On 30 Jul 2006 01:11:03 -0700, vphilomin@googlemail.com wrote:
: Hi,
: I already have a 5 port switch in the basement to connect all the wires
: to the CAT5 outlets. I am trying to get away without having to buy a
: second router (wired or wireless). If I put my current Belkin router in
: the basement, the signal will not be strong enough for wireless clients
: in the 1st floor. Is it still possible to come up with a configuration
: with my existing hardware that works? Why doesn't connecting the WAN
: port to the LAN port of the Belkin work?
: Thanks,
: Vasi

Because it's a circular connection, in effect a feedback loop. The WAN side,
if you're going to use it at all, must be connected to another network,
ordinarily one closer to the Internet.

This is pretty fundamental stuff. If you actually don't understand why a
router's LAN and WAN ports can't be connected to each other, I think you've
got some reading to do.

But you could avoid the second router if you could put in a second CAT5 line
from the basement to your office (one to get the incoming signal to your
(wireless) router, the other to get the signal from the LAN side back to the
switch). You said that wasn't an option, but notice that a CAT5 cable normally
has eight strands. And I *think* I've been told [somebody stop me if I'm
wrong] that only four strands are used for speeds up to 100Mbps. (Some of the
early POE schemes relied on this, IIRC.) So you could conceivably re-jigger
the connectors to separate the cable into two four-strand cables and thereby
solve your problem. But I'm well out of my depth here (my field is software,
not hardware), so don't blame me if it doesn't work.

: Robert Coe wrote:
: >
: > Since you only have one wired outlet in your office, you've gotta put a router
: > in the basement and plug the wires to all your CAT5 outlets into it. That
: > router doesn't have to be wireless, but can be. (It does have to have a DHCP
: > server.) If you're lucky enough to be able to see the wireless signal in the
: > rest of the house, then you're done. Otherwise, you need two routers: the one
: > in the basement and the Belkin in your office. By default, you'll get two
: > levels of NAT on devices connected to the Belkin, but that usually works, in
: > my experience. If it doesn't, you can run the Belkin in "access point mode",
: > where you use only the Belkin's LAN ports. This defeats its DHCP server, but
: > you can still use the one in the basement router.