I just switched from Spectrum Cable "triple play" to AT&T U-verse phone and Internet plus DirecTV. I can do basic router configuration/home networking, but I want to get the optimal configuration, so I am asking for a little help.
With Spectrum, I had my cable modem hooked up to the WAN port of my NETGEAR WNDRMACV2 router. And then, I had a couple of computers and a printer attached to the LAN ports, plus the 4th LAN port attached to a ZyXEL Powerline adapter with other Powerline adapters in other areas of the house. In addition, I had an external hard drive attached to the USB port of the WNDRMACV2 router, which allowed me to share it on my home network. For many of the devices, I set up static local IP addresses, so they would not change over time. All of this worked very well for many years.
For the switch to AT&T/DirecTV, a Model 5268AC VDSL modem/router combination had to be installed. There are two factors that mess things up. First, it had to be installed across the room from where my WNDRMACV2 router was located. Second, although the 5268AC has a USB port, it is apparently not usable to share an external hard drive on its network.
So, what I have done so far is to connect one of the 5268AC LAN ports to a Powerline adapter, and then plugged the Powerline adapter into the WAN port of the WNDRMACV2. And then, I switched the WNDRMACV2 into "Access Point" mode but essentially left everything else alone. Even when in Access Point mode, the WNDRMACV2 still appears to be able to share the attached hard drive on the network. Everything seems to be working correctly. However, I am not sure whether my setup is optimal.
1. Is the Powerline connection between the 5368AC and the WNDRMACV2 (in Access Point mode) approach the best one? I have seen other terms like "bridge" and "repeater" and others, but I don't really know the differences. Also, the 5268AC router has something in its interface called "Cascaded Router," which allows designation of other routers on the network. That seems to be what I am doing, so should I enter something there?
2. I have seen some references to setting up sub-networks on additional routers, but is it fair to assume that that is an unnecessary complication?
3. Currently, I left the SSIDs on my WNDRMACV2 router as their original names, so separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks are showing up for both routers (four total SSIDs). Both routers also have Guest modes at both frequencies, so that could be eight separate SSIDs. The routers are about 30 feet away from each other on the first floor of my two-story house. Should I change the SSIDs to the same names within the frequencies? If so, do I need to designate different channels within those frequencies on the two routers (or something like that)? Or, should I just turn off the wireless on the WNDRMACV2? Or, should I consider putting the WNDRMACV2 and the external hard drive at the farthest point on the second floor away from the 5268AC to enhance wireless coverage (in addition to allowing used of the hard drive)?
4. For some reason, some devices are showing up on the new 5268AC router with static local IP addresses, while most are dynamic. I have an Apple TV with Kodi installed on it, and it currently accesses media on the network hard drive using SAMBA. I had to fix the source locations of my shared folders to reflect the new IP address of the WNDRMACV2 router. Is it better to assign static local IP numbers to devices, or should I just let them be assigned dynamically?
5. Finally, how should networking be configured on the devices (computers, tablets, and phones) to optimally access the wired (when available), 5268AC wireless (when stronger), and/or WNDRMACV2 wireless (when stronger)?
With Spectrum, I had my cable modem hooked up to the WAN port of my NETGEAR WNDRMACV2 router. And then, I had a couple of computers and a printer attached to the LAN ports, plus the 4th LAN port attached to a ZyXEL Powerline adapter with other Powerline adapters in other areas of the house. In addition, I had an external hard drive attached to the USB port of the WNDRMACV2 router, which allowed me to share it on my home network. For many of the devices, I set up static local IP addresses, so they would not change over time. All of this worked very well for many years.
For the switch to AT&T/DirecTV, a Model 5268AC VDSL modem/router combination had to be installed. There are two factors that mess things up. First, it had to be installed across the room from where my WNDRMACV2 router was located. Second, although the 5268AC has a USB port, it is apparently not usable to share an external hard drive on its network.
So, what I have done so far is to connect one of the 5268AC LAN ports to a Powerline adapter, and then plugged the Powerline adapter into the WAN port of the WNDRMACV2. And then, I switched the WNDRMACV2 into "Access Point" mode but essentially left everything else alone. Even when in Access Point mode, the WNDRMACV2 still appears to be able to share the attached hard drive on the network. Everything seems to be working correctly. However, I am not sure whether my setup is optimal.
1. Is the Powerline connection between the 5368AC and the WNDRMACV2 (in Access Point mode) approach the best one? I have seen other terms like "bridge" and "repeater" and others, but I don't really know the differences. Also, the 5268AC router has something in its interface called "Cascaded Router," which allows designation of other routers on the network. That seems to be what I am doing, so should I enter something there?
2. I have seen some references to setting up sub-networks on additional routers, but is it fair to assume that that is an unnecessary complication?
3. Currently, I left the SSIDs on my WNDRMACV2 router as their original names, so separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks are showing up for both routers (four total SSIDs). Both routers also have Guest modes at both frequencies, so that could be eight separate SSIDs. The routers are about 30 feet away from each other on the first floor of my two-story house. Should I change the SSIDs to the same names within the frequencies? If so, do I need to designate different channels within those frequencies on the two routers (or something like that)? Or, should I just turn off the wireless on the WNDRMACV2? Or, should I consider putting the WNDRMACV2 and the external hard drive at the farthest point on the second floor away from the 5268AC to enhance wireless coverage (in addition to allowing used of the hard drive)?
4. For some reason, some devices are showing up on the new 5268AC router with static local IP addresses, while most are dynamic. I have an Apple TV with Kodi installed on it, and it currently accesses media on the network hard drive using SAMBA. I had to fix the source locations of my shared folders to reflect the new IP address of the WNDRMACV2 router. Is it better to assign static local IP numbers to devices, or should I just let them be assigned dynamically?
5. Finally, how should networking be configured on the devices (computers, tablets, and phones) to optimally access the wired (when available), 5268AC wireless (when stronger), and/or WNDRMACV2 wireless (when stronger)?
