Home network setup/issue

ciarsd

Firstly, I hope I've selected the correct sub-forum? I'm hoping someone can help a novice home installer.

My house is pre-wired with network points in each room. These are all wired back to a patch panel downstairs. Yesterday I received my UPC broadband order. I have managed to terminate the connection, split between TV & the cable modem supplied (Scientific Atlanta).
From the cable modem's RJ45 port, I've wired an ethernet cable to the Canyon 5 port mini switch. And from the mini switch, I've supplied broadband to 4 connections on my patch panel.

Problems:
These connections are all live, with the exception of my personal laptop upstairs (getting a "limited or no connectivity" error). I've eliminated the network point/cabling as the issue, using my work laptop, so I need to investigate my personal laptop settings? Any ideas?

I've now decided I would like to include a wireless element to this setup for an iPod touch, my mobile phone and an HP Photosmart eStation.
I've got a Netgear WGR614v9 Wireless Router (was the one supplied in the past by UPC, but not with this order). Question is, how would I go about configuring this for my setup (addressing, DNS etc?) and just as importantly, where abouts within my home network, should I place it and what connections should I use?

Many thanks for any help/pointers you can provide me with. I've attached a few images showing my equipment.

Patch Panel:


Scientific Atlanta cable modem:



Netgear WGR614v9 ports:

BigEejit

Have you tried your personal laptop on another point around the house (or directly onto that switch/router? Have you tried with nothing else connected to that little switch?
Usually limited connectivity means that DHCP is turned off and a IP address hase been specified.

Also, does that little switch have a built in DHCP server/NAT? Most small ones do not. And if your modem does not either that could be your problem.

That netgear router should do just fine. If there are a lot of wireless networks nearby it may affect wireless speed around the house. Most of those home routers will work out of the box just change your wireless settings and your set. I would suggest resetting it to defaults before you begin.
http://kbserver.netgear.com/pdf/wgr614v6_ref_man_20Apr05.pdf

ciarsd

BigEejit wrote: »

Have you tried your personal laptop on another point around the house (or directly onto that switch/router? Have you tried with nothing else connected to that little switch?
Usually limited connectivity means that DHCP is turned off and a IP address hase been specified.

Also, does that little switch have a built in DHCP server/NAT? Most small ones do not. And if your modem does not either that could be your problem.

That netgear router should do just fine. If there are a lot of wireless networks nearby it may affect wireless speed around the house. Most of those home routers will work out of the box just change your wireless settings and your set. I would suggest resetting it to defaults before you begin.
http://kbserver.netgear.com/pdf/wgr614v6_ref_man_20Apr05.pdf

Thanks for your reply! I spent the other evening wiping and re-configuring everything from scratch. I now have the LAN points active around the house via the switch. My personal laptop still has an issue...possibly auto-negotiation or a NIC driver issue. Any other device I've plugged in since can pickup an IP and connect to the internet with no issue.

Regarding my wireless issue. The Netgear router seems to be at fault, having spent sometime debugging myself and also on the phone to UPC who I actually found rather helpful. It seems as though the router cannot see the outside network, but can see the private network connected to it. I'm going to try a new router at the weekend and will report back. Hopefully that'll be the end of issues.

One other question: where would be the ideal position for the router in my topography?

Direct connection to the cable modem and use the 4 ports on the router to feed 4 ethernet ports on the patch panel?

OR

Direct connection to the cable modem and use a port on the router to feed the switch?

OR

Keep my connections as is (Cable modem feeding the switch - the switch feeding the LAN points around the house) and plug the router into one of the switch ports?