Unable to Network 12 IMACS using two Linksys Switches and one Linksys Router.

[smthomas23]

Hi, new to the forum and mac as well.

Here is my issue, I have the following hardware:


Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch (BEFSR41)

Linksys EZXS88W EtherFast 10/100 8-Port Workgroup Switches (Two of them)

I'm trying to Network 12 IMacs (OS X) with the above hardware. Here is what I have so far. I have connected to each Ethernet port a CAT5 cable from the 'built in' Ethernet port into the number ports on the switch. (1-8)

In order to connect the two switches I have used a 'Crossover cable' and that is in the 'Uplink' port of the switch. I get steady green lights on the first two rows. Then all orange/amber lights which would detect an 'collison(s). On the switches.

I have also used a straight through to connect to one switch into the back of the router port and the Internet port has a CAT5 coming from an existing DSL connection.

The CD will not run since .exe files are for PCs. And I cannot even get to the router's config page to configure it to get this network off the ground.

So, in summary how what the correct configs as far as cables into what ports and do I even need a crossover cable to connect both switches?

Please any help would be gladly appreciated!!

 

[pismobrat]

No,

You don't need a x-over cable to hook up two switches, get ride of that thing and use a normal cat5-e, like you should be doing with the desktops.

 

[mikes63737]

On those switches you should also only be using ports 1-7 for Macs; port 8 and the uplink port are a shared port.

 

[springerj]

configuring linksys routers

The previous posts about cables are right. You don't need to run any special software to configure a linksys router. Just open a web browser and type in the address bar "http://192.168.0.1". By default, that's the ip address of the router. It will ask you to log in. I'm struggling to remember the default on linksys. I think it's user: admin, password blank or also admin.
That will let you do any set up you need to do on the router.

 

[RedTomato]

If I understand you right, your network is like this:

8 macs ---> switch 1

(switch 1 + 7 macs) --> router

Doesn't seem a good network setup. As well as incorrectly using the 8th port as the same time as the shared uplink port, the macs connected to switch 1 are going to get very poor bandwidth.

As your router has 4 ports, you could get another cable, (or if desperately poor, an ethernet coupler to allow you to join two cables together) and hook it up like this:

7 macs ---> switch 1

7 macs ---> switch 2

(two macs + switch 1 + switch 2) --> router

Hope that helps.

 

[oxfan]

You need to connect six iMacs to each switch using standard switch ports (1-6), then connect the uplink port of each switch to the router, use standard ethernet cables, no cross-over cables should be required because the uplink ports on the switches will already be crossed-over. Don't connect the switches to each other.

 

[belvdr]

I've never used any of those switches. All of the switches I use no longer have uplink ports.

At any rate, to test your cabling, are you getting link lights on all of the ports? If not, and you have used a crossover into the uplink port, just move it to a standard port. That'll work as well.