Networks

Plug in the Ethernet Cable from the 8 Port Switch to the Uplink Port of the Router and then with a Ethernet Cable setup the Router and if you want/need to have the Wired and Wireless LAN's communicate with each other bridge them in the Routers Setup.

Then from the Wired LAN Connections on the back of the router run a Ethernet Cable to the 8 Port Switch. That will isolate the Internal LAN from the Public side of the LAN.

Col

Hi,

you may want to also ensure you have a firewall enabled on your PC, (i tend to like Zone alarm)

Having worked with microwave radios in the past to provide last-mile Internet access solutions, then it's not unlikely that the 'RJ-45 coupling' is itself connected to another configurable device with at least 2 IP addresses....one facing the ISP and the other to serve as the gateway for your network. If you do a tracert to an external website or IP address, you may be able to see what the IP address facing your ISP is.
I guess we could say that every subscriber to a broadband provider or ISP is actually just 'another room' in the provider's office in a manner of speaking... :-)

Thanks much everybody, appreciate your advice..
What would happen if I took out the switch and plugged that ethernet cable into the WAN port of the router? How does the router's firewall work in this mess? Is the ISP gonna know that I put the router on the network? I obviously don't want to create any problems for them.. And lastly, does RIP have to be enabled on the router?
I know, you probably say that I'm overthinking this but I was never faced with this situation before, I'm sure some of you were..
thanks again..
Mike

First, plug your ISP's connection, the one going to the PoE devise at the wall plug into your router's WAN port, which in your case is labelled Internet. Plug the rest of the devices into the LAN side of the house; the rest of the ports.

Optional, but a good way to keep surprises to the minimum, set your router configuration to the default (soft reset).

Next change your internal IP address to something other than the 192.168.1.x it gets from the ISP device. 192.168.0.x is fine. Set the router's IP at 192.168.0.1 and make sure DHCP is turned on with a sufficient pool of addresses for your devices.

Lastly, change the administration password to the router as well as the wireless settings to reflect the desired security.

Congratulations you are done.

Your router will get a 192.168.1.x address on the WAN side.

I ended up setting my internal network to the 172.16-31.0.0 (172.16/12 prefix - I use 172.22.33.x) so there is no confusion about which addresses came straight from the ISP and which are on the internal subnet. If you're going to stick with the 192.168.x.x subnet, pick a recognizable number as your own, like 192.168.150.x or 192.168.250.x - something that is not generally used by ISPs or unconfigured consumer routers, like 0, 1, 2, or 100.

Spitfire_Sysop, Alpha_Dog, TekyWanabe and lastly oldbaritone, all of you guys deserve a big cheers for taking the time answering my question. I'm gonna set the whole deal up tomorrow and will definitely post results here..
thanks again everybody