Does an Arris TM1602A cable modem or a Netgear EA6500 support multiple DHCP assignments on one RJ45?

tingRe

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Nov 19, 2015
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Our cable modem is an Arris TM1602A that has a single RJ45 for 10/100/1000-base-T Ethernet. It is were all our Cat 5e cables converge. We have about 6 at the moment, and will add several more in this next upgrade.

I plan to add a 24-port layer 2 gigabit Ethernet switch in the next upgrade. Since it's a layer 2 switch, not a layer 3 router, it will not provide network address translation (NAT) or give out DHCP addresses.

First question: Will the Arris TM1602A issue multiple DHCP addresses over a single RJ45 port? Will it hand out a dozen such addresses? Some devices only hand out 1 IP address per Ethernet port, others only hand out a small number and stop, while others are happy to fill up large subnets.

I plan to add a Linksys EA6500 router at that location, to replace our 3 scattered and aging Linksys-by-Cisco Wireless-N routers. If I connect the EA6500's WAN port to the cable modem it should get its' IP address from the cable modem. Then, it will perform NAT and serve DHCP addressed to wireless and wired devices connected to it, but:

Second Question: Will the EA6500 issue a dozen DHCP addresses over a single RJ45 port? I have seen older routers with 4 RJ45 ports only issue 3 or 4 IP addresses over a single RJ45 port before stopping.

Yes, my hardware budget is limited. I can get a used gigabit switch for $21, and a used EA6500 for $40. I already have the Cat 5e cable, connectors, tools, and cabling staples. Please do not recommend $100+ alternatives. I'm still using a Galaxy Note 2 cell phone.

Hey, You, stop that laughing!

Thank You in advance for Your answers,
 
Solution
It is a modem and not a router. You would need a different device that has the router function in it if you want it to do NAT and other function. The device itself is not actually even running DHCP you are getting the IP from a router at the ISP and it is just transparently passing though the modem.
I got in my 3Com 3824 switch ($20.24 on Amazon, in an unusually good deal today.)

The Arris TM1602A cable modem only serves one DHCP address. That's lazyness and poor design.

I plugged it into an old Linksys by Cisco wireless N router that I had been using. It serves out 4 IP addresses at a time via 1 port (of its 4 ports.) I just keep the rest of the devices turned off so I don't use more than 4 ports. This is due to laziness and poor design by Linksys and Cisco.

I'm surprised nobody suggested loading DD-WRT or Open-WRT on a router to get more control of the DHCP.

 
It is a modem and not a router. You would need a different device that has the router function in it if you want it to do NAT and other function. The device itself is not actually even running DHCP you are getting the IP from a router at the ISP and it is just transparently passing though the modem.
 
Solution