On Wed, 31 Mar 2021 15:25:55 -0500 David Wright <deb...@lionunicorn.co.uk> wrote:
> > But going back to the OP's original scenario, a broken¹ router would > be an ideal solution for linking two wifi laptops, with no possibility > of accidentally joining the Internet (horrors!). > > ¹ Is this a common mode of failure? My guess would be that, plus > the radio part. (Note: nowhere am I talking about modems.) > > I don't think so. But a modem-router will eventually be superseded, and will then work as a switch if you ignore the WAN part, I think that's a more common situation than cable router WAN failure. I have a couple of old ADSL routers, while I'm actually using a VDSL one provided by the ISP. I do have the occasional temporary need for a portable 4-port hub/switch. I've just bought a wireless (cable) router to improve the range over my very old one. I've left it in router mode, it provides DNS and DHCP to wireless clients using my bind9 server as DNS source, the latter working from first principles (root hints). Another spare router... -- Joe
