Help needed in extending Ethernet ports

arnprasad

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Hi..I have been a Hathway user for few years now and pay around 900 plus tax for 150mbps. Excitel has launched in my area and today I got it installed for a month to see if its good and if so, I will take the one year plan where 300mbps plan works out to 500 plus tax. While they have given me a dual band router, it only has two ports and I need a minimum of four as I have three desktops and one WD NAS server. What is the easiest/if possible free way to extend ports please? I have old routers - managed to find one - TP Link TD-W8968 which I guess is an ADSL router. Since its input is not an ethernet port, is there anyway I can make use of it to add 4 more ethernet ports with same credentials and speed?


I am querying myself on the web. I am not a techie but can follow simple instructions. Like this one below:


Assuming something can be done...Will I get 300 mbps throughout here as well?

As I type this - he bought another router to connect to his fiber router - this one does have 4 ports but speed is 100mbps only. This means one of the fiber router's port is taken as input for this router and hence I only have one free port on the fiber router that outputs 300mbps. Will be good if I can find a cheap solution to get 300mbps all across. Not that I need 300mbps but since I am paying for that speed - will be good to experience it.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

The fiber router he installed is Titanium 2122A - https://www.amazon.in/Titanium-2122A-Dualband-Supports-1xVOICE/dp/B08B4X2HRB

Till then let me look for the spare router from ACT. May be that can help.
 
If I understood you correctly, your ISP (Fibre) provider has installed a WiFi router at your place with 2 Ethernet ports but you need 4 high-speed Ethernet (preferably Gbps) ports. In that case, why don't you buy a switch and simply extend your current Network? You can use one of the 2 available Ethernet ports from the current Wi-Fi Router (assuming they are Gbps) as an uplink to the new Switch and can extend your existing network as you see fit.

 
Just add any 8 port gigabit ethernet port and you will be good to go. No configuration required.

The one suggested by OM_2K19 will work great but I would suggest going for an 8 port model to keep future additional port requirements in mind.
 
As others have mentioned, all you need is a switch.

Examples :


 
Thanks everyone! I was looking for a free solution. It is not that I need 300mbps as 100 mbps is fast enough for me. Since I was paying for 300, thought will be good to experience it all around. May be I will buy the extender. Thanks again!
 
Will this one work please as this seems to be the cheapest and the costlier ones have Qos which I dont understand. If the answer is yes, all I have to is connect a network cable from my router to this one and then this one will output 4 more network ports for me. Assuming my ISP is giving me 300mbps - the four ports from this also will give 300 mbps internet? Also if I were to transfer files between my home network, the speeds will hit 1GBPS? I ask coz some of the negative reviews say that speed is capped at 100 mbps. Thx

 
Will this one work please as this seems to be the cheapest and the costlier ones have Qos which I dont understand. If the answer is yes, all I have to is connect a network cable from my router to this one and then this one will output 4 more network ports for me. Assuming my ISP is giving me 300mbps - the four ports from this also will give 300 mbps internet? Also if I were to transfer files between my home network, the speeds will hit 1GBPS? I ask coz some of the negative reviews say that speed is capped at 100 mbps. Thx

This one should do the trick. Although the SW supports Gbps ethernet, the final speed is capped by the end device. If you hook a 100 Mbps device to a Gpbs SW, the final speed will be capped to 100 Mbps. This SW has an Auto-Nagiotiate feature so it will automatically pick the optimal speed for your NW.
 
Assuming my ISP is giving me 300mbps - the four ports from this also will give 300 mbps internet?
Yes and No.
If used separately, Yes, all devices will get the full 300 mbps.
If used together, No, a switch doesn't multiply your internet speed. 300 mbps will be shared among the connected devices.
Also if I were to transfer files between my home network, the speeds will hit 1GBPS?
Theoretically yes. Practically subject to the quality of the device.
I ask coz some of the negative reviews say that speed is capped at 100 mbps. Thx
The cap may be due to the device connected, not the switch itself.
 
Thank you all - one last question.

The other models in the 1500-2000 range - what extra features do they offer that a normal non IT person like me can use? My setup is as below:

First Floor setup:
Excitel router
Network extender when I buy connected to Excitel router by a network cable
One laptop connected to router by network cable as its wifi doesnt work
One desktop connected to router by network cable
One WD NAS Server which I use as a dumb network drive WD Ex2. This also connects to the router by network cable. All my home media is on this router which I access across all my computers.
Two Sonoff four channel relays and two Sonoff single switch - so altogether 10 electrical points which are controlled by smart speakers..these access the wifi.

Ground Floor setup:
One desktop connected to first floor router by network cable.
Three more Sonoff four channel relays - so twelve more electrical points accessing wifi.

Plus lots of phones, tablets, smart speakers that access wifi.
 
Hmmm. After going through your ask, it is not really that hard however it is not that easy if it is not planned right. None of the home products generally can manage more wireless devices. These are the facts no manufacturer will discuss. In general if you are redoing with some investment pls plan with a backbone concept reaching every floor and install a switch which can further divide your connection to the devices. With no such option you go with the suggested non managed switch which is cheapest. other option is going for WiFi mesh. You will get devices like TP-link that can wirelessly bridge two routers and provide you connectivity between floors. I still suggest going with unmanaged giga switch to keep the cost low and get the work done
 
Hi All,

I did order the 8 port TP Link extender and it will get delivered day after.

Because I was Googling on how to use existing routers as extenders, today as part of my google news feed, google pushed me an article from a year ago on how to use TP Link router as extender.

This one:
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2655/

I followed the steps and was able to get both a Wifi signal and also a LAN connection. Since this TP link router is touted as 300mbps, I thought I will get that speed when connecting through LAN - but the speed is capped at 100 mbps.

This is what I did - Connected my Excitel router to TP link via LAN Cable and then connected TP LInk to my laptop using LAN cable and after following the steps in the link above, I get 100 mbps. If I connect my laptop directly to Excitel router via LAN cable, I do get 300 mbps.

Any idea what could be the bottle neck that's throttling the speed to 100 mbps? Would the shorter LAN cable be the reason?

The TP link product page here says its a 300 mbps router.
https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-TD-W8968-Wireless-ADSL2-Router/dp/B008I3GCNU

If I can get the TP link to output 300 mbps internet, then I can cancel my Amazon order and save 1700!
 
Hi All,

I did order the 8 port TP Link extender and it will get delivered day after.

Because I was Googling on how to use existing routers as extenders, today as part of my google news feed, google pushed me an article from a year ago on how to use TP Link router as extender.

This one:
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2655/

I followed the steps and was able to get both a Wifi signal and also a LAN connection. Since this TP link router is touted as 300mbps, I thought I will get that speed when connecting through LAN - but the speed is capped at 100 mbps.

This is what I did - Connected my Excitel router to TP link via LAN Cable and then connected TP LInk to my laptop using LAN cable and after following the steps in the link above, I get 100 mbps. If I connect my laptop directly to Excitel router via LAN cable, I do get 300 mbps.

Any idea what could be the bottle neck that's throttling the speed to 100 mbps? Would the shorter LAN cable be the reason?

The TP link product page here says its a 300 mbps router.
https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-TD-W8968-Wireless-ADSL2-Router/dp/B008I3GCNU

If I can get the TP link to output 300 mbps internet, then I can cancel my Amazon order and save 1700!
Hi even I had same problem.the bottle neck is tp link router . though it says 300mbps it's a single band router it's limited to 100 Mbps only.go for dual band 2.4&5 hz router you will get 300 mbps.it automatically switches between the bandwidth.
 
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