Using a belkin wireless router as a hub extender

[AndyS]

Hi all,

I have BT Home Hub or whatever it's called and it only comes with 2 ethernet connections on the back. One of these is being used to connect a PC that benefits from having a wired connection for quicker downloads and the other goes into a Linsys Pap2 which runs 2 VOIP phones.

I now have another PC that I would like to have wired rather than wireless so my question is, to save buying a hub could I use my old Belkin 54g wireless router as a hub (i am not looking to use the wireless function of it at all)

Cheers
Andy

 

[Ted]

yes.
Just plug it in.

 

[Piff]

Does that work with all routers?
I have a netgear router with 4 wired ports, an 8 port netgear hub which uses 1 of the router ports (out) and 1 of the hub ports (in), giving me a total of 10 usable ports.
I have a home network with 18 outlets.
I'm considering changing ISP at the moment and the new one is offering to send me a new router (and come to think of it I have an old router (thompson speedtouch) stored in the roof from a previous ISP)
Will these routers work as a hub without software installed somewhere along the line?

 

[HughJarse]

Generally yes.
But you may have to change some of the dhcp settings.

 

[Piff]

Generally yes.
But you may have to change some of the dhcp settings.

What are dhcp settings?

 

[HughJarse]

Every pc has a unique 12 digit number.
Normally on a home computer it starts with 192, it normally looks something like 192.168.1.1 ( or similar )
This number is "given" to the pc by the router ( in this case the belkin )
So the first computer that starts and is attached to the router may be 192.168.1.2 (192.168.1.1 is the router itself )
The next computer that attaches will be given the number 192.168.1.3
and then on and on.

The router itself is given a number ( these are called IP's) by your broadband company.
So the router may have been given the number 45.321.544.322 by the broadband company, the router then gives out numbers (192.168.1.2 ) to any devices that connect to it. This is called DHCP.

SO... the problem may arise that by attaching multiple routers, they try and give out multiple/similar numbers which cannot happen.
However what you can do is manually set these numbers to stop confusion.


There you go, clear as mud !

 

[stevesey]

Carrying on from that, as well as disabling DHCP on one of the routers you'll need to assign them different internal IP addresses (the internal address will normally default to something like 192.168.1.1 and they both can't be the same)

We have a similar set up at home as we have a server acting as the main firewall/router with manually assigned IP addresses. Then I picked up a wireless modem/router for nothing an this sits in the loft acting as a hub for some wired PCs and a wireless access point.

So the server/firewall/route has IP address 192.168.100.1 and has DHCP turned off, the router in the loft has an IP address set to 192.168.100.150, with DHCP turned on and handing out IP addresses in the 192.168.100.151->200 range.

It sounds complex, but have a look at the admin web page on each router and look for the DHCP options (n.b while setting ip the different IP addresses only have one turned on at a time to avoid a clash before you've given then different addresses).

HTH

 

[Rory]

Easier (and a lot less power consumption ) to buy a £15 ethernet switch.

(I'd probably try to it free too, though).

 

[Piff]

Easier (and a lot less power consumption ) to buy a £15 ethernet switch.

(I'd probably try to it free too, though).

I might give it a try on a rainy day when I want to get annoyed with something

 

[AndyS]

Thanks for all the posts all..

As soon as I find the power adaptor i will let you know how I get on!

Cheers
Andy

 

[Rory]

Inspired by this thread, and having continuing problems with the USB print server built in to newer USRobotics router that I have, I connected up my old SMC router which has a parallel port print server and it works perfectly.

I just connected the old SMC router directly to my laptop (turning off the wireless connection in the laptop first, so as not to get confused with the wireless transmission from the new router) then logged into the old router and turned off DHCP and set its IP address from 192.168.2.1 to same with .2 at the end (making sure that was within range of the address pool in the USR router - don't know if this matter though).

Then I connected the old SMC router using one if its 4 LAN ports to a LAN port on the new USR router - I thought I might have to use a crossover cable here, but it worked fine with a standard cable. I can log into either router using its IP address.

..and now we're back in business with a properly working print server.

 

[drh1210]

Best and most efficent way to have home network is to use a router and a hub, router and router (with DHCP off ) does work but it can be problematic. Hubs simply get there address range from the router and you can keep adding devices to your heart content. All been said before but thought id just add my little bit.

personally i have a cable modem connected to N1 Vision, One port goes to the NAS device, the other connects to the hub upstairs in my office, from there i have 8 port belkin hub, bit over kill but as the 8 port is not much more than the 5 port its a no brainer. Upstairs is a PC, networked printer, and Belkin access point (providing wifi for the top floor)

all works a treat...

 

[Rory]

Well, mine is working fine (I have connected the two routers together with a crossover cable, but I think it worked OK with a standard straight through cable - usually the ports are intelligent enough to sort themselves out).

I'm pleased to have a properly working network print server again - I really don't know why more routers don't have this, although perhaps it's deemed to problematical to support, certainly the USB server in the USRobotics router is iffy to say the least.