# Router help?



## NaphtaliPress (Jun 28, 2008)

I have an older router (not wireless) and I need four slots free. Right now I think two of my four are essentially tied up, I can drop another to an old PC and one is free. Is there a way to daisy chain a new router off one of these slots to add more connections? I'm pretty ignorant of how this works and I'm don't want to do anything to drastic that will require messing with my firewall and Interenet connection.


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## Hippo (Jun 28, 2008)

I did that by adding an 8 switch router to my existing modem/router, Netgear GS608 8 Port Gigabit Platinum Switch - Ebuyer and being gigabit it speeeds things up as well.

It has a few wrinkles but seems to work well enough, you could use it to upgrade your current router and with the extra switches you may not need to daisy chain.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jun 28, 2008)

Hippo said:


> I did that by adding an 8 switch router to my existing modem/router, Netgear GS608 8 Port Gigabit Platinum Switch - Ebuyer and being gigabit it speeeds things up as well.
> 
> It has a few wrinkles but seems to work well enough, you could use it to upgrade your current router and with the extra switches you may not need to daisy chain.


Thanks. I don't want to swap out any boards in my pc that is connected; would I need to do that?


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## fredtgreco (Jun 28, 2008)

Chris,

Buy or get a 4 or 8 port switch. (If you have a Freecycle group near you, you can probably get a 100MB one free). Then just use it like a splicer. Plug the ethernet cord from the router into the switch, and then out from the switch into the PCs. Should be nothing more too it.


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## danmpem (Jun 28, 2008)

If you are feeling like it, I would recommend daisy chaining a wireless router. Then get a few of these. These work on any computer regardless of OS or whether it's a desktop or laptop. The Zydas Wireless USB card is very inexpensive (well, on Ebay) and has served me well over the years.


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## Hippo (Jun 28, 2008)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Hippo said:
> 
> 
> > I did that by adding an 8 switch router to my existing modem/router, Netgear GS608 8 Port Gigabit Platinum Switch - Ebuyer and being gigabit it speeeds things up as well.
> ...



Gigabit routers automatically switch to whatever speed the partner connection is, so no need to upgrade anything else.


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## etexas (Jun 29, 2008)

Not to bear bad news,, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and get a new router, the older ones sort of have a "lifespan", sometimes they just go out on you, it is cheaper to replace it than try to repair it. (Same holds true for the older modems, I had to replace one after almost 5 years of faithful service.)


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## fredtgreco (Jun 29, 2008)

danmpem said:


> If you are feeling like it, I would recommend daisy chaining a wireless router. Then get a few of these. These work on any computer regardless of OS or whether it's a desktop or laptop. The Zydas Wireless USB card is very inexpensive (well, on Ebay) and has served me well over the years.



How do you "daisy chain" wireless routers? I have a very nice D-Link DIR-655 that I used to replace a Netgear WNR834B that wasn't giving me quite the range I wanted. I'd love to set the Netgear up on the opposite (or midway) part of the house and get a longer signal range (essentially using it as a wireless repeater). But I can't figure it out, and you guessed it, Netgear support points me to D-Link and D-Link support points me to Netgear.


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## etexas (Jun 29, 2008)

fredtgreco said:


> danmpem said:
> 
> 
> > If you are feeling like it, I would recommend daisy chaining a wireless router. Then get a few of these. These work on any computer regardless of OS or whether it's a desktop or laptop. The Zydas Wireless USB card is very inexpensive (well, on Ebay) and has served me well over the years.
> ...


Fred, is your router upstairs? They have an "umbrella" spread.


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## fredtgreco (Jun 29, 2008)

etexas said:


> fredtgreco said:
> 
> 
> > danmpem said:
> ...



No. It is downstairs - has to be, since that is where the cable internet comes in.


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## etexas (Jun 29, 2008)

fredtgreco said:


> etexas said:
> 
> 
> > fredtgreco said:
> ...


Man! The cable people can run it up. Your in-house signal will be MUCH better. (send the bill to Pastor Steve) Actually it should not be expensive.


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## danmpem (Jun 29, 2008)

fredtgreco said:


> danmpem said:
> 
> 
> > If you are feeling like it, I would recommend daisy chaining a wireless router. Then get a few of these. These work on any computer regardless of OS or whether it's a desktop or laptop. The Zydas Wireless USB card is very inexpensive (well, on Ebay) and has served me well over the years.
> ...



You could buy a whole new repeater, but I have a theory as to what might work instead. It saves some money if you already have a second router.

A wireless bridge is an external wireless card that is plugged into a computer LAN card. The computer thinks its on a wired connection when, in reality, it's not.

If your D-link is going to be the one broadcasting a wireless signal, leave it the way it is. Buy a wireless bridge, and use it to establish a wireless connection to the router. Once its established, plug in into your Netgear router instead of a computer. The Netgear router should broadcast the connection it now has.

Now, this is in theory, and I would only recommend doing it if you can acquire a wireless bridge for really cheap. If you can't get one, then purchase a wireless repeater. It would be a good idea to buy a D-link brand repeater. That way you aren't sent in circles trying to figure out what to do.


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## skellam (Jun 29, 2008)

*OpenWRT is an option*

I suggest you purchase a wireless bridge client (preferably of the same brand) to extend the range of your router. However, if you want a cheap (in monetary terms) way to do it you can purchase one or two old Linksys routers on e-bay and flash the memory to OpenWRT (an open source firmware) and set them up as WiFi bridge repeaters. Here is a link to detailed instructions on how to accomplish this. They upgrade the attennas and boost the transmit power which would not be required for normal home use.

I use OpenWRT on my home router and it works great. It gives your cheap stock $50 router the capabilities of a router costing $250 or more. But, it is not for the faint hearted and can cause headaches during the set up phase.

If you just want the extra ports, then buying a 5 or 8 port [ame="http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-GS105-ProSafe-Gigabit-Ethernet/dp/B0000BVYT3/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1214742412&sr=8-4"]gigabit switch[/ame] and plugging it in to your router is a good idea. You still need the router to give you a firewall but the switch will give you more ports. I installed one a few months ago and it gives you more ports and speeds up your home network (provided you have gigabit ethernet cards in your computers.)


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