Looking for help regarding Home Network situation

[Arman Sandhu]

Hey everyone. I'm looking for some advice regarding the network I'm about to setup at my new house. I did read the sticky **The Ultimate Modem/Router Setup Thread** by axxeon, so I have a fair idea on how to accomplish my goal but could use a little extra help.

My new place is a three story house with the utility room (where the wiring routes back to) in the basement underneath some stairs. The house has been pre-wired so I dont have to worry about that. My setup will look something like this: Modem --> Master Router --> Switch --> Slave Router #1 and #2. The Slave Routers would be my wireless access points throughout the home, and also have a few devices connected to them directly.

What I would like to know first off, is there a way to cascade the routers such that any device connected to any of the routers can be seen other devices on any other router(ie. Slave #1 has Xbox One and Master connects to PC, can they see each other?). Also is it better if all the routers are the same or can I spend money on a tri-band router and use it as a wireless slave (it would be located centrally in the house). Is there any issue when cascading a dual-band router to tri-band router?

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

If all of the devices are on the same subnet (most likely 255.255.255.0) then yes, they'll see each other.

It doesn't matter if the routers are different, just make sure that DHCP and DNS server is disabled. If the routers don't have a bridge mode then you should allocate them a static IP address. Their default gateways will also need to be set to the master router.

I assume you'll have the same SSID throughout? If so, give each router a different wireless channel to prevent interference. A single, powerful WAP would be preferable as configuration and problem diagnosis is much simpler.

 

[smorizio]

in the closet pick up a good small biz 16 port switch. ones that can have more then ip network running at the same time. you want to make two networks up. home and guest. on the first floor put two of these in.
http://www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-Dual-Radio-Ceiling-NWA1123-AC/dp/B00I0F0I8Q
one for yourself and one for your guests then put the other on on each floor.
you dont want anyone will a phone or laptop to be able to browse your home hardware. you can also turn it on and off when needed. the first floor going to be an issue on how far you want to cover the first floor and outside. you may need a high powered ap if you want to cover your outdoor yard.