Setting Up Existing Ethernet Switch to Active Router Connection without Messing Up WiFi Connection (For a Desktop Computer)

[ladram]

Hey guys I need some help with my home network ... I've tried doing research to find the answers on my own but I think I have a unique situation that I don't quite understand and thought it would be best to reach out for advice...

My house is set up with WiFi from Comcast, we have a router than they gave us which they set up to our linksys wireless router (WRT160N). I recently reset the router to refresh the network and get the speeds back to where they should be.... They were around 4mbps And are now around 20mbps so that worked okay.

HOWEVER, we also have an Ethernet switch (It's called NETGEAR FSM7328S 10/100Mbps + 1000Mbps ProSafe 24-Port L3 Managed Stack-able Switch with 4 Gigabit Ports) that the previous home-owners installed. This switch actually has cables that run to each room in our house... So each room has an Ethernet jack (I think that's what it's called?) that we could potentially plug an Ethernet wire into. The Ethernet switch/hub is not currently powered on or connected to our internet. I have a desktop computer that I'm dying to get on Ethernet, but I haven't set this up because I'm afraid I'll screw up the wifi.

This is the Ethernet switch: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122071

So I guess my questions are:

How do I safely connect the switch and the router (and/or modem?) so that we would receive internet connection via the Ethernet jacks in each of the rooms?

Right now I have the Ethernet wire from the WiFi hanging (as I originally plugged it into one of my laptops to re-set up WiFi/internet). I was thinking that if I plug this into the hub, and then run an Ethernet wire from the Ethernet jack to my desktop, that it would work? But that seems too simple.

Also the modem router and hub are all in one central place.

 

[maxwellmelon]

I don't know as that is a complex switch but you should be able to "bridge" the the wifi router over to the switch my first step would be just plug the two together and see if you can get internet though the jack if so then the config worked automatically and you wont have to do nothing. and no it wont hurt anything on the wifi end. if it doesn't work you just unplug the cable. what im guessing is the config of both router and switch will have to be done to get it to work where you can see the internet on the switch. but again this wont hurt your wifi network to hook the switch to the back of the wifi router and see what you get.

I think the router port you use wont mater but you should have an uplink port I believe on the switch and if you do that's what you want to plug the cable from the router into. again theres nothing that should get hurt and worst case unplug the cable.

 

[ladram]

I don't know as that is a complex switch but you should be able to "bridge" the the wifi router over to the switch my first step would be just plug the two together and see if you can get internet though the jack if so then the config worked automatically and you wont have to do nothing. and no it wont hurt anything on the wifi end. if it doesn't work you just unplug the cable. what im guessing is the config of both router and switch will have to be done to get it to work where you can see the internet on the switch. but again this wont hurt your wifi network to hook the switch to the back of the wifi router and see what you get.

I think the router port you use wont mater but you should have an uplink port I believe on the switch and if you do that's what you want to plug the cable from the router into. again theres nothing that should get hurt and worst case unplug the cable.

Thanks, I'll give this a try. I'll look for "uplink" port as well - from what I remember there wasn't anything that stood out as the entry jack for inputting the internet - but then again that word wouldn't have stood out to me, I will check. Thanks again!

 

[maxwellmelon]

ok well if you need help let me know what you were able to do and what the results where