Can you connect 2 routers together?

Question

Like lets say you buy 2 routers and you want to connect them both together. Im asking if you plug in the main ethernet cable into one router and in the computer part of the same router connect a different router.

Like lets say you buy 2 routers and you want to connect them both together. Im asking if you plug in the main ethernet cable into one router and in the computer part of the same router connect a different router.

I want to do this to gain more ethernet jacks

Answer 1

you dont do that you get a router and a switch

Answer 2

You could, but would gain nothing from doing so. Why would you want to do that??

In fact, if they were both the same brand it probably wouldn't work until you reconfigured one of them to use a network other than the default network. Most SOHO routers come out of the box configured to use 192.168.0.0/24 or 192.168.1.0/24 for the LAN side. If both were configured to use the same IP scheme, no traffic would flow.

Added: If all you need is more ethernet ports, just connect the router to a switch. Do NOT try to install 2 routers back to back. You should be able to get an inexpensive 8-port 10/100 switch for about the same $$$ as a router -- and it will give you more ports than 2 routers would.

Answer 3

My experience: 5 machines, 3 in a group in different location.

Router A: Internet connectivity (NetGear), Wireless
Router B: LAN to Router A (LinkSys)

Router A: If ISP dynamic IP: Obtain IP Automatically - don't worry, be happy. In other words, just set it up.

Router B: Set Local IP to not conflict with Router A IP (i.e., if A = 192.1681.1., make B = 192.168.1.100)
Set "Static Routing":
Destination IP = 192.168.1.0
Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0
Gateway = Router A's Gateway IP (192.168.1.1)
Hop court = 2 (ISP to Router A)
Interface = LAN (not Internet, as you're going to the LAN)

DO NOT ATTACH CAT-5 TO THE "WAN" PORT ON ROUTER B. ATTACH IT TO ONE OF THE OTHER PORTS (doesn't matter which one).

The router is now acting as a switch and will run at 100 mb, instead of 10 mb that my old hub did. Works fine.

Router B will automatically assign IP's to machines connected it to.

Answer 4

So you have two routers and have read all about the benefits of connecting them together. How do you go about doing it?

Follow the following steps and it'll be a pretty painless task.

I will use two common terms to refer to the routers to avoid confusion. The router that is going to be connected to the Internet (or cable modem that connects to the Internet), shall be called "Main Router" and the router used to create the second network will be called "Secondary Router".

Setting up the Secondary Router

1. Plug the power cable into the Secondary Router, at this point no PC's or other network devices should be plugged into the router.
2. Press and hold the Reset button on the router for 10-30 seconds, this will return the router to its factory settings and avoid any complications from the set-up you might have had when the router was being used as a primary router.
3. Connect a PC that is going to be on the second network into one of the numbered ports using standard straight-through eithernet cable (you'd have to ask specifically for 'cross-over' eithernet so don't worry to much about the name), I suggest you plug it in to port 1 but any will do. Now restart or turn on the PC you just connected.
4. A light should appear on the router correlating to the port you used to plug the PC into the router (e.g. if the PC is plugged into port 1, the light for port 1 on the front of the router should now be illuminated).
5. When the computer has finished its start-up process, open your web browser. Type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar and press enter. If this address fails to open a web page consult the router manual, as different manufacturers use different 'start' IP addresses (e.g. Belkin use 192.168.2.1).
6. A dialogue box should appear asking for a username/password. Again you may have to consult your router manual for this. Linksys tend to use 'linksys' for their password and Belkin tend to use 'admin', neither of these use any username. However, if neither of these work then you will have to consult your router manual for the default password. When you have it, type it in and click ok.
7. Once you have accessed the routers adminstration/set-up page, find the page/area that allows you to change "Local IP" and/or "DCHP" (typically this page is called "Setup" or something to that effect).
8. First change the local IP to 192.168.1.2 - you will probably now be asked to re-type this new IP into the address bar of your web browser.
9. Next you need to Disable DCHP on the secondary router and ensure you save the settings.
10. With all this done, your secondary router is configured - but don't forget to change the password that lets you access the adminstration settings for the router!!
11. Plug in the PC's and any other devices that are going to be connected to the secondary router (ensure 1 port is left free, e.g. if you have a 4 port router you can only connect 3 PC's or Network devices - one port must be left for connecting the Main Router and this cannot be the WLAN port).
12. At this point switch off all the PC's and network devices (e.g. network printers), so that you can connect the secondary router to the main router.


Connecting the two Routers together

1. Unplug the power to both the primary and secondary routers - you actually don't have to do this step with the main router, essentially you need it to drop the network and come back 'up' again and if you know what you're doing this can be done via the Main Routers admin web page. The quick route though is just to unplug the power to both of the routers.
2. Using striaght-through eithernet cable, connect one end to the Main Router and the other to port 4 of the Secondary router.
3. Now plug the power cables back into the routers, power up the Main Router and then the Secondary router
4. Your two routers are now connected together. Power up the PC's connected to the two networks respectively and check that they all have web-access etc.

Answer 5

Yes, you cannot your router to the modem/router which you have received from your Internet Service Provider. Plug one end of an ethernet cable into the network port of your modem/router and the other end into the WAN port of your own router.

Answer 6

Depends on the manufacturer. With XP, you could use a workstation to "bridge" the 2 units.