need help setting up a home network

[sXidman]

consider me a newbie with some skills and help me out.

here's my question. i have a RT314 4 port router that i bought a couple months ago when the best buy deal was on(thanks anandtech forums), in anticipation of dsl modem service once i got back to school. hat i was unaware of at that time was that my ISP at school( which happens to be the school itself) gives out multiple IP's (ie 1 per student) to DSL subscribers. so in effect i have no need for the routing capapbilities of the router and want to use it as a switch instead ( since i know it has a built in switch) so.

a: how do i just use it as a switch ( i have roommates who'd like to have their own ip to be able to do ftp serving and such)

and b: if it can be converted into a switch, can it be used also as a router or does it turn into a dedicated switch.


tech suport has no idea what theyre saying, they give me conflicting solutions.

i need configuration info if possible

thanks guys

 

[matt6288]

I've only used the Linksys router, but looking at the description of the RT314, they look identical in functionality. All you have to do to use the switch is basically plug into the ports and you're good to go, just don't plug anything into the WAN port since you're not using that capability. Also, I know at least with the Linksys router, one of the ports (port 1 on mine) is shared with the uplink port. That is, if you have anything plugged into the uplink port, port 1 does not function. Keep that in mind, it can be tricky to figure out later on if it happens.

Oh yeah, b: the router stays a router. You're not changing anything, you're just using one part of it's capability instead of both.