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Bud1210's avatar
Bud1210
Aspirant
Jan 03, 2019

Setting up Home Network

Good Morning,

 

I’m looking for some advice on setting up my home network.

 

Currently we have a BT Fibre and home hub but i’m looking to upgrade. Currently the BT line Is situated in the loft, we have a phone connection through cat 5 in the living room where the BT home hub is located.

 

So I have a couple of issues to resolve, currently we have a second room downstairs where there are two games consoles (X Box and Switch) located and need a hard wire connection.  We also have a PlayStation located with the BT Router, so basically I have 2 rooms where I need a wired connection and also Wi Fi. Also I would like to hard wire the TV’s upstairs for Netflix etc. All Cat 5e cables terminate in the loft from every room

 

I’m unsure on the best way to set this up, in the second room I would like to use the XR500. Could I locate a modem in the loft and then have 2 routers located in each of the rooms? Or would I be better having a router in the loft with a switch?

 

Also could I replace the BT home hub or is this necessary as I have BT Fibre? The reason I ask is for some reason I cannot get the X Box hardwired to the BT hub. I was thinking of 2 Netgear routers and a modem, possibly a switch as well, would this work and what would be the best way to set this up?

 

Any help would be appreciated as i’m going around in circles at the moment. 

 

Thanks Lee.

 

 

12 Replies

  • Netduma_Jack's avatar
    Netduma_Jack
    NetDuma Partner
    Jan 04, 2019

    Hi Lee,

     

    There's probably no real reason to replace the hub with an alternative modem - from my experience BT Hubs are pretty well made and using a new modem can be a bit of a hassle with some British ISPs.

     

    I think what you need are powerline adapters. These allow you to transport a wired Ethernet signal through your mains power supply (pretty cool gadget!)

     

    So I would do this:

     

    1. Leave the loft -> BT Hub setup as is
    2. Connect the XR500 the Hub
    3. Connect nearby PS4 to XR500
    4. Use two PowerLine Adapters - connect via wire to XR500  and transport ethernet to other room
    5. Connect two consoles in other room into powerline adapters

    Also, if you don;t yet have th XR500, I would recommend following these three guides to get it setup optimally for you gaming needs:

     

    I'm sure other people on here will have their own ideas too!

      • Bud1210's avatar
        Bud1210
        Aspirant
        Jan 04, 2019

        Thanks for the reply I appreciate it. Currently the BT home hub is in the living room, do you think I should move this up into the loft? The reason I was looking to go away from the BT home hub is the X Box will not connect to it, so if the XR500 is connected to the BT hub will this then work?

         

        I was hoping to have 2 WiFi routers one in each room downstairs, it doesn’t look like this possible having the power line adapters?

         

        Cheers Lee

  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User
    Jan 07, 2019

    Modem Combo Units:
    Couple of options,
    1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge mode. Then use the NG router in router mode. You'll need to contact the ISP for help and information in regards to the modem being bridged correctly.
    2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ for the IP address the NG router gets from the modem.

     

    I would give option #2 a try...

    • Bud1210's avatar
      Bud1210
      Aspirant
      Jan 15, 2019

      Thanks for the reply, sorry for the late reply it's been a busy week. I really want to order some new equipment this week so just trying to establish the besy way to set this up.

       

      Do you have BT Fibre and did you relace the smart hub with the Netgear Modem?

       

      I have attached a diagram of exactly what i want to do, what do you think the best way to set this up would be?

       

      Regards Lee.

      • FURRYe38's avatar
        FURRYe38
        Guru - Experienced User
        Jan 15, 2019

        You'll need to contact your ISP to see what can be done with the need of a modem or any ISP interface device that you can use with the XR router. Having two routers on the same network can cuase problems. Especially for gaming. 

         

        Modem only units are recommended for using with external router like the XR router.