Question about setting up network of 2 routers and 1 firewall

[BeerRunner]

Hi, I'm a complete newbie at networks and I'm attempting to add a router to my current setup. Right now, it's set up like like this:

Modem>>Sonicwall firewall with DHCP setup(default gateway)>>Linksys router with DHCP off>>Bunch of computers.

I'm attempting to add a second router between the the modem and the firewall so it looks like this:

Modem>>Router1>> Firewall >>Router2 >>Bunch of computers.

Bunch of computers connected to Router 1

Do I have to change the default gateway from the firewall to router1? How do I set this up with minimum fuss? Assume that I'm a complete clueless tinkerer (which isn't too far from the truth), and walk me through if possible.

Thanks!

 

[GhislainG]

Do you have a requirement to bypass the firewall? If not, it would be easier and much safer to connect both routers to the firewall.

For your new setup, you have to change the default gateway to Router1. Will Router1 be a DHCP or will you use static IP addresses on that network? If dynamic IP addresses, you'll have to reserve a static IP address for the firewall since it will be the gateway to Router2. Router1 will need to forward traffic destined to Router2 through the firewall and Router2 needs to have the firewall as its default gateway. That should work, but I presume that the unprotected computers don't store valuable information or they'll have their own software firewall.

 

[BeerRunner]

This is exactly what I'm looking for, thanks! I'll post back once the router comes in and I set this up.