Adding a second router to a home network

[woodvale]

My home network is currently based around a Netgear DG834G ADSL-modem/router running firmware V3.01.38, to which I have two PCs and a multi-function printer with wired connections, several devices wirelessly and one PC connected through a pair of TP-Link TP-PA201 Powerline adaptors.

I want to add another PC elsewhere in the house and expect to buy a third TP-PA201 to add to the Powerline network (I believe and hope I can do that!).

However, I bought a remaindered Netricity A68HB 4-port router which claims to have Powerline capability as well. So I was thinking I could wire up the WAN socket on that to one of the 4 ports on the DG834G, then use the existing two powerline adaptors as remote devices connected to the Netricity through the powerline. I haven't tried that, as I thought I would set up the Netricity router first with the two PCs normally directly connected to the Netgear and check that I could still access the printer (still on the Netgear) from PCs connected through the Netricity and I couldn't get that working. The PCs could access the internet through the Netricity and the Netgear, but couldn't see the printer or devices connected directly to the Netgear.

I really don't understand how to set up the WAN and LAN configurations on the Netricity and would be grateful for some help. I suspect I should disable DHCP on the Netricity so devices get their ip address from the Netgear, but I don't know whether I should set the subnet mask or static DHCP leases to anything other than the defaults. I also don't know which option to select for the WAN - Dynamic IP or Static IP -  I suspect the latter as the Netgear will be set to always use the same ip address for it - and don't expect to use PPPoE, PPTP, L2TP or L2TP+DHCP.

Some guidance from someone who understands all those acronyms, and who could advise how to set it up so anything connected to the Netricity could see the printer, would be really helpful. Thanks in advance.

[Geek-9pm]

Welcome!
Computer Hope is the number one location for free computer help.
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The following remarks are somewhat general and do ct cover all the many ways p[people do home networks

A second router should have DHCP turned off.
You may use either Static or Dynamic IP address.
Everything in you Local Network has the same mask.
The best way to  connect two routers is with an Ethernet cable.
Power line LAN has low speed.
Some routers do not work well together.

As to the rest of your questions, they go beyond my experience. Specifically, I have no knowledge of how three Power Line adapters work together in an Ad-Hoc mode.  Or even if they can do nit.

[woodvale]

That's very helpful, thanks. I'll try it out and see if it works.

I won't mark the query solved in case someone else can answer the powerline query.

[truenorth]

woodvale, Something else you might want to think about (investigate) is the impact on wireless devices (printers) if you chose or are obliged to configure with a "dynamic IP". I recently had a great deal of grief presented from this issue with a Samsung laser printer and a dynamic ip wireless router. Every time we had an IP change (and we had no control over that) we had to reconfigure the printer to the changed address. truenorth

[woodvale]

Good point, thanks, but I've set up the router so that the PCs and printer which are connected by cables are assigned static ip addresses. The router can dynamically allocate address only for the wireless devices.

What I need to find out is how something connected to the subnet on the second router can access the printer which is directly connected to the modem/wireless router.

[truenorth]

Wish i could assist but somewhat above my pay grade. However there are others on the CH forums that should be able to help you with that (if it is possible). Have you talked to the printer manufacturer to see if their tech support can help you --or at least tell you if it is possible?truenorth

[Transfusion]

Is it possible to set the Netricity to AP mode so the Netgear is assigning IP addresses instead of creating a separate subnet? Different subnets cannot communicate with each other.

[Geek-9pm]

The Netgear DG834G ADSLr is a current popular model and is well suited for what then OP wants.

Key Features
The Wireless ADSL Modem Router provides the following features:
• A built-in ADSL modem
• A powerful, true firewall
• 802.11g standards-based wireless networking
• Easy, Web-based setup for installation and management
• Extensive Internet protocol support
• Trustworthy VPN Communications over the Internet
• VPN Wizard for easy VPN configuration
• Auto Sensing and Auto Uplink™ LAN Ethernet connections
• Content filtering
• Support for Trend Micro Home Network Security
These features are discussed below.

default LAN is 192.168.0.1 - typical for Netgear routers.

The TP-Link TP-PA201 Power line adapters can be used with more that two devices of the same type. So say the stuff on a site that sells them.
Here is part part of a review found on http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/

...has a single 10/100Mbit/s Ethernet port, push-button security that allows you to create a connection secured with 128-bit AES encryption with a bare minimum of effort and they come with software that allows you to monitor your Powerline network and create a secure connection to older HomePlug AV equipment t
..
Although the adaptors have a theoretical maximum throughput of 200Mbit/s, the actual performance of the TL-PA201 in our tests was unremarkable, with throughput of 41.44Mbit/s in our tests. While this is by no means the worst Powerline transfer speed we've ever seen, it's not going to break any records, either.  ...

Apparently they work OK on a LAN, but with low throughput. This should not be a problem for Internet, but poor for file sharing and backup.