Router/ethernet switch problem/quesiton.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Nerd help requested.

 

I have a Motorola surfboard cable modem. Plugged into it is a standard Belkin 4 port wireless router. I have need of more ports. I have acquired a generic no-name 5 port ethernet switch, with an uplink port.

 

I'm plugging the switch into port 4 of the Belkin router. Now, this switch has an uplink port, so if I'm reading my googles correctly, I should only need a straight-through, and not a X-connect cable, yes? I have 2 devices connected to the switch, and they're not getting an IP, they're just pulling apipa 169.254.x.x

 

If it matters, the Belkin is running DHCP, I have nothing statically assigned.

 

Help.

[Baldkin]

If you're using the uplink port you shouldn't need a crossover cable.

As for which port to use on the belkin, I cannot say. Make sure your belkin router has more than 3-4 IP addresses available in its setup -- should be in LAN setup, starting & ending pool of IP addresses.

 

My main suggestion is to try other ports on the router, and if that doesn't work, try rebooting the router.

Try a different cable from the router to the switch (Trust me, nothing makes you feel dumber than realizing it was the cable after 2 hours of putzing around).

[DuWayne Steurer]

If you're using the uplink port you shouldn't need a crossover cable.

As for which port to use on the belkin, I cannot say. Make sure your belkin router has more than 3-4 IP addresses available in its setup -- should be in LAN setup, starting & ending pool of IP addresses.

 

My main suggestion is to try other ports on the router, and if that doesn't work, try rebooting the router.

Try a different cable from the router to the switch (Trust me, nothing makes you feel dumber than realizing it was the cable after 2 hours of putzing around).

I know it's not the cable (isolated, known working), and I have plenty of IP addresses, as I have 3 wireless machines working, and 4 wired right now. (Well, not RIGHT now, but at any given time).

 

The one thing I didn't do is reboot the router, although the devices that were wired/connected were still getting their IP's, as were the 3 wireless devices.

[Samurai Bucky]

Just browsing and I thought I might offer some additional troubleshooting items.

 

I don't know what you are connecting to the generic switch, but it would be helpful if you were to use a desktop or laptop. Configure the computer to be on the same IP subnet as the rest of your network defined in the Belkin router. I would suggest doing it while connected to the Belkin. You should only need to set up the IP address, subnet mask, and DNS servers. You should be able to get that information from the DHCP scope on the Belkin router, or you can get it from one of your computers connected to the wired or wireless environment. To view the information (using a Windows workstation), you can go into the network setup, or go to the command prompt and type in "ipconfig /all".

 

Once you know that computer is working, then disconnect it from the Belkin, connect it to the generic switch, and the connect the switch to the Belkin. In theory, you should be able to connect to the same things you were able to connect to before. If you can't, then there is a problem between the Belkin and the switch. If there is still a problem:

 

* Is there a status light on either devices that shows that there is a connection and / or activity?

 

* On some switches / routers, there is a physical switch (button) that controls whether the port is a crossover port. Is there one on these devices?

 

That's my 2 cents worth. I hope it helps...

[DuWayne Steurer]

D'oh.

 

I rebooted the Belkin, just to see what might happen, and now I'm up and running. The 3 hardwire and 3 wireless devices connected directly to the Belkin are running, and the 2 desktops and the thin client connected to the switch are running, all via DHCP.