Hello in a few short months I'm re-doing my basement and would like to first start off with what hardware i currently have.
1 Modem with 1 jack (goes to wireless router) 1 Wireless with 5 Ports(1 from modem)
I was looking to run a wire into the basement through the floor into a box that divides the signal up? i think its called a network switch but I'm not sure exactly familiar with them.
Can anyone "draw" out a plan for me with my given setup with what i would need to do and suggest a moderately priced network switch and anything else i would need? It would be greatly appreciated!! (sub $85)
You are correct, a switch will give you more wired ports in the basement. If you need better wifi in the basement you'll need what's called an access point or AP for short. It's basically just an extra antenna to the router you already have. If you need some wired ports in the basement too, be sure to pick one up with some ethernet ports too, it'll be both an access point (for wifi) and a switch (for wired devices).
Alternatively you can pick up both an access point (which only has one port for the antenna basically), and a switch next to it.
Alternative 2 is to buy a cheap router as most have an antenna and some ethernet ports already. You'll need to disable DHCP (so that it stops functioning as a router and is just an access point) and set it up with the proper IP, channel and SSID (the latter three you'll have to configure with an access point too, so it's not like it's a lot more difficult).