Need to make sure Ive got this older Cisco switch hooked up right.

[Angry]

So, a friend has had a couple of Cisco switches laying around for quiet sometime. And last time we played with them over a year ago, they would allow network access between computers but no internet sharing, even with a router.
They are older Cisco Catalyst 2900 XL models.
The one Im playing with is a 22 port.

Another post awhile back, someone suggested setting the switch up as:
Cable Modem~~>to switch~~>to DD-wrt routers WAN and LAN ports.

I grabbed one of the switches and hooked it up as such, with no go. No internet or anything through the switch. So I hooked it up as:
Cable Modem~~>to DD-WRT WAN
and
DD-WRT LAN~~>to Switch~~> and out to various PCs.

And surprisingly...it works! After a few reboots of all the devices.
But is running the cable modem through the router an unnecessary step?

 

[Trap05]

This is not a surprise it's how it is supposed to work

 

[DreamerBrian]

There is a best practice for using these types of networking hardware. The line coming into your place providing intarwebz access will go into your modem(or CSU/DSU if you have a digital line). This allows the information being transmitted along the line to be switched from 'travel' mode so that it is usable for your gear. Your modem should be hooked up to your router which is the border device of any network. Routers will route your data through the internet as efficiently as possible by choosing the best path. On the other side of your router is your LAN which is where the switch should immediately be hooked up to. All of your computers and devices requiring a connection should be connected to your switch. The switch acts like a router, but for your local network. It maintains a MAC-Address table so that it can create multiple virtual circuits between devices when data transfer within your local network takes place. When any traffic destined for outside of your network(i.e. to the internet) is sent to the switch, the switch will send it to the router, which wills send it to the modem which will send it down the wire to the intarnetz. This is the basic setup of a network with switches, routers, and modems.

Hope this helps.
Brian

 

[Angry]

Helped a ton. Explained it fully, thankyou for that.

I did, however end up going a different route. The network of 6 or more PCs plus the wireless devices became a bit much for the little WRT54g2 router. Even with DD-wrt on it...it got overwhelmed I think. Wireless transfer was hovering around 386k a sec...wireless G speeds that is.

So I picked up an old Celeron/p4 based Dell from a friend for free, loaded the x86 version of DD-wrt on it and it is now handling all the routing and DHCP duties. Its not a firewall by much, but it is a DAMN good router.

As of such...this how the network is setup. Its even better now since I moved to a new place and started from scratch.
Shielded cable line from outside to Man cave, to the modem with gold plated connector
From the modem to the 1st NIC on the DD-WRT PC, and out from the WAN on it to the 1st port on the switch. From there, the switch feeds out to the network. The WRT54g2 is now off by itself with a single cable ran to it and only handles wireless activity. It now handles streaming HD nicely.

Future upgrades are, a Cisco gigabit switch, CAT6, and a wireless N access point.
White tower is my file/media server. The little Dell beside it is the DD-WRT router, and the white/silver Dell in the floor is my fiancees PC, she remote desktops into it from her laptop for now to do her school work until we get everything setup upstairs. The open PC thats half out of the picture is my roommates file/media/L4D2 server.

Another project Im considering is usings Microsofts Hyper-V or ESXi to virtualize the DD-WRT pc, my file server and L4D2 server....
And throw a better firewall in there somewhere.

 

[DreamerBrian]

Nice setup, dude. At first glance your setup reminds me of the secret hideout of the villain from the Saw movies .

You mentioned wanting more control and capability when it comes to your firewall. I don't know what your budget may be but the Cisco 800 series routers are a great choice for the home network user who demands absolute control and excellent performance from his network. Since they are ISR's(Integrated Service Routers) then they also have a built-in switch so that you can upgrade your switch and router concurrently! Are you excited? I am super excited JUST THINKING about it! Take a look!

Brian