What hardware do i need to purchase?

Hi there,

Currently i have a wifi router downstairs, but its signal is not strong upstairs. I have tried a variety of routers and they don't seem to help.

I have a pair of 200mbit homeplugs which connect my computer upstairs and i get a 50megabit connection there which is reasonable. However i would like to connect 3 wired devices in my room, i think a network switch would be okay for this however i would also like to improve the wifi signal upstairs.

What hardware do i need to buy that can act as a switch and a wifi hotspot, using the homeplug connection i already have?

A normal router with 4 ports and wireless will normally be adequate. You need to turn off DHCP and give it an IP address within the primary router's range.

Which type of router do you currently have? For commonality it might be worth buying the same or similar.

Oh right I see, I currently have a TP-Link Archer C2 which i just purchased but i wouldn't want to spend too much money if I can help it.

I wonder if it would it be possible to use my original plusnet router, the TG582n?

Wouldn't he also need to set the allocatable DHCP range of his existing router to exclude the fixed IP address in the subnet range that he gives the new one?

Do both of them run on the 192.168.1.nnn subnet?

Maybe, but if it is in the range with a fixed IP and permanently on then it should not get allocated.

If that were the case, the default range wouldn't exclude the DHCP server address...

Just try it out.

Go in and turn OFF DHCP. Find the DHCP range of your new TP link maybe 192.168.1.xxx and give teh TG582 a fixed IP address towards the top end of the range

I believe they are on the 192.168.0.xxx subnet, I will give it a go thanks

So, on the TG582, disable DHCP and fix the IP address as 192.168.0.201


You could tweak the DHCP range in te TP-link to exclude .200 to .210 but that is nit really necessary unless you are planing to have 200 devices connected!

I connected my router up, directly into the homeplug but when i go to the login page it is complaining about not being connected to a modem.

http://i.gyazo.com/376ef05ed84e5203ff5424f4b5f9ca71.png

any ideas?

Which port did you plug the homeplug into?

The homeplug downstairs is plugged into my TP-Link router via a LAN port, the TP-link router gets its internet connection from the BT modem.

I have the plusnet router now plugged into the homeplug upstairs using its 4th LAN port which normally is used to connect to the BT modem.

Don't use the 4th LAN port (the WAN)

Edited by deleted (Tue 10-Jun-14 20:02:31)

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Don't use the 4th LAN port (the WAN)

Correct.

For the OP - because we are connecting it by LAN to the TP-Link. The WAN is the TP-Link to the internet.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Don't use the 4th LAN port (the WAN)

Correct.

For the OP - because we are connecting it by LAN to the TP-Link. The WAN is the TP-Link to the internet.

If that is the case and the fourth port is only WAN with no re-config available then the OP will need a small switch too as he wants three wired devices.

If he does, then a small managed switch connected to the Home-Plug and router and devices plugged into that (switch) rather than the other way round to minimise non-internet traffic on the Home-Plug link.

What about the remaining LAN ports on the TP-Link?

Alternatively he can use the Plusnet router to connect to the modem and the TP-link as the secondary.

Edit - basically we don't know the physical layout of the LAN and wireless devices.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 11-Jun-14 01:44:29)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

What about the remaining LAN ports on the TP-Link?

Alternatively he can use the Plusnet router to connect to the modem and the TP-link as the secondary.

Edit - basically we don't know the physical layout of the LAN and wireless devices.

You should connect at the highest possible common level where possible.

Using the Plusnet router to connect would potentially be a backward step. The TP-Link was obviously purchased with a good reason which could be functionality, quality of GUI ...

We do know the requirement to have three wired devices connected at the distant end.

In reply to a post by MHC:

You should connect at the highest possible common level where possible.

Pass. I don't understand what you are saying.

Using the Plusnet router to connect would potentially be a backward step. The TP-Link was obviously purchased with a good reason which could be functionality, quality of GUI ...

None of which would be lost, but there would be three gig LAN ports in his room, which is presumably better than having them downstairs.

In the scenario I suggested, a switch connected to the home plug with the three devices and the 582 plugged into that. Connecting at te switch rather than plugging them all into the router will minimise traffic and switching.


Yes, functionality could be lost. For example: something like parental controls (or another function) , they need to be implemented in the router that is connected to the modem. So if the TP-link was purchased because it offered capabilities that the 582 did not, then they would be lost.