Yes. You can definitely connect a wireless router to switch. Every wireless router has an inbuilt switch. The switch typically has 4 ports inbuilt.
In order to connect another switch to the wireless router, the additional switch needs to be connected to the inbuilt switch on the wireless router using a network cable. The steps to connect a switch to wireless router is explained below.
Step 1
Purchase a switch to connect to the wireless router if you do not have one. The type of the switch would be based on the individual requirement. Switches can be purchased here Buy Ethernet switches
Step 2
Connect a network port on the switch to one of the inbuilt ports on the network switch using an ethernet cable. Typically a cross over cable is used. But nowadays the ports are auto detectable and a straight through cable would suffice.
Step 3
The next step is to configure the IP address of users connected to the switch. There are two options for this.
Option 1
The wireless router has a DHCP server. The DHCP server is configured to provided dynamic IP address to users on the network. The DHCP server can be setup to allocate IP address to users on the network.
The external switch is connected to the inbuilt switch on the Wireless router. All users on the switch would now recieve IP address using the DHCP on the wireless router.
Option 2
Static IP address can be configured for users on the switch. In this case, it is recommended to disable the DHCP service on the router to avoid any duplicate IP adddress issues.
Step 4
Once the IP addresses are configured the users on the external switch would be able to access the internet and other resources on the network.
FAQ
1. Will any switch work with this setup
Yes. Any switch can be purchased , be it managed or unmanaged switch. Switches can be purchased here Buy Ethernet switches
2. How many users can be connected to the external switch
Switches can be purchased in 24 port or 48 port options. So the maximum number of users that are allowed would be the number of ports on the switch.
Based on the users that require connectivity, the switches can be purchased accordingly.
3. What type of cable should be used to connect the wireless router to switch.
Typically a cross over cable would be used. But the latest technology would perform auto sensing. So a straight through cable would suffice.
Check out our – Home Networking Guide. The ebook explains different case studies and solutions which can be used to setup and configure your home network.