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I am considering purchasing a Nighthawk R7900P. My Spectrum 1G cable modem is upstairs in a small loft and I have a 16 port Netgear Gigabit switch beside the cable modem with ethernet feeds to most of the rooms in the house.
Almost all of our internet connections are initiated from the first floor of the house. What I would like to do is connect the cable modem to the Gigabit switch and then locate the R7900P on the first floor and connnect to one of the ethernet feeds on the first floor.
Will that work or do I have to connect the R7900P directly to the Spectrum cable modem?
Almost all of our internet connections are initiated from the first floor of the house. What I would like to do is connect the cable modem to the Gigabit switch and then locate the R7900P on the first floor and connnect to one of the ethernet feeds on the first floor.
A more normal, arrangement, and one that I use, is to go:
> modem > router > switch
In that way the router gets to manage the traffic through the ports on the switch.
Not a very detailed (or accurate) description of what must actually be a modem+router. (Generally, an actual maker and model number would be more helpful.)
> Will that work [...]
I don't see why not, if it's done properly.
Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look for Documentation. Get the User Manual. Read. Look for "Set up the router as a WiFi access point".
> [...] or do I have to connect the R7900P directly to the Spectrum > cable modem[+router]?
Nah. So long as you don't connect a network switch to an _actual_ modem, or have two routers (both acting as full-function routers), then inserting a network switch between the main (modem+)router and the R7900P-as-WAP should be harmless.
Thanks for the reply. The Spectrum device is a cable modem only. It is not a router. It is made by Hirtron. I think the model number is E3IN2V1.
I am currently using using a Velop mesh network that is currently connected directly to the Spectrum cable modem. The primary Velop node is then connnected to my Netgear switch. I want to replace the Velop.
> I am currently using using a Velop mesh network that is currently > connected directly to the Spectrum cable modem. [...]
Thanks for not wasting everyone's time with a sloppy/incomplete problem description?
You need to connect the (really-a-)modem to the router WAN/Internet port, and the network switch to a router LAN port. Whether that's possible/practical/convenient with your current cable arrangement is another question.
Almost all of our internet connections are initiated from the first floor of the house. What I would like to do is connect the cable modem to the Gigabit switch and then locate the R7900P on the first floor and connnect to one of the ethernet feeds on the first floor.
A more normal, arrangement, and one that I use, is to go:
> modem > router > switch
In that way the router gets to manage the traffic through the ports on the switch.
Thank you for the reply. I figured that was the best option. I wanted to place the Nighthawk router downstairs. Right now the cable for my Spectrum modem is running to the loft on my second floor.
The only way I am going to be able to do this is if I re-route the cable for the cable modem downstairs as well and move both the cable modem and the router downstairs.
Sounds like you have Ethernet cables running around the place. So you shouldn't have too much trouble plugging things in to get the best result, even though it may mean crawling around in the loft.
One important factor might be that it helps to get the wifi source in the middle of the property.
You seem to have that in mind with getting the R7900P on the first floor.
> Sounds like you have Ethernet cables running around the place. So you > shouldn't have too much trouble plugging things in to get the best > result, [...]
Except for the minor problem of having the modem and the network switch in one place, "the loft", and the router in another place, "the first floor", which would necessitate running two cables between the stuff in the loft and the router on the first floor.
So, sure. Not "too much trouble" at all. (For anyone who doesn't have to run the additional cable.)
I was in the attic today poking around and realized I have coax running to 4 or 5 rooms on the first floor that I used for Directv. I no longer have Directv.
This means I can move the cable modem and the new router to a single room downstairs. It will be fairly easy to connect the existing coax cable for the cable modem to the old Directv coax that is alreay in place. After I have the cable modem and the new router in the downstairs room, the only other task I have to perform is to run a 40' ethernet cable from one of the ethernet ports on the back of the router back up to my Netgear GS116 switch in the loft. I have too many ethernet feeds to move my switch anywhere else.
See anything missing with this approach? Any issue with a 40' ethernet run to my switch?
> This means I can move the cable modem and the new router to a single > room downstairs. [...]
That should work. (A careful reader might note that I wrote, "two cables", not "two Ethernet cables".)
> [...] Any issue with a 40' ethernet run to my switch?
For Ethernet, anything up to 100m should be ok. What could go wrong?
A pessimist might check the signal stats on the modem at its old site, for comparison with what happens at its new site. If there's a problem with the new/different/extended (co-ax) cable, then more info might make blame assignment easier.
