In my palatial estate, I have a computer room up on the second floor on one end of the mansion, where my cable internet connection comes into the house. I have my modem and a wireless router there.
I have a study down on the first floor, at the far end of my Hall of Mirrors, and for whatever reason, my wimpy wireless signal isn’t very strong in the study.
However, I have an Ethernet cable which runs from my computer room down to the living room which is next to the study. The cable goes from one of the outputs of my wireless router, through some walls, around the chimney, doubles around a few times, and ends up plugged into my DVR.
Since the wireless signal in my study is rather spotty, I’m wondering if it would be possible to plug this Ethernet cable into a cheap router which I will then connect to the DVR in one room and a laptop in the study.
Is there any problem with essentially attaching a router to another router? Are these the sort of things I would want to use to accomplish this?
Thanks in advance for answering such a simple question. Next, I shall ask what five times five is.
You don’t really need a router, you just need a switch.
If you get a router, you’ll probably spend more money than necessary, and you’ll need to change it to run as a switch.
You don’t want another router (it works better if you have just one and that one manages your whole network). What you want is a switch: D-Link DGS-2205 5-Port Green Technology Desktop Switch - Newegg.com
That takes one Ethernet cord in and lets you plug in up to 5 more, for 5 different devices. Your wireless router that the original Ethernet cord is plugged into actually handles the work of giving your deviced IP addresses and such.
That is assuming you are trying to connect both your DVR and your Laptop wired. If you want to improve your wireless by putting another wireless source in your living room, you would want a switch/wireless access point (WAP) - either together or two separate devices.
Is there really any difference between a $10 switch and a $45 switch?
The Frogurt that comes with the $45 switch isn’t cursed.
Also, the$10 switch has 5 ports, giving you 1 for the incoming line, 2 for the outgoing, and 2 to spare. It’s a 10/100 which is probably faster than your Internet connection and sufficient for your needs (please correct me if I’m wrong).
The$45 switch has eight ports (leaving you with five extra connections) and is 10/100/1000. I actually have two of these units, but with a home office, a couple file servers, and massive files to move around, the Gigabit connection is worth it.
Newegg’s rating system is an excellent resource. I think you’ll be fine with the basic 10/100, and with 45 positive reviews it looks like a solid unit.
IANANE (I am not a network engineer)
Perhaps, but you are so much better informed than me. Or at least you are very believable.
Thanks very much.
