Need help Wired Network routing and switches.

[Aethm]

Here's my current setup..obviously something is wrong as I'll explain below.

Entire House is Wired with Cat5e Cable.
Attached is a Map that will hopefully make things clear.

All Computers and devices can connect to the internet and work fine.

Only the Devices and Computers directly connected to router can find each other. That leaves Computer 1,2,& Xbox on the first floor out.

I've tried lots of different configurations. Originally I had the router directly connected to the cable modem and Split off from there with switches. The problem was that the file transfer speed from the server to the computers would be 10mbs or Less. With the router upstairs I get 30-40MBS file transfer rates. I've also tried using another router in the mix instead of switch but that resulted in windows finding 2 separate networks.

Can anyone suggest a better way to configure this or has an idea on why some of the devices cannot see each other?

 

[jdabbs]

Thanks for making a diagram.
Your current configuration isn't desirable as 1st floor-level clients are exposed to the Internet and have to traverse the router's NAT to communicate with the devices behind it. The router segments your network, which is the likely cause of being unable to "see" certain devices.

I'd reconnect the router to the cable modem, and try to track down the cause of the original performance issue. Are those switches gigabit?

 

[thiggins]

You are lucky that everything is connecting to the Internet. Obviously, your ISP isn't watching how many IP addresses it is handing out per customer.

Jdabbs is correct. Get the router connected back to the cable modem and everything behind it. Then track down the problem(s) that was holding back your LAN transfer speed. The best way to do this is start with a simple configuration of one computer and the server, connected via the router switch, then build from there.

 

[Aethm]

thanks for the help. No.. the switches not not gigabit. That's the problem. I was trying to save some money with this setup. Guess I could buy a gigabit switch and swap the router to the basement.

On a side note... I get multiple IP's from my ISP because I have a "business" account deal with time Warner. I never really thought much about it before (the only reason I have it is because it's actually cheaper) I think I can get up to 10 IP's... could come in handy in the future.

 

[thiggins]

Just remember that any computer not behind a router is totally exposed to the Internet. Make sure you have auto-updated anti-virus and are running a firewall on each machine.