What is the best way to expand the number of PC Ports on a broadband router?
A. Most broadband routers on the market today are really a combination of a router and an Ethernet switch. The part of the router that the PCs connect to is the switch. It forms a local area network (LAN) of the computers connected to it. The router part of a broadband router/switch connects the PCs to the Internet via its WAN (Wide Area Network) port and its built-in NAT and DHCP server. Because a broadband router/switch conceptually expands a single port on a MODEM to serve several PCs connected to it, there may be a tendency to think that another router is the way to expand a PC port on a broadband router to provide service to still more PCs. Such is not the case. PC ports on an Ethernet switch are usually expanded by ganging Ethernet switches; i.e., an Ethernet switch is the best way to add more PC ports to a broadband router. An Ethernet hub can be used as well. In a pinch, many broadband routers can also be used to expand the PC ports on another router, but there can be configura
