Two Q's

boxerorange · Post by **boxerorange** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:12 pm

1) I just changed the configuration of my home network so that every device can have internet access. I plugged a router into another router to achieve this and it seems I have had nothing but problems because of it. My internet is slow, the computers don't connect anymore, and Instant Messaging programs (AIM in particular) are sometimes not connecting and I'm guessing it's because I don't have everything set up right. Any advice?

2) iTunes lags often -- the songs are skip and slow down. I do run lots of stuff in the background but haven't had problems like this before I connected my new router, I'm guessing these two problems are related...

Any help would be awesome, thanks in advance!

Bibin · Post by **Bibin** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:06 am

You are not supposed to be able to daisychain routers like that.

APHawkes · Post by **APHawkes** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:25 am

Another possible reason is that each router is acting as a DHCP server. That is, they are trying to assign IP addresses to each device. They may be fighting it out, causing massive network traffic and conflicting.

Check the router setup pages. You'll have to specially configure them for this arrangement. Some don't do this very well at all, so refer to the documentation for both. You may end up changing the order of them because of this.

Post by **bicostp** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:26 am

Bibin wrote:You are not supposed to be able to daisychain routers like that.

Yes, you can. Companies do it all the time.

It sounds like the problem is both routers are spitting out 192.168.1.X addresses. Change the inside router's DHCP scope to spit out addresses in another range. (192.169.1.X, 10.1.1.X, something like that.)

Post by **Sparkfist** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:47 am

Right, you have a conflict with the routers. You need to have the first one adjusted to either support a larger networks. Because you likely have the problem Bic pointed out.

There are two options that will make things easier. Ones is look at the router configuration and disable one of the routers, or replace one of them with a basic switch. That way you don't have conflicting IP information or traffic protocols.

Also if you could let us know what brand of router you're using.

boxerorange · Post by **boxerorange** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:31 pm

The first router is a Microsoft MN-500 and that has a computer plugged into it, along with the second router, which is a Netgear RP614v4 and that has a 360 and this computer plugged into it. I am a total n00b when it comes to networking to if you're going to give me any help it will have to be step-by-step!

Post by **bicostp** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:15 pm

Wait, do you just need more Ethernet ports? (That is, you're not using a tiered security policy to lock down as many ports as possible for the PC, while still using Xbox Live?)

If that's the case, you don't need another router. You just need an Ethernet switch, like this one. It will just plug in and go, without you having to worry about addressing and NAT.

boxerorange · Post by **boxerorange** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:41 pm

Yes, I only need a switch. Is there a way that I can turn my router into a switch because I don't want to buy something else now.

Aguiluz · Post by **Aguiluz** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:19 pm

Depends on the router.

My modded router, a LinkSys with DD-WRT, can serve as a switch depending on settings.

Bibin · Post by **Bibin** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:59 pm

bicostp wrote:
Bibin wrote:You are not supposed to be able to daisychain routers like that.
Yes, you can. Companies do it all the time.

It sounds like the problem is both routers are spitting out 192.168.1.X addresses. Change the inside router's DHCP scope to spit out addresses in another range. (192.169.1.X, 10.1.1.X, something like that.)

Hmm, well it seems that you can do that, but you'd have to somewhat alter the settings; as mentioned before, having them all clash with DHCP will cause trouble (forgive my horrible typing tonight, I've a massive headache)