[ThatHideousStrength]

Since I got a new wireless router, I have this belkin that I want to bring to the basement to use as a hub when I repair computers instead of unplugging my dad. What do I need to do to deactivate it? do I just plug it in from a port on the main router and connect it to the main internet port on it?

I'm going to try that, just figured I'd ask a question to see if anyone ever has tried this.

[j0k3r]

There are usually options within the router to disable the DHCP and NAT functionality. You don't need to use the WAN port. Check the web config on the router.

[ivwshane]

Basically you just don't use the wan port on the router, keeping everything on the lan side will turn it into a switch. Also disable dhcp and anything else you might have configured for it.

Plug everything into the lan ports, including whatever you have to connect to the internet (assuming you want to connect the other computers to the internet when you use the belkin).

[ThatHideousStrength]

thanks!

[Devzero]

Because of the way router/switches are wired, it is physically impossible to force them to function as a hub. It is possible to use software to make the router/switch act as a hub, but there is not really much point in that. Hubs have no advantages over routers/switches except that they are dirt cheap, but so are routers these days ^_^

[Undertaker989]

well, routers and switches aren't the same thing. It just turns out that the home router devices have a switch built in them. The router acts on routing IP packets through the physical interfaces (assigns IP traffic to either a lan or a wan interface) while the switch acts on the datalink/mac address layer to assign specific network cards to specific physical interfaces on the switch.

by plugging the 2ond router into the 1st one on the 2ond router's lan interface, you turn off the routing, and by disabling the DHCP server on the 2ond router, the only thing being used on that router is the switching functionality. A hub would simply do the same thing, but broadcast the packets out of all the Hub ports instead of sending packets to a specific port.....the fact that they broadcast instead of "switch" packets is what makes a hub slower.


lets cut open a Linksys router real quick into its parts:
Mr. Router - lets assign all traffic in this IP range to this physical port and all traffic in this range (defined by subnet mask) to these physical ports.
Mr. Switch - lets assign this network card to this physical interface.
Mr. DHCP - lets assign this IP address to this MAC address.
Mr. NAT - lets unrwap each public IP packet (packets to and from Mr. Linksys router) to check and see what the internal IP address is.

[ivwshane]

You guys are funny

[tweakmonkey]

My router has pretty blue lights

[Binman]

Originally Posted by Dan-T3D

My router has pretty blue lights

I think mine has demons. its trying to communicate with me, anyone know morse?

[GreatBambino]

routers cool. hubs cool. cool.