TR Forums

i recently bought a hub to connect to my existing router because i found that i did not have enough ports. now the thing is the hum only operates at 10mbits, not 100 so any computers connected throught the hub are slowed down.

then i bought a second router and was hoping to use it as a switch/hub. problem is when i connect my main router to the one i just bought (through the wan port) nothing happens, i can't figure what is wrong. only idea i can think of is a dhcp conflict or something if both routers are fighting for that ability or something

i'm not looking to do anything fancy on the routers, just merely wishing to have extra ports

why not return that router and just get a new hub?

it's been too long to return, i've been settling with the hub and not using the second router

One of the ports in both routers should be called an "uplink" port. Connect them using those ports (note: I'm not sure if the cable here as to be a cross-over one).

Or you trash-bin one router, get a switch, and connect the router to it, once again via uplink. Connect all PCs to the switch and you're set.

redmouse wrote:

i can't figure what is wrong.

Um, you can't hook up two routers Using the WAN port on one. Depending model router you have (which you didn't provide) the WAN port, although looking much like a normal ethernet port, is not one.

That WAN port is setup by the routers software to do specific data transmissions. It is looking for a certian type of device upstream from it to connect to. And I am not talking about the cable modem. It is a media converter at best. Doesn't do much more then convert CAT5 signals into coax. The network at the other end establishes the connection for TCP/IP packets to move and route around the internet.

That WAN port is looking for a device to supply a type of connection that a ethernet port on the other router is not going to provide. They are two ports trying to establish two different type of connections. Types that are not compatible to one another.

Either get a switch with enough ports and hook up to one of the routers or use the uplink port to connect it two the first router. Don't use the WAN port unless you intend to connect that to a device from you ISP.

Yes, z-man is right. If you want to use the 2nd router as a hub/switch, don't use the WAN port. Just leave the WAN port unconnected, and use the LAN ports as you would use the ports on a hub or switch.

The ideal device for what you are trying to do is a switch... not a hub or router. A hub is OK, but performance will suffer, especially when more than 2 systems are using the LAN at once. With a hub you will also see more dropped packets (e.g. in multi-player games), because hubs are only half-duplex. (Half-duplex means that only one system can transmit at once... if both systems try to send at the exact same time, a collision occurs -- both packets are lost, and must be retransmitted.)

A 2nd router is overkill (since all of the router functionality & the WAN port will sit unused).

With 5-port switches getting really cheap (under $30), there really isn't much point in buying hubs any more.

well both my routers are netgear. one is the MR814, the other is a RT314. Neither of the routers has an uplink port so not sure what to do.

morphine mentioned a crossover cable. and z-man said that i couldn't use wan port unless it was connected to something my isp provided so i'm still not sure what i can do

redmouse wrote:

well both my routers are netgear. one is the MR814, the other is a RT314. Neither of the routers has an uplink port so not sure what to do.

morphine mentioned a crossover cable. and z-man said that i couldn't use wan port unless it was connected to something my isp provided so i'm still not sure what i can do

Check the manuals for your routers. Some routers automatically detect when one of the LAN ports is connected to another router/hub/switch (automatic uplink detection), making a crossover cable unnecessary. If there is no uplink port (or uplink switch on the back of the router), then it probably detects uplinks automatically.

Just try it with a regular cable. Worst case it simply won't work (you're not going to damage anything).

Alrighty then. You should just be able to run cable from one router to the next as some netgear router automatically detect what kind of cable you are using. So if you wish to use a second router, you should change the 2nd router IP and what IP address it assigns to devices connected to it. With my Dlink, Under WAN I can select Dynamic IP, Static IP or PPPoE. For the 2nd router, you need to select Dynamic IP because the 1st router assigns an IP for you if you use DHCP. Then run cable from a port on the 1st router to the WAN on the second and you should be set!

How is this coming along???