Sounds odd, but you can definitely connect two routers on one home network. One of the most popular and common reasons as to why would a person want two routers on one network is simply to allow additional computers to access the internet. Apart from this, you can use this kind of network to share files, a printer or another peripheral device. Now, you might be wondering, why would anyone want to do this in first place? Though you are having only one system at the present time, there might be a situation when you might be in need of more than one system. In such circumstances, it is not necessary that both your routers should be of the same company. They can be of different brands and configuration. You can even have one wireless and one hard wire router, or you can have two wireless routers bouncing signals across a greater distance. The second router basically acts like a glorified switch to increase the number of ports for the network. This article provides you with information on connecting two computers together on the same network.
Connecting Two Computers Together
- Both the routers need not be of the same model or brand. The routers can be of different brands and you need to decide, as to which will be your primary router or router A. You will have to connect the WAN port with a cable to the modem. You can refer to the packaged instructions or consult a professional to set up router A.
- Once you have followed the usual steps to set up router A, the next step will be to connect all the systems that will be using Router A to the LAN port. You can connect the computers to the LAN port with the help of regular network cables.
- Assemble the house networks, if you need any help, you can refer the instructions or consult a professional. You can configure both the wireless and hard wire settings at the same time. Once you are done with the configuration, check the computers to see whether you can access the internet on your systems or not.
- Now, if the systems on the first router are successfully working, it is time to set up the second router. Connect a regular network cable to one of the LAN ports on Router A. Next, plug in the other end of the cable to one of the LAN ports on Router B.
- The subsequent step would be to connect the systems that will be working on Route B to the LAN port, using regular network cables.
- Once the systems are connected to the LAN ports, check whether all the systems have internet access or not. The number of systems that can easily function on one router depends on the number of ports. If each router has 4 ports that are tailed with a LAN cable, a total of 8 computers can be included on the home network. A wireless router can support more number of systems.