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Re: Orbi switch connection

Elvisj
Star

Orbi switch connection

I have the Orbi router and three satellites. I need to connect three 24 port switch boxes to the network. Must I connect the switches to the router or can I connect a switch to each satellite?.

 

Message 1 of 12
st_shaw
Master

Re: Orbi switch connection

That's a lot of switch ports.  If you connect a wired device to the satellite, it will communicate to the router over the dedicated 5 GHz WiFi backhaul.  I have benchmarked this link at 500 Mbps throughput, as have others on this site. A Gigabit Ethernet switch will provide ~990 Mbps throughput on each port.

 

The answer to your question depends on what you are trying to do, and which devices need to talk to which. But, if you want the devices connected to the switches to have the fastest throughput to/from the Internet (990 Mbs instead of 500 Mbps), then you would be better off connecting your switches to the router.

Message 2 of 12
Elvisj
Star

Re: Orbi switch connection

Thanks, I have a 6,000 sf house and have widely distributed TVs, music, cameras and phones, which is why I spread 3 24 port switches within the house. Not all are full, but I like a port available when needed. I doubt speed is critical so I will test moving the switches to satellites, because running long ethernet wires across the attic from one router is difficult.

Message 3 of 12
st_shaw
Master

Re: Orbi switch connection

That's a large area to cover. It sounds like you already have the three switches installed and wired back to a router.  Is that the case?

Message 4 of 12
Mikey94025
Hero

Re: Orbi switch connection

Yes you can connect switches to the satellites just as you would connect wireless devices to a satellite vs. the main router, especially if speed is not critical.

Message 5 of 12
Elvisj
Star

Re: Orbi switch connection

I have Time Warner with my own modem, which has only one ethernet port. I run it to the Orbi router. I bought the 4th satellite today and it appears to have installed correctly. Each satellite has a 24 port switch connect to it which also appears to work. The satellites are positioned at the 4 corners of the house. The external garage is away from the house but I buried an ethernet cable to it. The router has hubs plugged into the ethernet ports: Samsung, Sonos, and Arlo Pro. I connected the X8 R8500 into the ethernet in the external garage and the ports work but its wi-if does not. I appears to be there but message says "no internet connection". This appears to be a common Orbi problem, secondary wi-fi's do not connect. So I am left with another switch if I have multiple devices. Does anyone know how many switches can be connected in series? I have tried that before and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

Message 6 of 12
cue003
Apprentice

Re: Orbi switch connection

Just to be clear from your last post... you have an Orbi router PLUS three (3) or is that four (4) satellites? And it is all working pretty well -- except one on the external garage?

This will be the most amount of satellites that I heave read about yet on this or any other site.

Where is the router in relation to all the satellites? Center of house, corner, etc.

Message 7 of 12
st_shaw
Master

Re: Orbi switch connection

 


@Elvisj wrote:

 I connected the X8 R8500 into the ethernet in the external garage and the ports work but its wi-if does not. I appears to be there but message says "no internet connection".


 

There is no way for the Orbi to know you have a secondary wifi connection.  Based on your description that the R8500 ports work, but the WiFi does not, it sounds like you have the R8500 connected incorrectly and/or misconfigured.

 

Setup the R8500 in Access Point mode. Make sure the cables are connected correctly for AP mode.  This means connecting one end of the Ethernet cable to a LAN port on the Orbi router and the other end to the Yellow Internet port of the R8500.

 

See page 89 of the R8500 manual for instructions on how to setup and wire the R8500 router for Access Point mode: 

http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/R8500/R8500_UM_4jan2016.pdf

 

Message 8 of 12
Elvisj
Star

Re: Orbi switch connection

I also have a ADT security system, which has a Netgear gateway. It has cameras and wi-fi to communicate between their components. ADT set it up. It was connected via Ethernet to previous router and worked fine. But now that Ethernet wire goes to Orbi router, it's wi-fi does not work either. I have no way of accessing those settings. So there is something about Orbi that does not recognize other wi-fi. Someone suggested using the X8 to assign address and using Orbi as an access point, but I don't know how.

Message 9 of 12
Elvisj
Star

Re: Orbi switch connection

Does not work. Connected just as stated. But www.routerlogin.net takes you to Orbi setting. Nothing takes me to R8500 settings. I believe I previously turned DCHP addressing off so it would not conflict addresses. Computer connects to Orbi, But selecting R8500 get no internet connection.

Message 10 of 12
Elvisj
Star

Re: Orbi switch connection

Wait, reset R8500 and that allowed me to get to Netgear Genie, which is setting R8500 as an Access Point.  But Genie did not complete, said no file, and still no internet from R8500.

 

Message 11 of 12
st_shaw
Master

Re: Orbi switch connection

 

The R8500 will work if you set it up in AP mode and connect it as described.  You will probably need to power-cycle the Orbi after getting it connected though.  You WILL need to be able to log into the R8500 to set it up, of course.

 

Don't use www.routerlogin.net beause you have two Netgear routers on your LAN.  Connect to the R8500 using its IP address.

 

Log into Orbi, check the connected devices list, and see if it shows the R8500 as connected.  If the R8500 Device Name is isted as <unknown> you might need to identify it by MAC address, which will be printed on the R8500.  On the Orbi, note the IP address of the R8500, then connect to the R8500 directly from your browser.  For example, if the IP address is 192.168.1.10 enter the following in your browser address bar: http://192.168.1.10.  You can then log into the R8500 and set it to AP mode. Power cycle Orbi once the R8500 is in AP mode and things are connected correctly.

 

It's not clear where you disabled DHCP, but it should be enabled on Orbi.  The R8500 should not have DHCP in AP mode.

Message 12 of 12
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