Switch for PC/PS3/Lanning/possibly laptop

[mrapoc]

Heya

Im fed up with wireless on my ps3/laptop when in my room so I'm gonna get a switch (considering they are more intelligent than a hub and near enough the same price nowadays)

Basically I wont need more than 4 ports as my bedroom will only be able to accommodate 1 more other person than myself for a lan - and even if i do send some1 out on the landing, i can easily unplug the ps3/laptop for more ports.

So yeh, im after a cheap switch to give me pc, ps3 and maybe laptop internet, plus allow a bit of lan gaming, media connect (pc > ps3) and simple networking between pc and laptop without having to go downstairs to the router

thanks 

[Rik]

There's this one, which should do the job for you, Sam:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=161794&CatId=0

or if you want something a bit better:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=248499&CatId=0

[mrapoc]

haha ill steal one from college

i think ill only need a 5 port plus would i acually benefit by spending more than a £10 jobby?

the most challenging jobs will be either streaming video to my ps3, playing lan games (if ever!) and transferring data between laptop and pc

I only have cat5e cable also

[Rik]

Try this then:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=236063&CatId=0

[mrapoc]

thanks rik

i take it that the only advantage for the faster switches you first recommended would be for more users, larger data and more of it.

Which would use traffic? Gaming with a friend on lan or streaming videos to ps3?

imo a normal switch would do for those

[Rik]

Streaming videos would generate more traffic. My reason for going for the Netgear is that it leaves you room to expand. I always find that your needs grow, whatever you do.

[Steve]

I use this one, never had a moments trouble with it

http://www.solwise.co.uk/networking-copper-based-hubs-1gig-senao-8port.htm

[Sebby]

Effectively, any switch should be fine. I'd say just stick to the good makes and get a gigabit one; the Netgear posted by Rik looks to be a good choice (the 5-port, not the 48-port!).

[mrapoc]

Arghhh more money haah

(just spent £99 on earphones and thats a large percentage of what money i did have explaining why i want to be a cheapskate lol)

any ideas on what expansion ill see in the future? I mean the printer will happily go downstairs networked on the router and cant see me getting more pcs in my room (size wise big enough to fit 3 single beds and no floor space)

[psp83]

I use an old Netgear DG834PN router as a switch (with the internet side of things turnt off)

I have a the following connected to it:
PC.
Laptop.
Xbox 360 Elite.

Works fine for me.

[Sebby]

That's always an option, Paul. Any old router should happily function as a switch.

How about eBay? You might find a used bargain there.

[mrapoc]

I have a speedtouch 580 to hand

worth a shot? how wud i configure it?

[Sebby]

I'd reset it to factory defaults, then disable DHCP, wireless, and if you can, the WAN connection (but it's not vital).

[mrapoc]

I mean - the ethernet going from router (to provide the "connection") will this just go in one of the ports  and then il surely have to configure "accept net connection from port #1" for example?

[Sebby]

Ah, you mean wiring wise. A switch would have an uplink port and you'd connect from the router to this uplink port with ordinary patch cable, but as the 580 won't have an uplink, you'll need a crossover cable from your router to the 580 (to any port), then you can use ordinary patch cable from the remaining ports on the 580 to PCs/other devices.

[mrapoc]

righto

ill dig it up and then buy a crossover from maplins 2moro

ace

[Sebby]

You could try with an ordinary patch cable first just in case, but I suspect you'll need the crossover. Let us know how you get on, and don't forget to disable DHCP on the 580 at the very least!

[Sebby]

One thing I forgot to mention. On the 580, it's probably better to assign it a static IP address in the same range as the other router, and make sure it's in the same subnet. If your other router has DHCP enabled, make sure you assign it an IP outside the DHCP pool range. For example, if your current router is 192.168.0.1, perhaps make the 580 192.168.0.2, then the DHCP pool from 192.168.0.3-192.168.0.x.

[mrapoc]

Well iv got it plugged in

Factory defaults

Normal patch cables

Internet works

The only thing was my 2wire was competing with it whilst connected so i just went local for a while

turned wireless off but cudnt see DHCP or WAN...any ideas

[Sebby]

What's the 2Wire complaining about? Is it saying there's another router detected?

[mrapoc]

well obviously wen i type a router ip in its gonna go to the main router rather than the speedtouch so yeh 

the ps3 aint liking it...it shows as it does connect but during testing i dont get a net connection or able to sign in

[Sebby]

That shouldn't be the case as the 580 and the 2Wire should have different IPs. Assuming your 2Wire has an IP of 192.168.1.254, I'd set the 580 to, say, 192.168.1.253, and ensure the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. Make sure you switch off DHCP on the 580.

[psp83]

How i've got mine setup.

Netgear dg834pn (Switch) :

NAT (Network Address Translation) = Disabled
Wireless Network = Disabled

LAN TCP/IP Setup
IP Address = 192.168.0.5
IP Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0

Use Router as DHCP Server = Unchecked/Disabled


Netgear dg834g (Main router) :

Starting IP Address = 192.168.0.2
Ending IP Address = 192.168.0.254


Wiring:

Phone socket to a netgear dg834g router downstairs..
ethernet cable from the netgear dg834g to the netgear dg834pn router in this room (port 1)..
ethernet cable from port 2 on the netgear dg834pn to this pc, port 3 to xbox, port 4 is spare for laptop etc..

All cables are normal straight through.. but some routers need cross overs..

[mrapoc]

Do I have to set up all this ip address and subnets? Or can i keep it as automatic

Perhaps A switch may be easier xD

[Steve]

The IP address for the router attaching as the "switch" needs to be outside the DHCP range for the router acting as the "router" if that makes sense?. The IP addresses the can be allocated automatically if you wish then by DHCP from the primary router.

[mrapoc]

Any guides for a speedtouch 580?

I cannot find the settings anywhere 

[Rik]

www.speedtouch.com/pdf/Manuals/R531/ST580_InstallSetup_en.pdf

Any good, Sam?

[Steve]

Looking at my ST585 there is not a lot you can do via the web interface,certainly I cannot turn off DHCP .I suppose you can do this via the CLI but I would personally would not know where to start. I have managed to configure a linksys WAG54GS as an additional wireless access point and attach that to a ST585 but thats the wrong way round for you unless you wish to use the 2700 as the "switch" with its dhcp server turned off.

[mrapoc]

it does indeed seem too stubborn to configure as the interface provided is too damn simple xD

perhaps i can find 3rd party firmware, or i cud just sell it to my uncle (his bt router is dying) and use the money to buy a dedicated switch - seeming the easiest solution

dontcha just hate technology?

[Sebby]

I'm sure there's an option to disable DHCP somewhere. Really, that, and changing the router's IP is all you need to do, and it's a perfectly good switch!

[psp83]

Do you have an advanced menu option in the control panel of the router? DHCP option should be there if you do.

[Steve]

On the ST 585 the dhcp server option and set/change static ip can be found from the web interface at HOME >HOME NETWORK>INTERFACES>LOCAL NETWORK>CONFIGURE.Hope its the same for the 580

[mrapoc]

thanks mate will have a look

karma for all

[mrapoc]

Ok...

I couldnt get into the web interface at all on my desktop pc..no ideas why

I plugged it into my laptop and voila it even prompted a visit to the interface

So iv turned off DHCP and wlan and set ip address to 192.168.1.253 and subnet is correct.

I then plug back into my pc - still no web interface even when trying the new ip OR 10.0.0.30 (the default address)

So wtf is going on 

[Sebby]

When you say you plugged it back into your PC, is that the SpeedTouch directly into your PC? If so, I'd imagine that it's because you've turned DHCP off (correct as it will be acting as a switch) but to bring up the web interface, you'll need to temporarily assign the desktop a static IP.

How about if you connect it to the 2Wire now? Everything should work as expected.

[mrapoc]

ATM Pc -> 2wire is fine

But Speedtouch -> PC i cant find a way

But...

Laptop -> speedtouch works 

[Sebby]

Does your laptop have a static IP assigned and the PC is set to automatic?

How about if you plug the SpeedTouch into the 2Wire now?

[mrapoc]

Well i tell a lie, the laptop is some1s who i am fixing for - therefore its a default factory install (all automatic)

My pc was just formatted/installed last night so this is also a fresh vista install

[Sebby]

Strange, but it's not unreasonable given that DHCP is turned off - perhaps you've assigned a static IP to Vista? Anyway, it doesn't matter as you want to use the ST as a switch, so does it work when connected to the 2Wire?

[mrapoc]

Well 2wire is now plugged into it

PS3 worked using auto settings so thats got a nice internet connection to play with now

But pc is still showing local only

[mrapoc]

Ok its deffo the vista machine

just plugged my ubuntu laptop into the SAME cable the pc was connected to and its effortlessly acquired a connection. 

[mrapoc]

errrr

i dunno why

but i tried using the ethernet port on the back of my pc which i never usually use (dual gigabit) and lowe and behold - it works



any ideas why

anyhoo reps for u sir  8)

[Rik]

Are the ports set up differently, Sam?

[mrapoc]

Well it was defintely the ethernet ports configs on the desktop causing the issues as i tested and thats what it cut it down to...

And considering this is a 1 day old vista install (basically i havent messed with it at all) im guessing they were both the same config (default)

[Sebby]

The different network connections will have separate settings, so one must have been manually configured and the other not.