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Forum Discussion
Hub between Orbi and cable modem
I’m trying to see it it’s possible to have a hub like a NETGEAR 5 port hub between my Orbi and the cable modem?
When I say "hub", I guess what I am really referring to is something like a Netgear 5 port Gig-E switch (like a GS605). The reason I am thinking about it is in my home office, the cable comes into the house in the corner, and currently in that corner I have my cable modem directly connected to my Orbi. In that same corner my Ooma phone and NAS are cat-6 connected to my Orbi.
What I want to do is relocate my Orbi to my desk in the middle of the room to get it out of the corner and give it more clear space to broadcast. My goal is to have to only run one cat-6 cable from the corner to my desk, and that's only possible if I can put something like a small Gig-E switch over in the corner where all of the other cabled connections are and only have to run a single cat-6 from the switch to the Orbi on my desk. I hope that makes sense... :-)
Fletch1027 wrote:
When I say "hub", I guess what I am really referring to is something like a Netgear 5 port Gig-E switch (like a GS605). The reason I am thinking about it is in my home office, the cable comes into the house in the corner, and currently in that corner I have my cable modem directly connected to my Orbi. In that same corner my Ooma phone and NAS are cat-6 connected to my Orbi.
What I want to do is relocate my Orbi to my desk in the middle of the room to get it out of the corner and give it more clear space to broadcast. My goal is to have to only run one cat-6 cable from the corner to my desk, and that's only possible if I can put something like a small Gig-E switch over in the corner where all of the other cabled connections are and only have to run a single cat-6 from the switch to the Orbi on my desk. I hope that makes sense... :-)
Ok. The order things are connected is critical. It has to be like this: modem->Orbi->all wired devices (switches and clients).
You can do what you want with one cable run from the modem, but you would need to move the switch and all your wired gear with your Orbi.
If you want to move just Orbi, then you need to run two cables. One cable from the modem to the Orbi Internet port and a cable back from the Orbi LAN port to your switch.
If you have satellites you can also connect your wired devices to a satellite anywhere in the house.
I understand what you're saying. I have seen other solutions that allow a switch to be between the cable modem and router, but it seems like Orbi doesn't support this type of configuration?
If you have your Orbi in router mode (not AP), then like the previous post mentioned, order is important. Everything on the Orbi has a different address range and is behind a firewall relative to your modem, ooma, and nas. If the Orbi is in AP mode, then your modem will hand out all the addresses and the Orbi will not act as a firewall. Everything will be on the same network -- but you would be relying on the firewall (if there is one) on your modem to separate you from the internet.
Or you could use a pair of Powerline Adapters with, effectively, no cables. If you do use Powerline Adpaters get the pass-through type i.e. those with a plug socket built in as they are far better at filtering noise from the mains.
Fletch1027 wrote:
I understand what you're saying. I have seen other solutions that allow a switch to be between the cable modem and router, but it seems like Orbi doesn't support this type of configuration?
It's a basic networking thing, not an Orbi thing. The purpose of a router is to provide an interface between your LAN and the Internet, and to block most traffic from the Internet from coming into your LAN. If you put a switch between the modem and a router, then everything on that switch is outside the router, and is essentially on the unprotected Internet, and cannot communicate to anything on the LAN side of Orbi.
If you have another router (not a modem) and run Orbi in Access Point mode, then you can put a switch between your other router and your Orbi
