adding a hub/switch to a linksys befsr41 router

[Sarrkazztic]

I have @home cable internet access shared to 4 computers through a linksys befsr41 router...what do I need to do to increase the amount of computers I can hook to the router.....do I need a hub or a switch and where do I put the hub or switch...before the router or after the router? give me as many details as you can...keep in mind that I already have a d-link 5 port 10base hub but can buy a 10/100 switch if needed.

2nd question.....with sharing cable internet do you see benefits in using the 100 base side of the network......or is 10base as fast as you need to go just for sharing internet and then use the 100 base segment for file sharing?

[Wavey Davey]

Plug a "straight through" cable from the uplink port of the hub to any of the regular ports on the router or plug a "straight through" cable from the uplink port of router to a regular port on the hub. Note that the router's uplink port is shared with port 1, and only one of the two can be used at the same time.

[DrMDJ]

Wire the router to the hub/switch like Wavey described, hub/switch being after router (ie. cable --> router --> sw/hub). Where the PCs would best hook in depends. The speed of the nics involved and whether you get a 10/100 switch or not (plus the ports on it) could dictate a couple different configurations.

For the internet side of things there's no benefit to worrying about 100mbps. You'll just have idol capacity as 10mbps is more than enough (the limit). For file sharing you want to go the 100mbps route if ya can (if NICS support it). There could be benefit to replacing that hub with a 10/100 switch.

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[Sarrkazztic]

Thanks doc....let me explain a little more about my setup.....the 3 desktop machines all have 10/100 cards in them while the laptop is only a 10base card.....laptop is used primarily for internet access only....not worried about file transfer speeds on this one.....but I will go ahead and plan on getting the 10/100 switch...let me see if I have this correct.....I have the linksys befsr41 4 port router/10/100 switch....I could connect the cable modem to this router like I have it now..by using the WAN port....then I would have 3 open ports to use from the router and as well as connecting say an 8 port 10/100 switch into the uplink port of the router. then I connect all my computers to the switch.....and if I need to grow again...I can add another 10/100 switch into an open port of the router or would that one connect to the uplink port of the switch.....

[Sarrkazztic]

here is the scenario....my wife and I each have our own computers..I have a test/gaming machine also and a old antique p100 laptop all sharing the cable internet through the router.....we are looking to buy a house and at this time I will want to only have our 2 workhorse computers in the office connected to the router....and then I am going to have a either a shop or another room setup for working on clients machines...and that is where I will put the test machine....so I need a few more open ports to connect computers to the internet...because when I do a job for a client I always download the latest drivers and such from the internet for them....and do not want to have to unhook any connections for this purpose...so if I add an 8port switch to the madness it should take care of me.....and I would only have to route 1 long network cable to the workshop instead of multiple ones for more computers.

[DrMDJ]

Looking at both your last posts...

Yes, modem connects via wan port to router. Then to begin with you use 3 of the 4 lan ports on the router to connect PCs (say upstairs), then use either the 4th lan port (with crossover cabling) or the uplink port (with straight-through cabling) to connect to your switch elsewhere. Then off the switch you attach your additional (client) PCs.

For future expansion you could either expand with a switch off another port on the router, or you can daisy-chain another switch off the existing switch using either its uplink port or a regular port (Remember, an uplink port is nothing more than a built-in crossover port. You can acheive the same thing by using the appropriat cable attached to a "regular" port). In any case, ya got a number of ways to grow.


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[Sarrkazztic]

dont think I am going to be growing past the 4 ports of my router and and 8 port switch any time soon that would be 12 compters hooked up at one time....unless I wanted to start a lan hosting business....lol thanks for the clarification doc.....have not had any experience with cascading yet.....now I have all the info I could ever need.....also thanks for the tips on which cables to use for what type connection that could have saved me alot of time trying to figure that part out later....will bookmark this post so I can find it when I need it in a couple months...