Two routers and a switch

[BrettI]

I'm running an extremely complicated network - not that I want it to be that way, but it must be. Our cable modem is hooked up to a linksys router. That router serves one computer, and also sends a cable to a switch in the attic, from which 3 cables break out (it was impracticle to wire 3 cables through the attic). Two of those cables go straight to computers, which works fine. For the third, I want to connect it to my Netgear wireless router which will serve my desktop hardwired and my laptop wireless.

I know it's an insane setup but this is the only physically practicle way to do this.

Everything works fine up to the netgear router in my room. How do I configure it to accept the connection from the router downstairs, to the switch in the attic, to the Netgear, and then out to my laptop (wireless) and desktop (wired)?

I only need internet, but being able to do LAN would be nice, although I'll take what I can get.

[John A]

So it doesn't work right now? It shouldn't be too hard to setup, although I do have to admit that you have a fairly complex network. I think you should:

1. First make sure that the computer can connect to the Netgear router. Ping it, and see if you can configure it. Make sure for that "it automically gets a DHCP-assigned IP address" from the WAN port.
2. Next, see if that computer can access other computers that are connected to the switch. This should work if all went well in the first step.
3. Hopefully you can access the Internet now. Post if anything doesn't work in the previous steps.

For being able to access other computers on your LAN, it should work fine if the Internet works.

Good luck.

[BrettI]

I was able to connect to my router earlier, but I was messing around with some settings regarding it's IP Address (I tried to set it's address to that which the downstairs linksys router had assigned to this cable when it was connected to my desktop rather than my Netgear router - 192.168.1.103) and now I can't access the router.

I've tried using the www.routerlogin.net they say to use to access it when connected directly to it with an ethernet cable, and I've tried the IP address that I assigned to it which led to me no longer being able to access it (192.168.1.103).

I'm afraid I've made my router impossible to access now.

[BrettI]

Ok scratch that last one, I reset it, but still can't connect to the internet. Here are the settings I have:

Internet IP Address: Get dynamically from ISP

DNS Address: Get automatically from ISP

Router MAC Address: Use Default Address

Under WAN Setup, the box is checked for Connect automatically as required - nothing anywhere about DHCP.

Under LAN IP Setup, IP Address, subnet, etc are set to the defaults. The "Use router as DHCP server" box is checked.

That's pretty much it for settings. What do I need to change?

[BrettI]

I was looking through some other forums, and there's some talk of whether the second router should have the IN cable coming into a LAN port or the WAN port. There's also talk of using the router as a simple switch. This would work fine as long as I still get wireless from this router/switch. Any ideas?

[BrettI]

Ok, problem solved. I did a lot of research and found out that if I set the second router to an IP that was outside the first's DHCP range, turn off DHCP on the second router, and connect the cable into a regular LAN port on both routers, it works. The second router is now basically a switch with wireless, which is what I wanted. Thanks for trying to help though. I hope this will help someone else with a similar problem.