Member Avatar for cfu

Hi,
The issue I have is that the PC outside this router can't see/ping to printer.
I've setup a Netgear router (WNR2000v2 N-router) within the existing network. A PC connected to this router can see and ping the Brother mono printer which is also
connected to the same router. A PC outside this router can ping to the router and the
PC connected to that router but can't ping to this Brother network printer.
The firewall of the PC outside the router has been off.
My intention is to share the Brother printer for users outside and inside this router.
The PC connected to this Netgear router can get the internet and can ping to PCs outside
this router.
The printer has a static IP.
The PC outside the router has an IP of 192.168.x.x and subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
The printer has the IP of 192.167.x.x with the same subnet mask. This Netgear router
is not the main router on this network.

The other option I'm thinking of is just to replace the router with a 4-port switch.
Having the 4-port switch, can I extent the limit of CAT5 cable beyond 100 meters?
Chances is that all 4 ports will be used up for PCs and printer.
(one advantage of having wireless N-router is that the printer can go wireless later)

Appreciate if someone can guide to resolve this issue.
Thanks.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by techsheaven

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Given ’s symptoms and ’s subnet explanation, the behaviour is almost certainly caused by the Netgear creating a separate LAN (different IP block) so the printer sits behind a router/NAT and is not directly reachable from the main network. Two practical, reliable choices follow — convert the Netgear into a simple switch/AP so every device shares the same subnet, or keep it as a router but add proper routing (less convenient with consumer kit).

Steps to make the Netgear act as a switch/AP (recommended):

  1. Log into the Netgear admin page and assign it a fixed LAN address that belongs to the main network but is not inside the main router’s DHCP pool.
  2. Disable the Netgear DHCP server.
  3. Connect the uplink from the main network to one of the Netgear LAN ports (do not use the WAN port).
  4. Keep wireless enabled if wireless is needed, secure it with WPA2/WPA3, and attach the printer to the Netgear (it will get an address on the main LAN).
  5. Give the printer either a static address on the main LAN or a DHCP reservation on the main router, and set its default gateway to the main router.

If the Netgear must remain as a router (separate subnet), the alternative is a static route on the main router pointing to the Netgear’s LAN subnet via the Netgear’s WAN IP, and to disable NAT on the Netgear so return traffic routes correctly. Many consumer routers do NAT by default and may not allow disabling it, so this approach can fail — another reason to prefer AP/switch mode.

Notes on replacing with a 4‑port switch and cabling: an unmanaged switch will put everything on the same LAN and solve the visibility problem. Copper Ethernet has a 100‑metre per‑segment limit; to go farther, add an active device (switch) en‑route or use fiber/medial converters. For diagnosis, run traceroute to the printer and check the printer’s gateway — the traceroute will show where packets stop.

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Member Avatar for techsheaven

Let's see if I have this right:

Your Brother printer(192.167.x.x/24) is connected to a LAN port on the Netgear router (what's the address and net mask?) .

The Negear WAN port is connected to a gateway router LAN Port (192.168.x.x/24)

Is each set to routing mode? What else is enabled? DHCP? NAT? HW Firewall?

If you are sharing the Brother printer and have no reason to segment the network, I would look at setting it to some sort of repeater and/or bridge mode. Each brand will have different features, pros, and cons with each mode (Check the documentation).

If you can set it up that way, you can place the Netgear far enough down the line to avoid packets dropping(and extend the cat5 limit). The downside is that you will have to make sure you do not get it too far from the wireless printer.

It may still be advantageous to add a switch. There's two things to consider: Cable, and switching. It would be better to run one good run to a repeater, one more run to a switch, and short runs to other nodes. Routers may or may not switch full bandwidth to each LAN port.

Post back here and we will work it out together.

Good Luck

Member Avatar for techsheaven

I was waiting for you to reply as to how you would like to proceed, but I wanted to point out that there are some basic problems with you configuration. Think of your network like a phone company. From time to time you get a phone book with all the numbers in your area. Routers work the same way - what is listed, is only the numbers for that area! What defines that area in networking is a combination of the Internet Protocol address and Subnet Mask. In your case, it would look like this:

Network 1:
192.168.a .b

Network 2:
192.167.c .d

The left part of the address indicates the network, and the right part indicates the device on that network. The subnet mask defines where the left and right is divided.

On network 1, we look at the first octet of the IP and see 192. Our question should be, Is this Network information, or or device information, and how do we tell? This is where the subnet mask comes in. Since the first octet in the subnet mask is 255, the first octet in the IP (192) is information about the network. Using the same idea, the next two octets (168 and "a") are network information. So the Network ID for network 1 would be 192.168.a.0! Zeros in the mask indicate the device. So only the last octet in each of your networks indicates a device. Now use the same process to look at network 2. The network ID is 192.167.c.0! This is a problem.

Back to our phone company analogy. If I grab my phone book (look inside my network) I can look up any listed number I want. In fact, If my number is 555-555-0000, and I want to call everyone in my area, I know what number to start dailing... 555-555-0001, 555-555-0002, 555-555-0003 ... You get the point? Networks work the same way; besides the network ID, there is another special address called the "broadcast address." While the network ID is the first address, the broadcast address is the last. In your network, devices on network 1 say, "Here I am, can anyone here me?" Meanwhile, devices on network 2 do not respond . . . because they are on a different network!!! It would be like trying to find a phone number in Dover, England by looking in a phone book for Dover, Ohio!

So how do we fix the problem? Simple - Get on the "Friends and Family plan." Put your devices on the same network. If the address for Router 1 is , then Router 2 should be 192.168.1.x, where x is a number between 2 and 254 (not - that's assigned to Router 1, not - that's reserved as the network ID, not - that's he broadcast address).

If you use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), it should only be enabled on one router on the network. DHCP assigns the device (host) portion of the address automatically, but it may be different each time a device comes on! You need to log on to the router that handles DHCP and find the Range for the DHCP Pool. Let's say, for example, it is to 192.168.1.199. This means that as devices are turned on that do not have addresses statically assigned, they will say, "hey I need an address from the DHCP Pool." DHCP takes note of witch IPs it assigns, but... It can't stop an address conflict from occurring with statically assigned addresses. If you assign Router 2 inside the DHCP Pool, to maybe , DHCP will usually handle that OK IF the router comes online first -- If not DHCP may assign the address to another device. When the router comes online it already as an address, so it will cause a conflict and no devices attached to it will be able to reach the DHCP server to get an address. To avoid this problem, you need to find out what the DHCP pool is, and make sure that statically assigned addresses are outside it, and make sure you do not assign the same address to more than one device.

A regular network switch does not need or use an IP.

Good Luck

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