# Is It Possible To Network Router-to-Router???



## Scuba_Dave

As long as they are capable of that setup & everything is connected/setup correctly yes


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## Zeke2112

*Checking your setup*

You might consider upgrading your existing router to a wireless router and then installing the wireless adapter at your Xbox. Wireless routers are pretty inexpensive and you could take the opportunity to upgrade to a higher speed as well. This way you'd only need one router and it won't require much in the way of configuration to work correctly right out of the box.

We use this setup at home and it works great.

Cheers,
Zeke


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## Bob Mariani

the second unit does not need to be a router, use a hub instead. Less money.


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## Zeke2112

Bob Mariani said:


> the second unit does not need to be a router, use a hub instead. Less money.


I think he's saying that he doesn't want to cable to the second unit, in which case a hub won't do him much good without a wireless access point - which is more expensive than a router.


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## ConstantChange

I recommend getting a nice wireless router and then getting the Xbox wireless adapter. Two of the nicer dual-band wireless routers are the D-Link DIR-825 and the Netgear WNDR3700.


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## poppameth

You can network two routers together via the wireless connection. You'll take a hit in speed for doing so though. When using a setup like this for gaming, you are bound to experience more lag. Not something I'd recommend for a gamer setup. Hardwired is still best for gaming.


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## pyper

jte1130 said:


> I want to connect my Xbox 360 to the network. Ideally I'd like to cable it out to my router however they are on different floors. I've tried drilling between floors to cable it out but I'm not having success.


Drill a hole in the floor, then drill a hole in the ceiling below. Now push a coat hanger from the one hole through the other, tape your wire to the coat hanger and pull it through. If you have a punchdown tool to put the end on the cable then you only need a quarter inch hole to pull it through.


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## Wildie

jte1130 said:


> I want to connect my Xbox 360 to the network. Ideally I'd like to cable it out to my router however they are on different floors. I've tried drilling between floors to cable it out but I'm not having success.
> 
> Instead I've decided to try and wirelessly connect to the router. Microsoft sells a wireless adapter for the Xbox for roughly $80. I figure I can get another router for sub-$40 to connect to the Xbox. I'm curious if I can connect 2 routers wirelessly to get onto the internet?


You don't need two routers! Just one wireless router! 
I have this same setup and the wireless router is capable of handling many wireless devices.


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## Wildie

Here's a good page to look at! There's a link there to a site that has a method of making a router 'talk' to another!

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2007/10/02/how-to-cheap-wireless-for-your-xbox-360/


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## typo

i had a similar issue where my wireless router was on a 2nd floor and my xbox360 was in the basement. I ran a cat5 cable from the first router to a 2nd that i had in my basement. Turned off the dhcp function on the router in the basement and basically used it as a over priced switch. But i was able to have excellent wifi coverage in my entire house because i set up the second router as a access point also and just set the ssid's as router 1 and router 2 and set the same wep key for both. i used that set up cause my wii used wifi and not wired. so i killed two birds with one stone. This will work but may be more work then ya want to do and more costly since ya really don't need the 2nd router and it can easily be replaced with a switch which is normally half the price of a router.


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## 80HD

*In case this is still in question...*

You will need an open switchport on your existing router, plug cat-5/6 into that, and run it out to as close to your XBox (PS3, Wii, whatever) as you can (the closer the better, and the less metal or dense material between it and the device the better).

Now, plug the wireless router or access point in to that cable. Make sure you plug the end going into the original router into the same type of port you would plug any machine into. On the wireless access point, make sure you plug in to the port labelled "Internet" or "WAN". 

You will want to make sure that you specify a different subnet for the wireless than you do for the primary router's network (they will both be DHCP servers). So, if you are 192.168.1.x on the original (not recommended) then you could make this router 192.168.2.x (again, using something like 10.45.195.x on your networks would be better, but whatevs)

Now, just set up like this, you should be able to get "out".

You do have some options in that if some console games require opened ports directly back to the device, you might need to do some fancier operating. Also, setting up an IP reservation or putting the XBox on a static IP on that secondary wireless network is probably a good idea.

Lastly, make sure you are using WPA encryption... or at least SOME encryption. Don't make name your router (SSID) anything that can be used to identify you. (Like your last name, your address, your dogs name, "ILOVECORVETTES" when two are sitting in the driveway, etc)


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## ackinma

I would suggest following Bob Mariani’s suggestion, with one exception. Don’t use a “hub” use a “switch”. 
To answer your questions, yes routers can be networked. HOWEVER, the average home router will require some configuration changes to do so, and a basic understanding of computer subnetting. The reason is that most “plug and play” routers will run a DHCP server which leases addresses to clients (a.k.a computers)
However the two networked routers will lease the same pool of addresses if left in the out of the box configuration. This will cause IP address conflicts and all sorts of problems as the routers will not be able to determine which host the packet is destined for as it will see the same network on both sides of the routers interfaces. 
So if router A uses 192.168.1.X as its network ID and router B uses the same, they will not work. Router B will need to use the next available network Id, which would be 192.168.*2*.X
I do computer networking for a living so this stuff is second nature to me, so let me know if you don’t understand what I am saying. Basically what you need to do is:
Change the second router’s ip address and DHCP lease to a different IP network than the first. Second you need to configure some kind of routing. Routers need to “know” the path to the other network. This can be done via dynamic routing protocols or static routing, or the gateway of last resort. 
Ultimately if you just link up a switch, you don’t have to worry about any of this, which is why I would recommend it as the preferred solution.


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## bigcaddy

Buy this:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360wirelessnnetadapter/

Buy this:
http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wireless-N-Access-Bridge-WNHDE111/dp/B00126V3EI


Hook em up and your done. you don't wanna run two routers.. you can, but it's a waste. use switches over hubs.. hubs aren't even used much because of broadcasting. 

or, run a wire from your router to the XBOX.


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## computerguy

Yes two routers can be connected without a problem. However you should either replace the wired router with a wireless router or install a hub as they are cheaper. Note: when you add a router to another router, you actually create a new network within your home. Each router is it's own network. I hope this helps.


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## Wildie

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that the OP isn't interested in cascading routers or running wire!

I think that he wants to use a wireless router in place of the XBOX360 wireless (USB) network adapter. As these cost almost a hundred bucks!
An economical way to connect the Xbox is to use a $20 wireless router with a software revision.
Previously, I posted a link to a site that where the software can be down-loaded.


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## Rasputin

The easiest way to accomplish what you're looking for is with a Linksys router compatible with Tomato firmware. 

http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

It can be set up as a wireless bridge, and wired devices can be plugged into it. I used this setup for quite some time when I needed my wife's computer and my wired-only network printer connected from the 2nd floor to the basement.


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## Wildie

Rasputin said:


> The easiest way to accomplish what you're looking for is with a Linksys router compatible with Tomato firmware.
> 
> http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato
> 
> It can be set up as a wireless bridge, and wired devices can be plugged into it. I used this setup for quite some time when I needed my wife's computer and my wired-only network printer connected from the 2nd floor to the basement.


 I'm unfamiliar with what would be a 'wireless bridge'! Can you explain what this is and how it would fit in to Xbox communication?


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## Rasputin

Wildie said:


> I'm unfamiliar with what would be a 'wireless bridge'! Can you explain what this is and how it would fit in to Xbox communication?



The xbox only has wired ethernet connectivity. A wireless bridge uses a standard wireless router and specialized software to connect itself wirelessly to the rest of the network, allowing its wired ethernet ports to behave as if they were directly connected to the "main" router.

You can also purchase standalone wireless bridges but they're often the same cost as a Tomato-compatible router.


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## Wildie

Rasputin said:


> The xbox only has wired ethernet connectivity. A wireless bridge uses a standard wireless router and specialized software to connect itself wirelessly to the rest of the network, allowing its wired ethernet ports to behave as if they were directly connected to the "main" router.
> 
> You can also purchase standalone wireless bridges but they're often the same cost as a Tomato-compatible router.


 OK! Thank you for your quick reply!

I have a surplus Linksys, wireless G router and would like to use this to connect to my home network that uses a standard D-link router.

So if I connect my Xbox network port to the Link sys port. Change its software over to Tomato. It would function in the same manner as if a cable were run directly from the Xbox to the D-Link router!
Am I understanding this correctly?


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## Rasputin

In the grand scheme of things, yes, you're on the right page.

You'll have to download the Tomato firmware to a computer and then connect wired-side to the Linksys to update it; you cannot do it wirelessly. It'll stand a good chance of bricking the router.

Once you put the Tomato firmware onto it, it's just a matter of changing the Wireless mode to "bridge", giving it your D-Link's wireless information (SSID, encryption etc) and then you'll never touch it again.

From that point it'll behave as if you're plugging in your Xbox directly to the D-Link. It'll handle all of the networking, including DHCP.


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## Wildie

Rasputin said:


> In the grand scheme of things, yes, you're on the right page.
> 
> You'll have to download the Tomato firmware to a computer and then connect wired-side to the Linksys to update it; you cannot do it wirelessly. It'll stand a good chance of bricking the router.
> 
> Once you put the Tomato firmware onto it, it's just a matter of changing the Wireless mode to "bridge", giving it your D-Link's wireless information (SSID, encryption etc) and then you'll never touch it again.
> 
> From that point it'll behave as if you're plugging in your Xbox directly to the D-Link. It'll handle all of the networking, including DHCP.


 Now i understand! Thanks for your patience with this old guy! LOL! I should be pushin' up daisey's instead here I am networking game machines! :thumbsup:

:laughing:


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