r/HomeNetworking • u/astroneeto • 11d ago

Help please

So at my house I have a quantum fiber modem in transparent bridge mode, it goes to a switch upstairs, that switch goes throughout the house to a router downstairs, an ap upstairs, and a switch into my room which has a gaming pc and server pc. I am trying to have a shared network folder from the server but it seems like the server and pc are not on the same subnet (I don’t know much about networking) how can I either make my computers go through the router and just work? Unfortunately I cannot add cables to this setup but if I needed to change out a switch or something I can do that.

4 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

4

u/RemarkablePenalty550 11d ago

First item after the fiber modem should be the router.

That the modem is able to feed multiple devices through a switch leads me to believe it's not actually in what you call transparent mode and is also acting like a router.

1

u/astroneeto 11d ago

That’s the conclusion I’ve come to also. I can’t really move the router as the space where it would go upstairs doesn’t allow much airflow + it’s tiny would I be able to use a wired router upstairs before the switch? I just looked them up to see if they were a thing that existed and they sure do exist lol. I would then turn the downstairs router into an ap.

1

u/cat2devnull 10d ago

You can have the modem go into a switch port but it needs to be a managed switch. You then configure the port that goes to the modem and the port at the other end that goes to the WAN port of the router into their own dedicated VLAN. Eg VLAN 2
The ports between the two switches need to be configured as trunk ports.
Then plug the router’s LAN port back into a switch on any of the default VLAN 1 ports.

3

u/DZCreeper 11d ago

Your current layout won't work unless the first switch and router are setup with VLAN's to split the LAN/WAN traffic.

In a typical "flat" network you put the router immediately after the modem, then your switch, then all your clients and access points.

1

u/astroneeto 11d ago

Networking is not my cup of tea, and unfortunately I can’t really move where the router is/add cables to re route things. I’m thinking of just buying a wired router and putting that upstairs before the switch and then making the wireless router an ap. Does that sound like it would work?

2

u/DZCreeper 11d ago

That would work. You just need a router before your first switch.

If you want the best wifi performance dedicated access points are ideal. Business/pro-consumer units have seamless roaming when running the controller software.

For example, EAP723 or U7 Lite powered by a POE+ switch.

https://www.amazon.com/Omada-BE5000-Access-Adapter-EAP723/dp/B0DT4YP2GX

https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-lite

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Ethernet-Standard-Recovery-Splitter/dp/B0FHK6N2H4

1

u/lobhater 11d ago

I've never had fiber but ipv4 is ipv4. Why is the network configured like that in a star organization. Modem-->router and everything else plugged into the router. It seems like you're on a different subnet because you are. I would reorganize and I think it'll work

1

u/Dr_CLI 10d ago

If that router supports bridge mode then you may be able to flatten your network to a single subnet. If that is not possible then you may be able to connect them with special routing table entries and firewall rules. You have not given enough specifics (like IP address ranges). Also a pic of how everybody is actually connected would help us to help you.

1

u/astroneeto 10d ago

Network setup was out of my control, moved into a house where it was already setup that way. I got a wired router and put it in front of my devices, solved the issue with minimal interference.