Router in place of a switch, will it work

[Greg12]

At my university, each dorm room is provided with a single 10/100 connection and a switch.

What i'd like to do is remove the switch and insert an 802.11g router.

Are their any foreseeable problems?

The switch assigns IP's to it's users

[stiltman]

The switch assigns IP's to it's users

Switches can't do that, least to my knowledge. However a router/switch/firewall can. Like a linksys or similar all in one type home user device.

What's the make and model of the "switch"?

[gitreel]

Switches can and do do that.

The switch provides a ip to each computer, but it is a public ip.
A router uses 1 public ip and provides every other computer a private ip that does not reach the net.

I would go with a wired router though.

Wireless security is spotty at best.

However the school might already have a router, and a second router might create problems.

A switch shrinks the collision domain and makes sharing bandwidth more efficient as it distributes the same bandwidth to each computer.

[tekkieman]

Even if the school has a router, it should still not cause a problem to add one at the switch. The new router will accept the public IP and re-issue the private IPs to computers on the router.

Agree on the wireless security within a school. Bad idea.

[Greg12]

the router supports WPA and i dont know how much range it'll get cause the walls are cinderblock

It's a Linsky's switch, that's all i know

[stiltman]

Switches can and do do that.

The switch provides a ip to each computer, but it is a public ip.
A router uses 1 public ip and provides every other computer a private ip that does not reach the net.

I think you need to research that!

A switch is basically a smart hub that directs traffic on a local subnet via their MAC address. (Layer 2 of the OSI model)

A router routes traffic across subnets via their IP address (Layer 3)
A router (with modern IOS) has a feature that's called a DHCP helper.

A switch that can route traffic via their MAC address and IP address is called a Layer 3 switch.

Home users call, for example, a Linksys BEFSR41 a switch, but in reality it is a switch/router/firewall/DHCP server and more.

[gitreel]

Switches can and do do that.

The switch provides a ip to each computer, but it is a public ip.
A router uses 1 public ip and provides every other computer a private ip that does not reach the net.

I think you need to research that!

A switch is basically a smart hub that directs traffic on a local subnet via their MAC address. (Layer 2 of the OSI model)

A router router traffic across subnets via their IP address (Layer 3)
A router (with modern IOS) has a feature that's called a DHCP helper.

A switch that can route traffic via their MAC address and IP address is called a Layer 3 switch.

Home users call, for example, a Linksys BEFSR41 a switch, but in reality it is a switch/router/firewall/DHCP server and more.

Stilt. I am not going to argue with you. I am a networking student in the cisco networking academy. I have a hawking 4 port mini switch., and it assigned two public ip's to my two systems, until I bought a router. This whole term was on switches, so you are misinformed. I also have a 4.0 in college.

And a switch is not a hub. A hub just shares bandwidth. A switch distributes the same amount of bandwidth to each computer. Don't make me crack open my cisco 3&4 administrator book and make a fool out of you.

i know all about the osi model, the tcpip model and the distribution, core and access layers.

I don't mean to be rude, but don't comment on something you know nothing about. I had two public ip's on my hawking switch for over two and a half years on cable internet.

A hub is a layer 1 device. A switch is layer 2.

[stiltman]

Switches can and do do that.

The switch provides a ip to each computer, but it is a public ip.
A router uses 1 public ip and provides every other computer a private ip that does not reach the net.

I think you need to research that!

A switch is basically a smart hub that directs traffic on a local subnet via their MAC address. (Layer 2 of the OSI model)

A router router traffic across subnets via their IP address (Layer 3)
A router (with modern IOS) has a feature that's called a DHCP helper.

A switch that can route traffic via their MAC address and IP address is called a Layer 3 switch.

Home users call, for example, a Linksys BEFSR41 a switch, but in reality it is a switch/router/firewall/DHCP server and more.

Stilt. I am not going to argue with you. I am a networking student in the cisco networking academy. I have a hawking 4 port mini switch., and it assigned two private ip's to my two systems, until I bought a router. This whole term was on switches, so you are misinformed.

And a switch is not a hub. A hub just shares bandwidth. A switch distributes the same amount of bandwidth to each computer. Don't make me crack open my cisco 3&4 administrator book and make a fool out of you.

i know all about the osi model, the tcpip model and the distribution, core and access layers.

I don't mean to be rude, but don't comment on something you know nothing about. I had two public ip's on my hawking switch for over two and a half years on cable internet.

A hub is a layer 1 device. A switch is layer 2.

Well I guess you told me, huh?

[Greg12]

in a bulliten from comcast i got, it says the in room switch assigns a private IP (i'm guessing a 192.168)

I"m thinking that i could be able to copy the router's MAC address and the IP it was assigned.

[gitreel]

I have a classmate that said Comcast cut him off because he was using a switch. He was using a second public ip, and there is currently a shortage in ip's unless everyone changes to ipv6.

[gitreel]

in a bulliten from comcast i got, it says the in room switch assigns a private IP (i'm guessing a 192.168)

I"m thinking that i could be able to copy the router's MAC address and the IP it was assigned.

The router the school has provides the private ip numbers.

[gitreel]

the router supports WPA and i dont know how much range it'll get cause the walls are cinderblock

It's a Linsky's switch, that's all i know

Wpa has been found to be faulty

[joecav]

Well I guess you told me, huh?

LOL!

[ViRaL1]

You should be able to replace the switch with a router without any problems as long as it supports the correct method for IP allocation. Sounds like your school is using either dynamic IP or something like PPPoE. Does your public IP address ever change? If not, you should be able to set your router (WRT54G?) to that IP address (you may also want to clone the MAC address of the switch. If you're looking to use the Linksys for wireless only, you may just be better off getting an access point and leaving your wired PCs plugged into the switch, at least from a configuration standpoint.

[Greg12]

how is an access point different than a router

[Capmaster]

how is an access point different than a router

An access point is just an entry point into a network. It can be wireless, or wired (port on a hub).

[ViRaL1]

When I say access point, I'm referring to a device that will add wireless functionality to your network, without the extra hardware and configurationf of a router and a switch. It just has one wired port, which you'd connect to your switch.

Example...
Here's the Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router

http://www.linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=601

Here's the WAP54G Wireless Access Point

http://www.linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=601

From a monetary standpoint, the router is a better investment, you just may have to disable some of the routing features so as not to conflict with your existing network.