I want to relocate my WRT54G wireless broadband router (plan to upgrade the router soon) by running a 50ft Cat 5e cable from my cable modem (located on the first floor) down to the basement. Then connect the switch to the router, so both devices are now located in the basement, only the modem is upstairs. Then run another 50ft Cat 5e cable from one of the ports on the switch (which is now in the basement along with the router), back up to a PC located upstairs. Is it OK to do this? I ask because the post above me states to try and hook up devices to the switch as a first choice, and save the ports on the router for if you run out.

And actually, there's another reason. Seems better to me have both the router and switch in the basement. Because if I had the router upstairs next to the modem (like I do now), then in order to get Internet into the basement, I'd have to connect the one PC upstairs (wife's) to the router and then run a 50ft cable from from the router down to the basement to the switch. But that's not ideal because I'd like the wireless router in the basement (along with the switch) which is where most my equipment is (man cave) including other wireless equipment soon to be connected to my HDTV.

To my understanding, 50 ft cables shouldn't cause a problem. So would it be OK to run two of them in this manner and setup my LAN this way?

 

[thiggins]

Maximum cable length for 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet is 100 m (328 ft.)

If you are dealing with devices with only 10/100 Ethernet ports, you can connect them to either the router's switch or the uplinked switch.

Note that 802.11g is not going to provide enough throughput for wireless HD streaming.

 

[RetRoe]

If you are dealing with devices with only 10/100 Ethernet ports, you can connect them to either the router's switch or the uplinked switch.

So you're saying that it wouldn't bottleneck anything to have a single PC connected to a router located upstairs and then run a 50ft cable from the router to a switch located down in the basement? And any computers connected to the switch in the basement would get the same Internet speed as the PC upstairs that's connected to the router? Even if I had multiple PCs and possibly a file-server connected to the switch?

Note that 802.11g is not going to provide enough throughput for wireless HD streaming.

I'm aware of this which. I did say in my original post that I plan to upgrade the router soon. But thanks for the tip.

 

[thiggins]

Internet speed isn't going to be limited in any case by the Ethernet connection, since it is well below even 100 Mbps. So the fact that there is only one 100 Mbps connection between your gigabit switch with all your systems and the router is fine.

If the upstairs machine was transferring a big file downstairs, it's possible you might see a slowdown in Internet speed, depending on how fast your Internet download speed is and if the upstairs machine can transfer a file at the full 100 Mbps. But if your Internet speed is under say, 10 Mbps, you probably won't notice anything.

 

[RetRoe]

Well we have Comcast cable. Speedtest.net reports 14671 Kb/s. But I see your point. Much less clutter and less cabling to just run one cable off the router down to a switch in the basement. But would I be able to control and configure network settings from one of the PCs connected to the switch or does that have to be done with the machine upstairs that's connected to the router? (going to have to learn to do this eventually)

 

[thiggins]

All of the computers will be in the same subnet since they all connect via the router (and I assume receive their IP address info via its DHCP server).

The WRT54G (and any other router you buy) can be administered via web browser from any machine on the network.

 

[RetRoe]

Thanks Thiggins. Very helpful. What do you think about the Trendnet TEG-S80G 8-port Gigabit switch? Should I have gone with a more popular switch such as the NETGEAR GS108 ? (just hate how the RJ45 jacks are on the front of the Netgear switch).

 

[thiggins]

Unmanaged switches 10/100 and 10/100/1000 are equivalent in performance. You can buy on brand preference, price and feature preference. For example, I prefer front-mounted jacks because of the way I use a switch.

But also consider warranty since gigabit switches tend to run a little hot and can fail prematurely.

 

[RetRoe]

Good to know. You've been very helpful and I appreciate your taking the time to address my questions.

I prefer front-mounted jacks because of the way I use a switch.

May I ask how you use a switch?

Also, is there some place you could recommend on the net that would help me get up to speed in understanding networks? I know I could Google and find lots of info. Just thought you may know of an easy to understand website (not looking to manage networks for corporations) to help beginners learn more about networking. I'd like to be able to know how to tweak things and troubleshoot basic problems without always relying on forums members for help.

 

[thiggins]

I like a switch with front mounted ports in two applications:
- In my utility room where all the network drops are, front-mounted ports make it easier to connect to the patch panel.
- In my lab, I'm always connecting and disconnecting things. I would go crazy if I had to do that with back-mounted ports.

I know we don't do a great job of networking basics on SmallNetBuilder. I used to love J. Helmig's wown.com (World of Windows Networking). But he sold it awhile ago to windowsnetworking.com and you can't find anything on it now. You can look up wown.com in the waybackmachine, though.

If you don't want to try Googling, you might be better off buying a Dummies book. Check out O'Reilly's books, too. They are usually pretty good.

Anyone else want to chime in? I won't be offended if you post links to other sites!