My Comcast cable modem has four ethernet ports. We have one wireless router connected to one of the ethernet ports, and our desktop is connected to a second ethernet port of the cable modem. Part of our property does not get good wireless coverage from the existing wireless router, and I was thinking of connecting another (long -- 60 to 70 feet) ethernet cable to one of the open ethernet ports of the cable modem and adding a second wireless router to the end of that ethernet cable as a second wireless network to cover the area that the existing wireless router does not currently cover well. Will that work/cause any problems?
Thanks!
Can I connect two Wireless Routers to one Cable Modem?
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Trogladite
- New Member
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat May 28, 2016 3:21 pm
Yes, that will work.
Your cable modem is most likely also acting as a NAT router, assigning local IP addresses to devices connected to its 4 ports. Once you attach a second Wi-Fi router, I would make sure to use a different, non-overlapping channel (1, 6 or 11 for 2.4 GHz), and simply assign the same security type/password/SSID to it, that way clients will connect to both automatically. Alternatively, you can just change the SSID name, so that you can recognize which router you are connecting to.
Keep in mind it may be best to run the Wi-Fi routers as "access points" to have all your client computers on the same network to be able to share files/printers, etc. To do that, you'd have to use just LAN ports on the Wi-Fi routers and follow something like the guide here: http://www.speedguide.net/articles/how- ... point-2556 If you don't run them as access points, computers connected to different Wi-Fi routers won't see each other, even though they may all be able to get online. If you don't want to reconfigure your existing Wi-Fi router, you may also use one of it's LAN ports instead of the cable modem, and connect the second/new router as an access point as per the article. In essence, routers connected as "access points" and their clients will stay on the same local network as the router they're connected to.
I hope this helps.
Your cable modem is most likely also acting as a NAT router, assigning local IP addresses to devices connected to its 4 ports. Once you attach a second Wi-Fi router, I would make sure to use a different, non-overlapping channel (1, 6 or 11 for 2.4 GHz), and simply assign the same security type/password/SSID to it, that way clients will connect to both automatically. Alternatively, you can just change the SSID name, so that you can recognize which router you are connecting to.
Keep in mind it may be best to run the Wi-Fi routers as "access points" to have all your client computers on the same network to be able to share files/printers, etc. To do that, you'd have to use just LAN ports on the Wi-Fi routers and follow something like the guide here: http://www.speedguide.net/articles/how- ... point-2556 If you don't run them as access points, computers connected to different Wi-Fi routers won't see each other, even though they may all be able to get online. If you don't want to reconfigure your existing Wi-Fi router, you may also use one of it's LAN ports instead of the cable modem, and connect the second/new router as an access point as per the article. In essence, routers connected as "access points" and their clients will stay on the same local network as the router they're connected to.
I hope this helps.
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Trogladite
- New Member
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat May 28, 2016 3:21 pm
THANKS Philip!Philip wrote:Yes, that will work.
Your cable modem is most likely also acting as a NAT router, assigning local IP addresses to devices connected to its 4 ports. Once you attach a second Wi-Fi router, I would make sure to use a different, non-overlapping channel (1, 6 or 11 for 2.4 GHz), and simply assign the same security type/password/SSID to it, that way clients will connect to both automatically. Alternatively, you can just change the SSID name, so that you can recognize which router you are connecting to.
Keep in mind it may be best to run the Wi-Fi routers as "access points" to have all your client computers on the same network to be able to share files/printers, etc. To do that, you'd have to use just LAN ports on the Wi-Fi routers and follow something like the guide here: http://www.speedguide.net/articles/how- ... point-2556 If you don't run them as access points, computers connected to different Wi-Fi routers won't see each other, even though they may all be able to get online. If you don't want to reconfigure your existing Wi-Fi router, you may also use one of it's LAN ports instead of the cable modem, and connect the second/new router as an access point as per the article. In essence, routers connected as "access points" and their clients will stay on the same local network as the router they're connected to.
I hope this helps.