Expanding a DSL network

I distribute just DSL in my home via both wired and wireless. I use a Linksys WRT54GS Wireless Router v.1. I need to expand my wired access beyond the available 4 ports. I have a Linksys 5-Port Workgroup Switch EZXS55W and a Netgear Dual Speed Hub DS108 lying around. Everything is 10/100 Mbps. Can I use either of these for this purpose or am I way off base here?

Thanks, Larry

 

I would leave the Netgear in retirement and stick with the switch. If you don't have enough ports then just invest in a bigger switch.
The hub will work fine but it's like having a busy intersection with no traffic cop in simple terms.

Me personally, I would get a switch big enough to cover everything and just use one of the 4 ports on the router to connect to the switch and leave the other 3 on the router empty.

 

Perfect. Thanks,

Larry

 

I have ditched the hub but I have discovered that I have created a no-no with my DSL network. I now have a 2Wire 1000C Modem/router, connected to a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router, connected to a 4-port Linksys workgroup switch.

This all come to light when my new DirecTV On Demand function would not work. After having checked everything including the cables themselves, I realized that I have a router connected to a router. Seems that the easiest way to solve this is to replace the 2Wire with a simple DSL modem. I also just realized that my 2Wire is not 10/100 but just 10.

My concerns are that a lot of modems out there have routers and many also seem to be pre-programmed for specific ISP's.

So, am I on the right track and, if so, how do I specify (or please suggest) a simple modem? Thanks.

 

Having two routers on the network shouldn't be a problem. As long as only one is acting as a DHCP server, and they both have complementary addressing. For example, if one is 192.168.1.1, then the other needs to have the same first three sets of numbers and a different forth set. So 192.168.1.2 would be fine.

10/100 means 10 or 100. Connecting a 10 only device to a 10/100 is not a problem. And as 10Mb/s is far faster than most DSL connections, even the slower speed should not cause a problem - the bottleneck is the DSL link.

 

To try and simplify my plate of equip, I borrowed a Netgear FS116 10/100 switch. Everything works now just like it did before but now I have some LED indicators that might tell me something. The cables that work are solidly lit with occasional blinks. One cable is blinking VERY rapidly (60 cycles per sec or more), another is blinking on/of 2 cycles a second. Both in a very regular manner.

What do these blinking patterns mean? Both cables test fine with my cable tester. The Netgear site is useless.

Thanks, Lar