Connecting switch to router ? - Adding more internet ports.

Okay, I thought I understood how switches work, but apparently not.

I have a home network running from a cable modem to a netgear wireless N600 (WNDR3400) 4 port router. I need a way to plug five devices into it. I thought I could just plug a cable from one of the ports into a switch (Netgear FS605 fast 10/100 switch) and then plug in my two devices to that (a desktop computer and ps3). But when I do, I can't get anything plugged into it to access the internet. I e-mailed this to netgear, and they suggested the FVS models, which appear to be firewalls costing more than $100 more than the current switch. Do I really need that just to have internet to five plugged in devices?

This is extra annoying because I had a great setup before with a Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless-B router plugged into a very old netgear EN104tp hub, and it did just fine with all five devices having internet access. Unfortunately that router died, and the new netgear router does not seem to recognize the 10+ year hub. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What you did should be fine, as long as the switch has autosensing ports or an uplink port. Some uplink ports have a little toggle switch to turn that port on and off uplink.

So you need to have Router > Switch (uplink or autosense port) > PCs.

If for some reason that does not work, get a new 1gig switch, they are pretty cheap.

Are you getting the correct IPs from the router on the computers on the switch? Try using a crossover cable to the router.

according to my research there is a designated port for wan unless you can modify the settings of the switch then your router most connect to the designated wan port site specs http://www.netgear.com/home/produc [...] FS605.aspx

amazon had a pic of the back if this is the correct model please advise http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer- [...] F8&index=0

The auto detect you speak of is for speed detection again this is according to the model you gave and the research I have read

Does the wiring for all 5 devices meet near the router ? -- If so try connecting the PS3 directly to the router and use the switch on two of the PCs instead -- as Hang the 9 mentioned it should be plug and play just like you thought as well. So perhaps it is something a bit different about the PS3.

IF you disconnect the 5th device but still use the switch for the 4th device does it work ?

And I double-checked the manual for the switch, it says it can use both regular and cross-over cords interchangeably, so that shouldn't be the issue either.

You need set proper configuration on your switch if indeed it is a true switch. Because from what you are saying the switch is trying to give your computer an ip address when your router is already doing that. While you can still use this setup if you can it may be better off for you to get a auto sensing switch they come cheap here http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna [...] 901pdb6671 I use this exact one for small buisness use and it works like a charm no config need and your router still controls ip addresses


If you really want to still use the same setup let me know I can help

Have you tested the switch\laptop connection by connecting the switch directly to the router without using the cable run that goes downstairs ? Could be the cable run from the router to downstairs has a problem --- try connecting the laptop directly to the router with 2 separate cables one at a time - (to isolate the 2 cables and make sure both cables work properly) If both work and the laptop connects properly then use those same 2 cables to run from the router to the switch and to the laptop and see if it works (that way you isolate the switch as the only part added - if it works then it may be the cable run going downstairs - if it doesn't try using different ports on the switch (perhaps it has one bad port) - If none work then you know it is a problem with the switch.

I returned the switch to a store and got another one, and it turns out it is a cable + switch combo problem. The new switch works with all but two cables, the one running down the hall and the one going downstairs. I'm not sure why these cables work with an old hub, but not with a newer switch, but they appear to be the only ones that have the problem. I know they are not over 100 meters, so distance shouldn't be a problem. The only other difference is that we ran these two cables into a wall socket (we didn't know what the computer setup was going to be at the time, so we just took the ends off standard eithernet cables and plugged the wires into a standard ethernet wall socket you could buy at Wal-Mart) so their setup is cable coming out of router plugged into wall socket that is then a cable running downstairs to the switch. Anyone hear of anything like this happening before? I guess we could pull out the wall socket and see if there's any extra cable slack that we could pull them up, attach a new end, and plug it directly into the router, but if there isn't that extra slack, I don't know of anything else to try.

+1 -- sometimes the wall plates will not splice the wire correctly so that the connection does not work or 2 of the prongs may short each other out. Or you may have switched one of the wiring pairs into the wrong position - I'd redo the connection and make sure it matches the other end of the cable - also make sure there is not a piece of plastic or something stuck in the connector keeping it from getting plugged in properly.