Netgear router with sky modem/router?

luckycat99

Hi all,

We have wireless broadband and have been accessing it through a standard Sky Sagem modem/router. However the signal is not great and I have problems connecting from my office upstairs. So my boyf bought a new router (Netgear N600) but then realised when we unpacked it that isn't a modem as well. He bought it from an auction site so we can't return it.

I have seen somewhere that it is possible to connect this router throught the modem/router that we have - but we can't seem to get it to work.

Does anyone know how we could fix this without having to go and spend more money?

Thanks

KillerWatt

You need to log in to the router control panel and configure it as a bridge/wireless access point if you don't want it conflicting with the Sly modem/router
Note that not all routers will offer this type of configuration, although I would expect the N600 to be able to do it.

luckycat99

How would I do that? On set-up it said to connect router to modem using yellow cable but new router said that it couldn't detect a connection. So didn;t get as far as installing the disk etc on laptop.

Thanks

esuhl

You'll need to connect the two routers via an ethernet port on each, and then disable DHCP on the new router (the one without a "modem") and make sure it has a valid IP address.

luckycat99 wrote: »

{D}idn;t get as far as installing the disk etc on laptop.

Not sure what's on the disk, but you shouldn't have to install any software/drivers to use a router...

luckycat99

Thanks. Sorry but I need an idiots guide to this....

...so I connect the 2 with the yellow cable (both into yellow slots). Then when I connected new router to pc, it says connection not detected. So would I still be able to install software, without it recognising the connection, to then disable the DHCP? And is it straightforward to find out where to disable it? And how do I know whether my IP address is valid, and if it's not - what would my next step be?

Thanks - sorry for the twenty questions.

esuhl

Okay... Let's see if I can remember how to do this step-by-step. Your Sky modem/router is connected and working properly at the moment, right? If so...

1. First you'll need to work out what IP address and subnet mask the Netgear router should be assigned.

1a. So log in to the Sky router - assuming you haven't changed anything you should be able to do that by browsing to http://192.168.0.1/ and entering the username "admin" and password "sky". If that fails, ensure you are connected to the network and check that the IP address 192.168.0.1 and username/password are correct.

1b. Now you need to find a suitable IP address for the second router. This is where I get a bit vague... You can probably use any IP address in the range 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254, but ideally you should reserve the address specifically for the Netgear router. You might be able to enter the MAC address of the Netgear router (probably printed on the base/back) and ensure that the Sky router will see that MAC address and always assign the same IP address to the Netgear router. If you can't assign an IP address, you might just be able to pick any one that's available. Also make note of the "subnet mask" (almost certainly 255.255.255.0).

2. Now you'll need to set the IP address on the Netgear router and disable DHCP.

2a. Disconnect the PC from the Sky router, and connect it to the Netgear router (using a cable will be easier). Log in to the router interface (probably by going to http://192.168.0.1/ in your web browser). Ensure that DHCP is disabled in the router's configuration. Change the IP address to whatever address you chose in step 1. This will probably disconnect you from the router, so just enter the new IP address in the web browser to re-connect. Ensure that the subnet mask is the same as in the first router (which it probably will be).

If both routers have wireless access points you can set them both up with the same SSID and password so that devices will connect to whichever signal is strongest. It's a good idea to ensure that the two wireless networks are broadcasting on different channels. Neighbouring channels overlap a bit, so choose channels at least a few numbers apart (i.e. don't choose channels 2 & 3, go for 2 & 5, say.)

The Netgear router should now be set up to work with the Sky one, so disconnect it.

3. Now, connect the two routers via an ethernet cable. I think that technically you should use a crossover cable, but in reality most routers will recognise if you used a pass-through cable and make the crossover for you. (In other words, it probably doesn't matter which type of ethernet cable you use.)

Hopefully you should find that both routers now work properly!

I hope that helps...

esuhl

If you're still stuck, maybe someone else can explain it better that I can! There are a few useful guides here:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=how+to+connect+two+routers

prowla

FYI, I have a Sky ADSL/modem/router/wireless AP - call it "router-1". It has an input that comes from the phone line and a bloc of 4 Ethernet ports.
I also have a separate Netgear router/wireless AP - call it "router-2". It has an input "uplink" (yellow) and also a bloc of 4 Ethernet ports.
I have a normal Ethernet cable going from one of the 4 Ethernet ports on router-1 to the uplink port on router-2.
That's the physical connections.

DVardysShadow

esuhl wrote: »

1b. Now you need to find a suitable IP address for the second router. This is where I get a bit vague... You can probably use any IP address in the range 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254, but ideally you should reserve the address specifically for the Netgear router. You might be able to enter the MAC address of the Netgear router (probably printed on the base/back) and ensure that the Sky router will see that MAC address and always assign the same IP address to the Netgear router. If you can't assign an IP address, you might just be able to pick any one that's available. Also make note of the "subnet mask" (almost certainly 255.255.255.0).

2 relevant facts

• Routers, pc or anything do not have IP addresses - it is network interfaces which have IP addresses. So on a router there will be 2 IP addresses, one on the LAN interface and the other on the WAN interface.
• The domestic router is in fact a router combined with a simple network switch or hub

In this configuration, you use the Netgear router as a switch and 'abandon' the router part. The idea is to set the LAN interface IP address to something which does not play on your network and to turn DHCP off, so that the main router provides DHCP.

Ideally the Netgear LAN interface IP address should be set outside of the range used by the Sky router. Write the new IP address and subnet mask on a sticker on the bottom of the unit, so you can get back to it if you need to - or find out how to do a factory reset.

prowla

DVardysShadow wrote: »

2 relevant facts

• Routers, pc or anything do not have IP addresses - it is network interfaces which have IP addresses. So on a router there will be 2 IP addresses, one on the LAN interface and the other on the WAN interface.
• The domestic router is in fact a router combined with a simple network switch or hub

In this configuration, you use the Netgear router as a switch and 'abandon' the router part. The idea is to set the LAN interface IP address to something which does not play on your network and to turn DHCP off, so that the main router provides DHCP.

Ideally the Netgear LAN interface IP address should be set outside of the range used by the Sky router. Write the new IP address and subnet mask on a sticker on the bottom of the unit, so you can get back to it if you need to - or find out how to do a factory reset.

Do you know how to do that?
My Netgear router has a LAN address on its input side.

luckycat99

To be honest it's all a foreign language at the moment. I need to sit down with it and figure out what WAN LAN etc are. I'm hoping it all become clear when I wire them up.