How to add more router ports?

[siratfus]

My verizon router is a combo modem/router has 4 ethernet ports. I normally just wifi everything, but what if I needed more ports? I recently started using up the ports because I prefer powerline adapters over wifi.

I never bothered to learned about switches. But I get the feeling they are for expanding ports, right?

My questions:

1. What do people normally buy to add more ethernet ports?

2. If it is indeed switches, are they basically the same with interchangeable names? Like the term "desktop switch." The word "desktop" stops me in my tracks because I'm thinking this is probably not for the router, it's for my desktop?

3. I also used the words "router expander" or "router port expander" to see what products Amazon would pop up. But I'm not sure that's the proper lingo here because I see many Wifi Repeater products pop up. So what are wifi repeaters and do they have anything to do with adding more ethernet ports?

Thank you in advance!

[Bjs]

Router vs switch

A router can balance data transfer between systems connected ... a switch dose not but is a cheaper method of adding more ports.

If the modem handles all dhcp and all connected systems use non-static address's then check router use's non-static ip address and dhcp disabled ... simply plug it into one of the lan ports on the modem.

Desktop simply means easy for home or office use ... can be anywhere ... even under a floor if need be.

[unclebud]

Be sure you get a gigabit switch (1000 kbps). They are more expensive but they are 10 times faster then Fast Ethernet (100 kbps). Most computers come with gigabit ethernet ports so you can move files quickly between computers even if your router does not have gigabit ethernet.
The word desktop refers to where you set the switch. It has feet for setting on a desktop or shelf. They also have holes on the bottom for mounting on a wall or ceiling. There's no software to install and are universal for any Ethernet connected device. Cheap plastic unmanaged switches work just as good as metal switches.
Use Cat 5e or Cat 6 cabling for gigabit connections. Cat 5 is only rated at 100 kbps but may work fine in short runs.

[siratfus]

So does the switch come with an ethernet cable? This cable then goes into one of the ports of my router? Now anything connected to the ports in the switch can get online?

[Joe The Dude]

You can get this 5-Port Gigabit Switch for about $40:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122128
This will bring the Total Usable Ethernet Ports available to Devices to Seven.
4 + 5 = 9
9 -*2 = 7

Or you can opt for an 8-Port Gigabit Switch for about $60:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122111
This will bring the Total Usable Ethernet Ports available to Devices to Ten.
4 + 8 = 12
12 -*2 = 10

*To connect the Switch to your Router, you can either use a Cat 5e Patch Cord, or a Cat 6 Patch Cord.

[AlanHK]

You can usually put routers into switch mode -- basically you turn off their DHCP and firewalls, so they leave the IP allocation to the "master" router.

You can pick up old 4 port routers for peanuts, or nothing, I've seen them in the trash and didn't bother to pick them up because I already have two or three spares.

[jagabo]

A switch is exactly what you want.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/lanwan-basics/31442-how-to-add-ports-to-a-router

If you're not in a hurry you can probably find an 8 port gigabit switch on sale for about US$25. Or $35 any time:

http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unmanaged-GREENnet-Standard-1000Mbps/dp/B001QUA6RA/

Don't bother with a 5 port switch. It will really only give you three more ports. You'll outgrow it in no time.

BTW: Wifi repeaters are for extending you wireless network to longer distances.

[aedipuss]

So does the switch come with an ethernet cable? This cable then goes into one of the ports of my router? Now anything connected to the ports in the switch can get online?

no they don't come with cables, but cat6 cables are cheap. yes you plug one cable into the router. yes the router takes care of getting everything online, the switch just increases the number of spots available.

[siratfus]

You can usually put routers into switch mode -- basically you turn off their DHCP and firewalls, so they leave the IP allocation to the "master" router.

You can pick up old 4 port routers for peanuts, or nothing, I've seen them in the trash and didn't bother to pick them up because I already have two or three spares.

Actually, I have an old router with 4 ports laying around. It's the LINKSYS BEFSR41. When you say turn off "THEIR" dhcp and firewalls, do you mean the spare one? In my case, the linksys BEFSR41?

How do I go about turning those features off? It probably needs some sort of firmware update since It's from 2003. So I'm wondering how do I go about doing these things without getting it online and confusing my main fios router. Not an expert in computers as you can tell by my questions. LOL.

[jagabo]

When you say turn off "THEIR" dhcp and firewalls, do you mean the spare one? In my case, the linksys BEFSR41?

Yes, that's what he means. So it acts like a switch, not a router.

How do I go about turning those features off?

Go to its browser based setup pages and disable the DHCP server. See your manual for the exact details. Probably just attach a computer to one of its ports and go to 192.1681.1 in your browser.

It probably needs some sort of firmware update since It's from 2003.

You probably don't need a firmware update for this purpose.

[AlanHK]

How do I go about turning those features off? It probably needs some sort of firmware update since It's from 2003. So I'm wondering how do I go about doing these things without getting it online and confusing my main fios router. Not an expert in computers as you can tell by my questions. LOL.

Jagabo covered this. but maybe some more detail:

Every router has a different setup, but they all do the same thing in the end.
I looked at the User Guide at http://homesupport.cisco.com/en-us/support/routers/BEFSR41


See Chapter 5 Configuring the router

First, to config the Linksys, connect your PC to it instead of your normal router temporarily.
Open its config page in the browser, should be http://192.168.1.1
default login and password is "admin".


A few things you need to change: See attached screenshot.

Each router needs a different IP (on the local network, not the Internet)

Many routers use 192.168.1.1, so if your other one is that, you need to change the Linksys
"Network Setup/Local IP address" setting. 192.168.1.254 say should be okay.

And disable "Local DHCP server"
save the settings.
(Note: now its config should be at http://192.168.1.254 )

Now the router should basically be a switch.

You should be able to daisy chain it to your original router with an ethernet cable between the LAN ports.
If it doesn't work you may need to get a short "crossover" ethernet cable. These are maybe $1.

(See http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110607235359AARrCz8 and
http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html )

However, at the end of this, you go from 4 ports on the original router to 8-2 = 6. So if you need more, you might indeed get a dedicated switch with 6 or 8 extra ports.

[siratfus]

[QUOTE=AlanHK;2180469]

See Chapter 5 Configuring the router

First, to config the Linksys, connect your PC to it instead of your normal router temporarily.
Open its config page in the browser, should be http://192.168.1.1
default login and password is "admin".

The thing is, the verizon router is both a modem and router. Should I go to the set-up page of the verizon router and disable something?

[AlanHK]

The thing is, the verizon router is both a modem and router. Should I go to the set-up page of the verizon router and disable something?

You only have to change the "slave" router, which will effectively become a switch.

[siratfus]

The thing is, the verizon router is both a modem and router. Should I go to the set-up page of the verizon router and disable something?

You only have to change the "slave" router, which will effectively become a switch.

Well, my concern is does it matter that they'll be both online momentarily? Cause I'll have to plug the linksys into an available verizon port.

I will give it a try. Thank you everybody! I'll provide an update later.

[jagabo]

Well, my concern is does it matter that they'll be both online momentarily? Cause I'll have to plug the linksys into an available verizon port.

You do not plug the linksys router into anything but the computer used to configure it. And power, obviously. Once it's configured you plug it into the LAN.

[siratfus]

Sorry guys, I'm confused. I know there must be something BASIC here that has flown over my head. Here's what I don't get, and is probably basic to you guys. I realize that 192.168.1.1 is the address to my Verizon Fios admin. So how do I configure the Linksys when it uses the same address? I guess everybody uses this address? I have the linksys directly ethernet to one of my computers, I go to that address, but it's my verizon admin.

Do I disconnect the Verizon router? And if I do that, then how do I get online with the Linksys? I think a few post back, it was suggested to disconnect verizon router and connect linksys to the modem. But my verizon fios uses an all in one solution. I don't have separate modem and router.

Let me summarize my houses set-up:

1. In my garage, there is this big Verizon box installed on the wall. It has phone jacks for testing, lights indicating network, moca, ethernet, etc. I never touch it. It was there with the previous home owners.

2. In my house, we have the router/modem: Westell A90-9100EM15-10. Everything is either wirelessly connected to this, or directly connected via ethernet to one of it's ports.

That's it! Does that change your advice to me at all? I looked up online too "How to turn router into switch." But I think most of these instructions are assuming that you want to change the "current" router into a switch. But it's not the current router, it's just a spare router in the garage. How do I get to the admin page of this spare router?

[jagabo]

Sorry guys, I'm confused. I know there must be something BASIC here that has flown over my head. Here's what I don't get, and is probably basic to you guys. I realize that 192.168.1.1 is the address to my Verizon Fios admin. So how do I configure the Linksys when it uses the same address?

You temporarily connect one computer directly to the linksys with nothing else attached. Then 192.168.1.1 is the address of the linksys router. You don't need to get online to configure the linksys router. Once you have configured the linksys as a switch you can set it up just like any other switch.

[AlanHK]

That's it! Does that change your advice to me at all? I looked up online too "How to turn router into switch." But I think most of these instructions are assuming that you want to change the "current" router into a switch. But it's not the current router, it's just a spare router in the garage. How do I get to the admin page of this spare router?

You temporarily make the spare router your "current" router to reconfigure it.

Unplug your PC (or any PC or laptop) from your normal network and plug the spare router into it.
Now you are on a network with only your PC and the router.
Open http://192.168.1.1 and config the router.
Save its settings and now it should be a switch.
Unplug, plug your PC back into your normal router, plug your "switch" into another port.

[siratfus]

Thanks guys! It worked. Not needing to be online was the clarification I needed. However, still firefox kept saying there is no internet connection when I tried to get to 192.168.1.1. I held the reset button for awhile, and then it worked, I got to the admin page.

I only did two things. I changed the LAN IP and I disabled the DHCP. I then used the UPLINK port from the Linksys and plugged the other end of the ethernet to one of the ports on the fios router. I plugged the nearest PC into port #2 of the linksys to see if I get a connection, and I did.

Two questions:

1.) Is the WAN port on both the fios router and the Linksys unusable? They don't serve as an extra port? I remember when I had charter internet, I had a separate modem and this linksys, which is now my spare. The modem would plug into the WAN of the linksys. But since I've been with fios, there has never been a time where I needed to use the WAN on the fios. So I never touch it.

2.) I use the uplink port of the linksys to connect to the fios router. I read online someone said not to use port 1 of the linksys because it is shared with the uplink. What does that warning mean?

Thanks guys! This is educational.

[jagabo]

You probably don't care anymore but here's a five port gigabit switch for US$19, free shipping:
http://www.buy.com/prod/trendnet-teg-s50g-5-port-gigabit-greennet-switch/210680813.html

[jagabo]

And now an 8 port gigabit switch for $23, free shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156251

That's what I'm using. Maybe I'll get another!

[aedipuss]

And now an 8 port gigabit switch for $23, free shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156251

That's what I'm using. Maybe I'll get another!

good product! i have 2 of those 8 port trendnets at the cable modem and 3 of the 5 port switches at the tv spots for bluray players/game consoles/etc. the things just work and haven't had a single one die in years, not even a dead power supply.

[jagabo]

Yes, I've never had a problem with mine. I went ahead and ordered another to replace a 5 port switch which is now full.

[jagabo]

Five port Trendnet gigabit switch $18.99 today with promo code EMCYTZT2285.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156250