Combining two routers into one network?

[KillerPotato]

I have a decently complicated problem that I'm hoping can be solved by somehow combining the two networks in my house. So we have Verizon Fios and the Actiontec MI-424-WR router that comes with the service, which by itself, works fine. But we also have a second router in our basement, a floor below the Actiontec, because we run an office there and the office computers have terrible wireless signal, so a router needs to be in the basement to connect to them. The second router is an Apple Airport Extreme, which we also feel is generally more secure, another reason for its being used in the office. The Airport is connected with an ethernet cable through the floor to the Actiontec.

Now my main computer is on the second floor, a floor above the Actiontec. Whenever both routers are in use, the Actiontec is very slow, but the Airport remains reasonably fast despite being a floor lower, and when the Airport is off, the Actiontec is at least as fast as the Airport. I'm assuming the networks are tripping over eachother somehow (my knowledge of wireless is very limited ;[ ), and that the Apple router must be overpowering the Actiontec because it's signal is generally strong no matter what.

Now I would connect to the Apple router all the time, but on the first floor, there is a microwave directly in between where I am on the second floor and where the Apple router is in the basement, and whenever it gets used, my signal is completely destroyed. So what I am really hoping to find out is if there's some way to prevent the Apple router from tripping up the Actiontec, whether it's by somehow making them part of the same network or something, or whatever else. I'd greatly appreciate any input you guys can give, and thanks in advance!

 

[Destonomos]

I'm almost 100 percent sure the signals are bleeding into each other. Go into each routers config and make sure that only the channels 1 6 or 11 are used as any other will bleed for the most part (or you won't get 3 channels and just 2). Make the router upstairs 6 and the one downstairs 11. If either is near a microwave make it 1 instead of 11 or 6.

On home router solutions you cannot make one router see another without 3rd party firmware on those two you mentioned. You will need a network bridge to connect the two networks.

Microwaves work on the same signal frequency as wireless G which is 2.4. Which just happens to be the freq that water resonates at (which is how a microwaves work by heating up water in the air). Also if you have wireless phones in the building buy 800Mhz or 5.4Ghz ones as the 2.4 ones will ruin your signal as well.

 

[StarTrek4U]

If it's not the wireless issue that Destonomos mentioned (but a good suggestion regardless) it would pay to check your network setup. Do you know if your office and home PCs are on the same network? It could be causing a problem if both are attempting to act as routers and hand out IP addresses, etc. I would make sure that you turn off any DHCP/NAT on the airport and ensure that only the Actiontec is handing out IP addresses. If both of those devices are trying to do routing, etc it could be causing problems.

 

[KillerPotato]

Will making the channels further apart make them bleed into one another less? I checked and it looks like my upstairs router is 11 and the downstairs is 6. I'll try making the basement one into 1 and see if it gets less interrupted by the microwave and bleeds into the upstairs signal less. I don't care as much about fixing the microwave problem as I'd prefer to connect to the Actiontec router on the main floor anyhow.

 

[Destonomos]

if they are both seperate network you need a bridge to combine the two. That way it would not matter which you connected to because they were connected. Thing is they are pretty pricey at around 100+.

 

[KillerPotato]

Maybe it's just a fluke, but the bandwidth between my computer and the Actiontec has almost tripled by just changing the channel from 11 to 1 (according to a few online bandwidth testers). It's not so amazing considering it's still not quite as fast as the Airport, but its now around where it should be I think. I'll try it out in a game and see if it's still terribly slow. As long as the microwave can't cut me off anymore, I'm happy with the setup.

 

[marley1]

going through a lot of fuss with wireless in business/office, wireless should never be used in business in my opinion

you say you have a wire run downstairs already for ethernet, add a switch and plug the computers in hard wired, even better idea... set the actiontek modem/router to be in bridged mode, and configure the apple airport on main floor as router, run 3 more home runs downstairs.

 

[Captain Colonoscopy]

you say you have a wire run downstairs already for ethernet, add a switch and plug the computers in hard wired, even better idea... set the actiontek modem/router to be in bridged mode, and configure the apple airport on main floor as router, run 3 more home runs downstairs.

QFT! That would be a MUCH better solution IMO.

If you absolutely HAVE to have the DSL modem run wireless then I would make sure your Apple is setup to be in AP only mode. Make sure it's on the same network as the DSL modem and that it isn't handing out IP addresses, ,etc.

 

[Destonomos]

You could always run netstumbler and see if placement of the router in a new place could help with reception.

 

[moetop]

I'm almost 100 percent sure the signals are bleeding into each other. Go into each routers config and make sure that only the channels 1 6 or 11 are used as any other will bleed for the most part (or you won't get 3 channels and just 2). Make the router upstairs 6 and the one downstairs 11. If either is near a microwave make it 1 instead of 11 or 6.

On home router solutions you cannot make one router see another without 3rd party firmware on those two you mentioned. You will need a network bridge to connect the two networks.

Microwaves work on the same signal frequency as wireless G which is 2.4. Which just happens to be the freq that water resonates at (which is how a microwaves work by heating up water in the air). Also if you have wireless phones in the building buy 800Mhz or 5.4Ghz ones as the 2.4 ones will ruin your signal as well.

Just to add some information.

Some home routers do support bridging right out of the box (Buffalos and a couple of others), but generally speaking most don't.

A lot of the 5Ghz phones still use 2.4 Ghz. It's a huge marketing thing. From the wiki (which is correct) "Some cordless phones advertised as 5.8 GHz actually transmit from base to phone on 5.8 GHz and transmit from phone to base on 2.4 GHz or 900 MHz, to conserve battery life inside the phone." It takes less power to transmit the same distance at 2.4. I would actually suggest the new "6 series" DECT which runs at 1.9 Ghz.