[SOLVED] Can I connect modem, router, switch, wireless router, in that order?.

[Motodug]

My internet modem and Ethernet cables run into a basement closet, not an ideal location for WiFi. It is currently incorrectly wired with a modem, switch and then the wireless modem and several Cat 5 cables running directly from the switch to various outlets. Currently only one leg will work at a time, so I was going to add a router before the switch, which I think should fix that issue. I’m just not sure if the wireless router will work this way.

 

[vov4ik_il]

Heya,
If your switch is managed, you can drop a VLAN to your wireless router and let it manage your LAN (if the wifi box is fast enough).
Otherwise, just configure it as a dumb access point and mount a dedicated router (firewall) and let it work the NAT and LAN traffic.

 

[bill001g]

There must be a router between the modem the end device. You are only getting 1 IP address from the ISP and that is why only one device will function if you connect mulitple devices to a modem using a switch.

Pretty much the only reason people need a router is to share this one IP with other devices.

Your problem is that as you mention a router that also has wifi requires good placement to function well. I would first try it and see how bad it is to place the router in the basement. What you can do is buy another inexpensive router and connect it to one of the wall jacks in the remote room. You want to run this router as a AP and most routers have the ability. What this does is only use the wifi radio part of the router and not the part that does the IP address sharing. If you were to run 2 routers in your house you would end up with 2 networks and the end devices would have trouble talking to each other. You can of course buy a actual AP device but a inexpensive router tends to be much cheaper.