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Can I use a second router instead of a switch?

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Prime2515103

Prime2515103

Member
Oct 28, 2010
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2
71
Hi,

First, I know almost nothing about networking, so if this question is stupid, please be nice to me. lol

I have a D-Link DIR-803 wireless router, but it is the US version (which I can't find) which has 10/100 ports.

I was just doing some research on gigabit switches, and according to what I found out, I should be able to plug a switch into one of the LAN ports on the router, then connect my gigabit-capable NAS and desktop into the switch, and I should get gigabit speed between them, and still maintain an internet connection. Does that sound about right?

But...

I came across a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X that has all kinds of capabilities that a switch does not. I realize I don't need that extra capability, but I figure that playing with all the features would be a good education in networking. It seems to get good reviews and is only $50.

Can I use this as my normal router, then plug my wireless router into it for connecting wireless devices? All things are pointing to yes, but I want to make sure so I don't get hit with return shipping and/or restocking fees.

Thanks :)
 
PliotronX

PliotronX

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 1999
8,883
107
106
You really should use it as the router and the d-link as an access point though!
 
Prime2515103

Prime2515103

Member
Oct 28, 2010
75
2
71
Ok, I got some clarification on some networking jargon.

What I want to do is configure the Ubiquiti as a router, then configure the D-Link as a wireless access point.

So far the router is working and I have internet (I used the built-in wizard for this). I configured the D-Link as an AP (as far as I know) and connected it from one LAN port to a LAN port on the Ubiquiti.

The problem I'm having now is that the Ubiquiti isn't assigning IP addresses to anything except my desktop. The D-Link and my NAS are being shown as connected, but no IP address has been assigned.

I think maybe it is because I have static IP addresses assigned in the D-Link and the NAS (from before).

I have internet so I should be able to figure this out.

P.S. The only reason I'm keeping the D-Link is because, well, it's there. I have no minimum performance requirements for my wireless connections and I'm never more than 10 feet away so I never get disconnected or anything.

P.P.S. I don't know if it's the Ubiquity or because I got really good CAT7 cables and I had a bad one in there, but I swear my internet is speedier when connecting - I got about a full second of delay before my browser would display my homepage and now it's coming up almost instantly. It would test full speed though. Strange...
 
V

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
A few things to check:
  • It sounds like you are expecting DHCP to override your static IP settings on the D-Link and NAS. It won't.
  • Disable all DHCP functions on the D-Link if you plan to use the DHCP on the EdgeRouter (you should)
  • Turn off any routing features you can in the D-Link
  • Set a static IP address on the D-Link that matches your new IP schema. If you want to use DHCP to assign its address you might need to verify that it will try to get an address on a LAN port. Static would be preferred. Make sure this static IP is outside of your DHCP range on the EdgeRouter. Do the same for your NAS.
  • Make sure you don't have any IP conflicts
There's absolutely no reason what you're trying to do shouldn't work. That said, Ubiquiti APs are awesome and quite reasonably priced. But what you're doing is 100% fine, you just need to make sure the D-Link is setup right.

Viper GTS
 
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Prime2515103

Prime2515103

Member
Oct 28, 2010
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Thanks for that info...

This is much more difficult to do than I initially suspected. This is definitely not a consumer product. I had to search the internet for like 15 minutes just to find out how to set DNS address. lol

Anyway, I'm having difficulty setting static IP addresses on connected devices. Every time I do, I have no internet and I can't access the router anymore (I'm guessing you just told me why - the static IP was in the DHCP range), so I had to reset it to defaults and start over. On top of that, my NAS was showing in the left pane in Windows explorer but I couldn't use it at all; I had to manually add it.

So, I just got everything working the way it is supposed to for now. I set the wireless aside for a bit to get the wired end working right, but I'm going to work on it tonight.
 
Prime2515103

Prime2515103

Member
Oct 28, 2010
75
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Success! :D

That problem I was having where the whole thing would lock up and I couldn't get internet or access the router turned out to be some kind of bug I think. I unplug the cable and wait about 30 seconds and everything starts back up again.

One problem I was confused about was the D-Link's IP address: It has to have one set. So I did and hoped for the best. I set the Internet to DHCP but disabled internal DHCP and uPnP, and viola! All's well.

Anyway, It's all working perfectly now. Thanks for the help! :)
 
Prime2515103

Prime2515103

Member
Oct 28, 2010
75
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s44 said:
Probably because you hooked the router to a LAN port on the D-Link instead of the WAN...
Click to expand...
Well fer corn sakes! Everything I read said "DON'T USE THE WAN PORT" (in big letters like that too).

The D-Link sill has the IP address set but in the router it is set to "no address" (everything but switch0 and eth4 [Internet] is set to no address). I don't understand it at all. It shows no IP addresses for anything connected. It's all working though, so good to go.
 
S

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
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Eh, whatever, if it works it works. I don't know stock D-Link software.

The IP address on the ERX GUI is the address your router has on that port/interface.
 
ch33zw1z

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
39,756
20,329
146
Prime2515103 said:
Well fer corn sakes! Everything I read said "DON'T USE THE WAN PORT" (in big letters like that too).

The D-Link sill has the IP address set but in the router it is set to "no address" (everything but switch0 and eth4 [Internet] is set to no address). I don't understand it at all. It shows no IP addresses for anything connected. It's all working though, so good to go.
Click to expand...

Like Jack said, you really don't want to use the WAN port on the dlink, you want to use it as a WAP, set it to a static IP outside of the DHCP range handed out.

IE if your range is 192.168.1.100-1.150, set it outside of that.

I do this:
Router: 192.168.1.1
WAP 192.168.1.2
VPN router: .3
linux vm: .4

DHCP range is .200-.254

Printers are .100-.103
 
Prime2515103

Prime2515103

Member
Oct 28, 2010
75
2
71
I found the IP addresses. They will only show on the "Dashboard" page if they are set to static, so you have to go to a different section to see leases. This interface is an afterthought if you ask me; it seems like everything is scattered around in all the wrong places.

I can't complain though since it's not a consumer product and I think most use cl or the config tree to set things.

I'm not going to bother with static addresses though. Last night I lost internet and had to reset everything and start over. I could ping from the interface, but absolutely nothing in Windows no matter what I tried. I have no idea what happened. It's working again though, and hopefully leaving them DHCP assigned will prevent that from happening again.
 
ch33zw1z

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
39,756
20,329
146
Ok, that's the latest I've installed also.

The ER-X is their consumer router, and I've had mostly good luck with it.

When you first login, on the left side, click on DHCP, that's a shortcut to the: Services > DHCP tab

(assuming you only have one DHCP service/range running here)

The DHCP service is right there, and on the right is a drop down menu with all the options you need.

If you click on View leases, a menu pops up that shows you current DHCP, a second tab that has Static, and a third tab for DHCP service details

Overall, IMO, this is far more structured and easy to use than other consumer gear I've used.

Hope this helps, after logging it's only a couple clicks away.
 
Last edited:
Prime2515103

Prime2515103

Member
Oct 28, 2010
75
2
71
Any idea how to flush the DNS cache? I saw something about typing in a command to do it but I'm not sure how to do that.

I did find the "force update" button but I'm assuming it's not flushing the cache entirely, just updating what's there.
 
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