Author Topic: sticking two routers together? (Read 14,721 times)

nudone · « **on:** January 01, 2006, 01:47 PM »

i was using a netgear adsl router up until a couple of months ago. i had to give up on it as it decided that it liked to disconnect itself from my isp every hour or so (it was working perfectly for about a year).

i'm almost ready to throw it in the bin as nothing i do to it makes it stay connected but before i do, i'm wondering...

can i connect this netgear router to my other cheapo adsl router?

the netgear one has wireless on it whereas the cheapo one doesn't - i'm hoping i can join the two via a cable (do i need to use a crossover?) and thereby get a bit of wireless action going again - even if it's just for an hour, until the netgear decides to start sulking and disconnect itself again.

i ask this as i'm hoping it's a standard thing to do (???), you know, connecting routers together (???). i'd experiment but the routers packaged away under loads of junk so i'd prefer not to fish it out if i'm on to a loser right from the start.

opinions, please...

mouser · « **Reply #1 on:** January 01, 2006, 02:02 PM »

yes, many (most?) routers ive seen have a designated "uplink" port for this purpose, where you can use one of the ethernet ports to connect the router to the other to chain them together. one of them just acts as a simple switch and let's the other do the main work i think. never tried it myself. no idea about crossover - im sure one of the sites on the links page will have some more info.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #2 on:** January 01, 2006, 02:31 PM »

You could also set them up as two networks and bridge them

nudone · « **Reply #3 on:** January 01, 2006, 02:36 PM »

hmm, thanks mouser, thanks Carol.

never even thought of bridging them. i'll just stick them together and if it doesn't work first time then i'll start reading into it.

nudone · « **Reply #4 on:** January 01, 2006, 03:16 PM »

well, that was painless. just plugged them together and it worked first time. wished i'd tried it sooner.

Josh · « **Reply #5 on:** January 02, 2006, 01:41 PM »

I am still confused as to why you are connecting the two together, may I ask why exactly you dont just get rid of one of them? Two routers can end up complicating things later on down the road unless you absolutely need them

mouser · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2006, 01:44 PM »

just guessing but im thinking he probably needs the extra ports. 4 port routers are the standard on home routers, so unless you want to move to an 8 port model and throw out both, chaining two is the way to go.

f0dder · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2006, 01:53 PM »

nudone, have you tried upgrading the firmware? I had a few problems with my FWG-114p, but those were fixed by a firmware upgrade. Still no print-serve support for my brother USB laser printer, though

nudone · « **Reply #8 on:** January 02, 2006, 02:48 PM »

the story goes like this...

the netgear is an adsl wifi router (with 4 ports), it worked fine for about 12 months (after a few teething problems when i first got it - random disconnections).

after the 12 months of perfect use the netgear decided to start disconnecting itself from my isp - it would stay connected for about 10 minutes, sometime even an hour - it would immediately reconnect, but it was annoying - messenger having to reconnect, large downloads upset, file sharing queues upset.

as i couldn't see any logical explanation for this behaviour (not that that really matters with computers) i 'decided' that the netgear router had become too ill for me to use any more. my isp settings hadn't changed and i'd not changed anything on my computer either, so i couldn't see any good reason why it shouldn't work.

on plugging my cheap no brand name non wifi adsl router into all the right connections i found that everything worked fine - no disconnections to my isp at all no matter how long i leave this old router switched on.

now the problem is, this cheapo router works fine but has no wifi. the netgear router that has a mind of its own has wifi but is too unreliable to use as the main device.

solutions: buy a new adsl wifi router or link the two routers i've got at the moment and get the wifi working again plus a few extra ports, well an extra 2 ports.

i could do with the extra ports but i've lived with 4 quite happily so more of them is just a bonus really. i could buy a new adsl wifi router but this netgear one didn't impress me that much - i've found that i only use the wireless once in a blue moon anyway.

i'd probably get one of the new mimo wifi routers in a few months when i can't hold out any longer - just so i can play around with it. hopefully someone can recommend a brand that works reliably.

idealy, i'll like a gigabit router that has adsl and wifi but i've yet to see one (any suggestions) so it looks like i would have to mix and match a few devices anyway to get what i want - i think it's a bit poor what's on offer at the moment. just a simple mimo wifi adsl gigabit router would be the right tool for the job.

as for the firmware update - just downloaded it and will do it in a few minutes but i'll be amazed if it works - i really don't have much faith in this netgear jobbo.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #9 on:** January 02, 2006, 03:25 PM »

The Linksys WAG54 Router has ADSL modem / WiFi and 4 ethernet ports and is good solution.

nudone · « **Reply #10 on:** January 02, 2006, 03:34 PM »

that would be fine, Carol, but it's not really an improvement on what i've got. if the netgear does decide to work after the firmware update then i'll just stick with that for a while.

mimo and gigabit can wait.

nudone · « **Reply #11 on:** January 06, 2006, 08:40 AM »

just thought i'd mention that since the firmware update for the netgear router everything appears to be working fine (thanks f0dder for prompting me to do something i should have tried months ago).

not really put the router under much stress at the moment (just one pc plugged into it) but it's stayed connected to my isp for several hours, which it certainly wouldn't do before.

f0dder · « **Reply #12 on:** January 06, 2006, 03:51 PM »

Nice to hear that it worked

Hellie · « **Reply #13 on:** January 07, 2006, 09:17 PM »

Carol, that the exact Linsksy model that is giving me all the problems. Still have not figured it out and support have never ever replied. I have not looked at again though as I have got caught up in work with being the first week in Jan. I will email over the weekend and let you how I am getting on.

Have a nice weekend.

Helen

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #14 on:** January 07, 2006, 10:46 PM »

Hellie, Can't say I am surprised there has been no email response from Linksys over Christmas and New Year, they will probably have a massive backlog of emails to reply to.

I would suggest you use telephone support. When I have used them in the past they have been reasonably helpful.

Hellie · « **Reply #15 on:** January 08, 2006, 05:12 PM »

Tried that too Carol hopless ended up someone who could speak English on a supposed UK freephone number. I am deadly serious. Thats why I posted here. I still connected by Wires but at least its working, the Linksys Modem and Router. I think the problems with the Notebook Adapter. When I find a bit more time to play with it, I will give you email. I don't understand the WPA security etc at the moment its an unsecure connection. I spent days playing around with over xmas as you know.

Tried reading the instructions too, not much help actually.

Speak to you soon. Thanks ever so much.

Helen

Innuendo · « **Reply #16 on:** January 08, 2006, 05:37 PM »

Hellie,
There's an extremely active Linksys forum over on www.dslreports.com with lots of helpful & knowledgeable people. Every once in a while you'll even see beta versions of firmware that fix problems that are not available to the general public, too.

Hellie · « **Reply #17 on:** January 08, 2006, 05:53 PM »

Thanks very much for this I will take a look.

Helen

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #18 on:** January 08, 2006, 08:38 PM »

Quote from: Hellie on January 08, 2006, 05:12 PM

Tried that too Carol hopless ended up someone who could speak English on a supposed UK freephone number. I am deadly serious. Thats why I posted here. I still connected by Wires but at least its working, the Linksys Modem and Router. I think the problems with the Notebook Adapter. When I find a bit more time to play with it, I will give you email. I don't understand the WPA security etc at the moment its an unsecure connection. I spent days playing around with over xmas as you know.

Tried reading the instructions too, not much help actually.

Speak to you soon. Thanks ever so much.

Helen

If you are connected by wire only it can't be an insecure connection. It is only potentially insecure by WiFi.

f0dder · « **Reply #19 on:** January 08, 2006, 10:15 PM »

WPA/WPA-PSK are encryption/auth methods used for wireless connections