Router piggybacking (dLink to Linksys)

[Tass_IT]

I am doing some tech work for a local business, and they asked me to set up a crazy quad-router network. Here is how I set it up (The way they want it)

I. Modem (dLink)
_A. 4 port Router (D-Link) (wireless) (Model: WBR-1310)
___1. 4 port router (Linksys) Model: BEFSX41 // Office (1)
___2. 4 port router (D-Link) Model: EBR2310 // Office (2)
___3. 4 port router (Linksys) Model: BEFSX41 // Office (3)
___4. 24 port router (Linksys) Eitherfast 4124 // Office (Main)

*The numbered offices are used by only 1 person each, while the main office is used by 4 PCs and 6 printers/plotters.

The reason they gave for this setup is because the four different offices want to be in their own network. One of the offices is used by a private detective (he wants to be all secretive and stuff I guess).

I am sure there is probably a way to set this up with out using the 5 different routers, and I'd love to hear about them, but I was hired to do what they want, and this is what they want.

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Results/Problems
The Modem is producing internet.
Router A is routing Internet. (I can connect to the internet if plugged into any of the slots)
Router 1,2,3 are not delivering internet to their respective offices
Router 4 is delivering internet to the main office.

So I guess my question would be: Is there something I am doing wrong, or something I set up wrong, to be producing these results?

Also I should mention that before this setup, I had one of the Linksys (BEFSX41) routers as the lead router to begin with, and everything worked fine, but they wanted the lead router to be the wireless one ... so here we are...

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Thank you in advance for reading my crazy long story. I am truly sorry if this situation has been posted/answered already; I failed to find a decent match in my quick 15 min of looking, and time is a factor.

Thanks again, Tass_IT

[lorjack]

Yes that is a very strange situation and completely unnecessary.

When you say that router 4 is delivering internet does it have a internet connection plugged directly into it? Also, are these offices in the same building or are they different geographical locations?

[johnwill]

Well, this should be very easy.

Reset all the routers to factory defaults.

Configure the four secondary routers to have a base IP address of 192.168.2.1.

Connect each of the four secondary routers to a LAN port on the primary router.

Job should be done except for configuring the wireless security on the wireless routers.

[asgley]

Originally Posted by Tass_IT

I. Modem (dLink)
_A. 4 port Router (D-Link) (wireless) (Model: WBR-1310)
___1. 4 port router (Linksys) Model: BEFSX41 // Office (1)
___2. 4 port router (D-Link) Model: EBR2310 // Office (2)
___3. 4 port router (Linksys) Model: BEFSX41 // Office (3)
___4. 24 port router (Linksys) Eitherfast 4124 // Office (Main)

Results/Problems
The Modem is producing internet.
Router A is routing Internet. (I can connect to the internet if plugged into any of the slots)
Router 1,2,3 are not delivering internet to their respective offices
Router 4 is delivering internet to the main office.

Can I assume the entire setup is within a single building?

and can you confirm this is how you are setup
NET
I. Modem (dLink)
|-- A. 4 port Router (D-Link) (wireless) (Model: WBR-1310)
**|-- 1. 4 port router (Linksys) Model: BEFSX41 // Office (1)
**|-- 2. 4 port router (D-Link) Model: EBR2310 // Office (2)
**|-- 3. 4 port router (Linksys) Model: BEFSX41 // Office (3)
**|-- 4. 24 port router switch (Linksys) Eitherfast 4124 // Office (Main)

Are they using the Routers in office 1,2 and 3 as VPN end points?
Are they setup with DHCP or static IP's?

If you connect a computer directly into router A does it conenct to the net?
If not, run a ipconfig on your compuer and see if the router has given you an IP address.
If you cant connect to the net and you do have an IP, connect to the router and see if the router has got an external ip, depending on the internet connection it may require a static ip or it may pickup an ip via dhcp from the ISP.
If you can connect, plug your computer into the switch (router 4) and repeat to check for connectivity.

you can reset everything to defaults and it may work but if there is lots of config on the routers you may want to trouble shoot it.

if you decide to troubleshoot let me know how you get on with the bits above. I for one would troubleshoot it just because i like to know why things dont work rather then just finding a fix. =)

Asg

[johnwill]

Let's see this from a computer on each of the secondary routers.



Try these simple tests.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD (COMMAND for W98/WME) to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands one at a time, followed by the Enter key:

NOTE: For the items below in red surrounded with < >, see comments below for the actual information content, they are value substitutions from the previous IPCONFIG command output!

IPCONFIG /ALL

PING <computer_IP_address>

PING <default_gateway_address>

PING <dns_servers>

PING 206.190.60.37

PING yahoo.com

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

<computer_IP_address> - The IP Address of your computer, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

<default_gateway_address> - The IP address of the Default Gateway, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

<dns_servers> - The IP address of the first (or only) address for DNS Servers, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.