Setting up a home network - Will this work?

I'm trying to set up a new home network, this is the setup I am wanting to create; because I have not purchased the switch or NAS yet, I want to know if this will work before hand.

This is the planned setup: enter image description here

Basically all I want to know is if all the devices will be able to connect to the GoFlex and 4 Bay NAS in this case.

From what I understand having the NAS in the switch would act the same as having it plugged into the Modem; and because the router is also connected to the switch, the wireless devices connected to it should also be able to connect to the NAS via local IP (For example mapping network drive to 192.168.2.14)

Is this correct? Everything will be able to connect to each other? Thanks for any help!

Edit: Ok, sure! The Modem also can act as a router and provide a wireless access point, but due to it being a weak signal, we don't use the wireless on it; but it is handling DCHP addresses in the 192.168.2.1 gateway.

The Router listed in my Diagram is used used as a wireless access point, and is also handling DHCP addresses in the 192.168.1.1 range.

In my current set up (but not how I want) The GoFlex is conencted to the modem and it's local IP is 192.168.2.14; and all my devices connected to the router in the 192.168.1.x range are able to connect to it via the mapped location "\192.168.2.14\GoFlex Home Personal" so I know I can connect between subnets like this.

Stephane Levesque

Posted 2014-02-09T17:01:48.393

Reputation: 11

There is not really enough information here to answer this properly. Also you need to be more precise with your terms, e.g. when you say router what exactly do you mean, is it a Wireless access point, a cable router or something else. Also you need to be clearer about which device is handing out DHCP addresses? – hardillb – 2014-02-09T17:14:12.923

I've updated the main post; hope this helps! Thanks in advance. – Stephane Levesque – 2014-02-09T17:51:34.183

If the modem is the internet gateway, and can act as a router, I would replace the router connected to the Wii-U, Mom laptop and Stephane Laptop with another switch. Granted you could turn off the routing function of that router... possibly, but it would be a simpler home set up to have a single modem/router/gateway connect to a series of switches as needed. – JamesTheDev – 2014-02-09T18:30:18.150

The wireless in the modem is too weak to be used; and the laptops and Wii are conenected to the router via WiFi, so a switch could not be used in place of it. – Stephane Levesque – 2014-02-09T18:52:53.960

Answers

With the assumption that "modem" in the diagram is a cable modem/router/dhcp-serving device...

Yes, you can get this to work. I suggest that you configure your "router" in this case as just a plain old WiFi access point. To do this, go into its settings and disable DHCP. Assign it an IP address within the subnet that your "modem" is giving out.

For physical connection, connect nothing to the "internet" or "WAN" port on the "router". Simply use its switch port and connect to your other switch. This effectively allows you to only use the LAN side of this router, ignoring the other half.

Brad

Posted 2014-02-09T17:01:48.393

Reputation: 4 459

Ok, so here are the main options: http://puu.sh/6QlbG.png

Should I be using Static IP or Bridge mode? Thanks :)

– Stephane Levesque – 2014-02-10T00:55:40.150

@Levesque Is that your "router"? If so, you can use "bridge mode" and leave the WAN port plugged into your other switch. – Brad – 2014-02-10T01:01:43.657

Yes, that is the router. Thank you then. I suppose this is all solved until we actually get the stuff and set it up.

I just want to confirm, when I enable bridge mode; the Router will still act as a wireless access point, correct? – Stephane Levesque – 2014-02-10T01:04:59.580

That is correct. What is "bridged" is the WAN to LAN interface. The WiFi is always effectively bridged to LAN. Plain old access points are bridges between WiFi and Ethernet. – Brad – 2014-02-10T01:43:53.990

-1

Well, to answer your original question, yes that network design should work just fine, as long as the router is pointing to the modem as its default gateway.

However, there is a better solution you may want to consider. If the modem's WiFi is too weak to reach the devices connected to what you labeled the router, then instead of placing another router in your network (thus creating two networks in your home), you want to use a wireless repeater instead. A wireless repeater would allow connectivity to reach the devices without having to create a separate network in your home. This would put all the devices onto the same subnet, and connectivity between devices would not be an issue at all.

Christopher N. Boisjoli

Posted 2014-02-09T17:01:48.393

Reputation: 205

Thanks, I hadn't thought of it like that. Because I already have the router (and have for a few years); would I be able to set the routers IP in the range of the Modem? For example the modem IP is 192.168.2.1; could I assign the router an IP of 192.168.2.2? Of course would also disable DHCP on the router and set it to static IP, allowing the Model to handle it.

Would this allow me to use the existing router as a wireless repeater? – Stephane Levesque – 2014-02-10T00:15:54.457

Your router would need to support network bridging, so that instead of functioning as a separate network, it simply creates a bridge to the old network and forwards along that network's information. I suggested this method because the original post said you had not purchased the router yet. If you do already have the router, there is another option. You may be able to call your ISP and have your modem put into modem-only mode (thus disabling all router and firewall features), and have just once connection from the modem into your router. Then your router would be handling everything. – Christopher N. Boisjoli – 2014-02-10T00:23:20.307

Ah, you are correct, I have fixed that in the main post; sorry for the contradiction.

Unfortunately putting the modem into modem-only mode is not an option (Or so my ISP told me) because we use a fiber optic connection; and the modem is also handling the TV connections.

Here is a screenshot of the router setup page: http://puu.sh/6QlbG.png

What you are saying is that all I must do is set it to bridge mode? Excuse my lack of knowledge in this, but I thought that if I enabled bridge mode on it the wireless would be disabled making it more like a switch. Thanks again for your help so far!

– Stephane Levesque – 2014-02-10T00:34:04.933

You're half-right. Bridge mode will disable the router functions, but maintain the switching abilities, whether wired or wireless. I found this article that should help you figure out what setup is required for bridging WiFi link. It's not for your exact model router, but I didn't see anything specific enough that would exclude the instructions from working for your model router as well.

– Christopher N. Boisjoli – 2014-02-10T02:25:41.810