Network Expansion Questions

[Bolt11]

I am currently running a simple office network consisting of 3 XP Pro PC's, and and one digital video recorder accessible through the network. I am also wanting to run a wireless access point on the network too, to comunicate with some Dell Axim PDA's. The WAP I have is Motorola WA840G, with an On-Q wall mount with anteanna on it to get some better range. I am currently using a SpeedStream 2614 router to get DSL to the PC's, and to communicate with the DVR. But I am out of ports on the router. I am not too interested in running any of the PC's wirelessly.

My question is, can I run a SpeedStream switch, such as the 2108, and use it to hook my DSL and all the PC's, DVR, and WAP up to the network? Or do I need to keep the 2614 router between the switch and the DSL? Or will the whole idea not work at all? What else should I be looking at?

Here are some links to my products.

2614

http://kb.efficient.com/display/1n/articleDirect/index.asp?aid=45964&r=0.6510126

2108

http://kb.efficient.com/display/1n/articleDirect/index.asp?aid=45953&r=0.2845575

Thanks for any advice.

[koldchillah]

Just take one of the LAN ports on the router and connect it with a switch in order to provide an uplink to the switch. Then you can just plug any additional devices into the switch instead of directly into the router. Doesn't even really matter who makes the switch or how many ports, just as long as it's a switch. If you knew that you had gigabit network adapters in your PC's, you could even use the opportunity to upgrade to a gigabit switch, but a basic 10/100 switch will do just fine.

Welcome to SpeedGuide! :)

[Bolt11]

Thanks for the reply. Now this brings up one last concern, I am kind of short on room, and would like to get by with as little bulk as possible. Will it work to plug the DSL modem into one of the switch ports, and all the computers/devices in the rest?

Will a switch provide me with any firewall capabilities, etc? I also need to be able to allow port 5900 to be open for remote control.

Oh. I also see those links won't work for anybody else. http://subscriber.communications.siemens.com/subscriber_networks/homenetworking.shtml

[koldchillah]

A switch is an add-on to your network. Your router only comes with so many ports so a switch is used to provide more connectivity. It cannot be used as a router/NAT device so you will still need your router on the network as well.

[koldchillah]

Will a switch provide me with any firewall capabilities, etc? I also need to be able to allow port 5900 to be open for remote control.

That would require port forwarding in your router configuration. Nothing to do with the switch.. Again, the switch is a very simple device that just adds more connectivity to your network. There are higher level switches that can give you some features such as VLANs, port security, etc etc.. but a typical home user switch is just to add simple connectivity to an already established network.

[koldchillah]

Here's a simple 5-port 10/100 switch that could work for ya if you just need a few extra ports.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833124016

[Bolt11]

Thanks, thats kind of what I was beginning to figure out in my research. Thanks for the help!