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Can I use multiple routers connected to my cable modem?
I have ultimate tier service and was under the impression that I could attach up to 3 devices to my cable modem and presumably, get 3 separate IP addresses that were externally visible. I'd like to switch to a new router, and woudl like to bring it up in parallel to the first router, do all my configuration and switch my house network to the new router. Then, I'd like to use the first router to implement a separate guest network for my house. Recently, I tried to take advantage of this and beforehand asked support a few questions to confirm that it is possble, works like I was assuming, etc. Admittedly, this is an unusual config, but I kept getting "canned" responses describing how I needed to get a router if I wanted to connect multiple computers, etc.
I did some tinkering and was unable to get things working. On the new router, I was able to see DHCP requests going out, but never received any responses back. Seemingly, the cable modem wasn't providing additional addresses.
Finally, using live chat, I talked with a support rep who seemed confident that what I was describing wasn't possible... That the "multiple computers" thing was referring to situations where customers didn't want to use a router, but instead, connected multiple systems with a simple switch or hub, etc. This was about a week ago. I had other ways of accomplishing what I was looking for, so it really wasn't a big deal, but it seemed that I should have been able to make this work.
This morning, on a whim, I tried enabling the WAN interface on my new router again, and, magically, it seemed to be working. The system got an IP address, I was able to connect, etc. Meanwhile, my old router continued to connect and carry the house network as I had hoped, etc. I'm not sure what changed -- perhaps I had some wiring or other error somewhere that I fixed in the interim.
Does anyone else have any experience with such a config? Have you been able to make it work as expected? Is it stable, troble-free, etc? Any suggestions for setting up / operating this kind of config with Cox?
In general, I really like the service I get from Cox, and I have no real complaints about support's seeming reluctance / inexperience with this kind of config. I'm just curious if I'm going to be able to rely on it, if it really is supposed to work, and if anyone else knows much about it.
Thanks for any help!
Guy from Hayes
ChrisL
Former Moderator
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7.1K Messages
13 years ago
To do this you would need to place a switch between the routers and the modem. Each router would connect to the switch via the WAN port and the switch to the cable modem's Ethernet port. Your modem appears to be provisioned correct so you should be able to power everything down then power on the modem, switch, and routers in that order to get everything working.
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Guy_from_Hayes
New Contributor
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3 Messages
13 years ago
I managed to get everything working. This required a small switch between the cable modem and the two routers. Initially (a couple of weeks ago) I was unable to get it to work. I contacted tech support mostly to make sure that what I was attempting was possible/supported/etc. I didn't get any real answers initially. Later, via LiveChat, the support staff indicated that the configuration I was attempting wasn't possible or supported so I sort of dropped it and pursued setting things up differently. Just before I was about to tear down the original config, I gave it one last try and voila`! It was working.
It's possible that I had some error that prevented it from working initially (though I don't think so). I'm not sure if tech support, in response to my inquiries made some change to my config (you mentioned that my modem was correctly provisioned), etc. Perhaps it wasn't initially?
Another variable that I didn't think of until just now is that I actually had two cable modems in the system -- both provided/installed by cox. One was some sort of combo thing that also stood up my local phone connection. The second was the DOCSIS3 modem they added when I upgraded to Ultimate. I actually no longer use the phone line and will probably return the phone/modem device and have it taken off my account. But, initially, it was in the system as well. Perhaps its presence initially had some bearing on the configuration not working.
In any case, everything seems to be working very happily now (with the phone/cable modem device out of the system). My new router successfully obtains an IP address which is different from my primary IP, etc. which is what I wanted for my guest network.
My only concern at this point is that some other "provisioning change" might render the configuration inoperative again. Since I plan to put my primary network behind the new router (leaving the original one for guest), this would be painful. I can't imagine why it would be a problem, so I think I am going to move forward with my original plan.
PS -- I have two real goals in trying to get this set up... The first is to have a separate IP for guests. That way, if my son or one of his friends various gaming activities is using a separate IP and someone on that IP does something to get it blacklisted somewhere, it won't take down my primary connection (which I rely on quite heavily). The second reason is to switch the linksys router I'm using with a linux-based one. The linux based router has much better logging, diagnostics, etc. available and will enable me to do some IPv6 testing that isn't possible with the linksys. I have been able to terminate a tunnelbroker IPv6 tunnel on the linux router and provide IPv6 networking to my network. This is very useful for testing as my employer is rolling out IPv6 connectivity to our public services and this provides a place for me to test that. It also lets me prepare my internal network for when IPv6 becomes available directly from Cox. I've heard that might start becoming available in the next year or so.
Thanks for your help.
Guy from Hayes
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