I currently have a linksys WRT54GS as my main router and source of wireless internet (this is based on the 3rd floor of my house). I want to add wireless to the 1st floor of my house and currently have a linksys WRT54G sitting around. I have 1 hard wire running from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor. I would like to connect the WRT54G to this hardline in order to expand the wireless network. I would then also like ot hard wire a desktop into the 2nd router. In other words, the second router would be used as a sort of makeshift WAP/switch combo. Is this possible to do? If so, what settings do i need to put on each router. I've googled a lot and havent found anything helpful.
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using two wireless routers together on one network
- Thread starter homIcIde
- Start date
D
Deleted member 79192
Guest
This is really simple and actually quite commonly asked... Yes you can set up your second router the way you want to here. Just remember to disable DHCP on the 1st floor secondary router so that it doesn't interfere with the DHCP on your primary router (which is actually doing the routing). After that, your WRT54G will act as a WAP (and also as a switch if it has pors, which you describe it having) and you can enjoy more wireless coverage.
Keep in mind, though, that this won't exactly inrease the coverage of your first WAP, it will just create a second wireless network that in the event of the first not being connect-to-able, be a much better choice, giving you more overall connection. You will have to juggle connections as you change floors and pick a different WAP to connect to depending on which floor you're on (just pick whichever gets a stronger signal...)
Keep in mind, though, that this won't exactly inrease the coverage of your first WAP, it will just create a second wireless network that in the event of the first not being connect-to-able, be a much better choice, giving you more overall connection. You will have to juggle connections as you change floors and pick a different WAP to connect to depending on which floor you're on (just pick whichever gets a stronger signal...)
scottatwittenberg
2[H]4U
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- Apr 10, 2002
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also.. on the 1st floor router.. plug the ethernet coming from the router upstairs into the 1st port, not the WAN port.. this is after turning off the dhcp of course..
i would also experiment with putting the routers on different wireless channels to keep them from interfering with one another..
give the routers different SSID names too, especially if using windows.. or maybe not acutally.. that's an interesting question.. the default windows connection manager will connect to the one with the strongest signal automatically.. this can cause problems sometimes if you need to connect to the one with the weaker signal for some reason..
but in your case, say you have a wireless laptop.. both routers have the same ssid, and wep/wpa key.. then in theory, your laptop would just connect to the stronger one automatically based on where you are in the house.. we are talking microsoft though.. so you might get erratic connections and have the signal drop all the time too..
i would also experiment with putting the routers on different wireless channels to keep them from interfering with one another..
give the routers different SSID names too, especially if using windows.. or maybe not acutally.. that's an interesting question.. the default windows connection manager will connect to the one with the strongest signal automatically.. this can cause problems sometimes if you need to connect to the one with the weaker signal for some reason..
but in your case, say you have a wireless laptop.. both routers have the same ssid, and wep/wpa key.. then in theory, your laptop would just connect to the stronger one automatically based on where you are in the house.. we are talking microsoft though.. so you might get erratic connections and have the signal drop all the time too..
i want this all to have access to the files/printers shared over the hard network. in other words, i want ot be able to print or listen to shared music whether i'm on the upstairs of downstairs computer. also, do i need to specificy IP addresses for the 2 routers?
edit: i also seem to keep getting "limited or no connectivity" messages....
edit: i also seem to keep getting "limited or no connectivity" messages....
homIcIde said:i want this all to have access to the files/printers shared over the hard network. in other words, i want ot be able to print or listen to shared music whether i'm on the upstairs of downstairs computer. also, do i need to specificy IP addresses for the 2 routers?
edit: i also seem to keep getting "limited or no connectivity" messages....
no all you need to do
run one cord from one of the ports of the main router, to the new secondary router.
on the secondary router(do this b4 u plug it into main router) disable DHCP, and make the SSID the same as the one downstairs.
then plug in teh cord to the secondary switch port.
limited or no connectivity usually means when it cant grab an ip or dhcp addy from the routers.
if your trying to bridge the routers(ie no wire between each) then i dont think u can just use 2 normal routers. you need to use one that has bridging built into it(buffalo gear)
marley1 said:no all you need to do
run one cord from one of the ports of the main router, to the new secondary router.
on the secondary router(do this b4 u plug it into main router) disable DHCP, and make the SSID the same as the one downstairs.
then plug in teh cord to the secondary switch port.
limited or no connectivity usually means when it cant grab an ip or dhcp addy from the routers.
if your trying to bridge the routers(ie no wire between each) then i dont think u can just use 2 normal routers. you need to use one that has bridging built into it(buffalo gear)
marley1,
i'm setting up a network just as you described...
- main gateway router (Linksys WRT54G)(MAIN LEVEL)
- secondary router to connect w/ gateway router via wireless, extending connectivity through its hard ports (UPPER LEVEL)
what router would you recommend that can do this? i was going to buy a wireless print server w/ 4-port switch for $80-100, but i would rather get a wireless router for $40 and use it as a wireless switch.
homIcIde said:also, do i need to specificy IP addresses for the 2 routers?
Yes, you should assign a static IP to the 2nd router that's different from the 1st router, for otherwise you'll have an obvious IP conflict on the same default IP (assuming that the two models have the same default IP which they probably do).
E.g. default = 192.168.1.1
Keep 1st router at default.
Set 2nd router = 192.168.1.2.
This should be outside the DHCP assigned range.
corporate said:i'm setting up a network just as you described...
- main gateway router (Linksys WRT54G)(MAIN LEVEL)
- secondary router to connect w/ gateway router via wireless, extending connectivity through its hard ports (UPPER LEVEL)
what router would you recommend that can do this? i was going to buy a wireless print server w/ 4-port switch for $80-100, but i would rather get a wireless router for $40 and use it as a wireless switch.
If I get you, your problem is very different from the OP's -- it's wireless bridging. See elsewhere around here for much more on that.
If you're thinking of the Netgear GPS606 wireless print server, then it can do the job itself -- print serving + wireless bridging + wired ports bridging to the rest of the network. The weak points here are: (1) 802.11g only. (2) WPA only. (3) Print server won't support all printers. (4) Print server isn't fast. Ironically, the print server seems to be the weakest part, and it's marketed as that.
I have one, and I ended up using one of the computers wired to it as the print server instead.
If you want an alternative, look into DD-WRT, and their recommended / supported hardware pages in their WIKI. DD-WRT lets you use some ordinary wireless routers as wireless client bridges, and gives you tons of other functionality as well. Perhaps too much, which is why some people prefer simpler products sometimes.
Madwand said:If I get you, your problem is very different from the OP's -- it's wireless bridging. See elsewhere around here for much more on that.
If you're thinking of the Netgear GPS606 wireless print server, then it can do the job itself -- print serving + wireless bridging + wired ports bridging to the rest of the network. The weak points here are: (1) 802.11g only. (2) WPA only. (3) Print server won't support all printers. (4) Print server isn't fast. Ironically, the print server seems to be the weakest part, and it's marketed as that.
I have one, and I ended up using one of the computers wired to it as the print server instead.
If you want an alternative, look into DD-WRT, and their recommended / supported hardware pages in their WIKI. DD-WRT lets you use some ordinary wireless routers as wireless client bridges, and gives you tons of other functionality as well. Perhaps too much, which is why some people prefer simpler products sometimes.
The Netgear WGPS606 is the exact device I had in mind. I'm running an 802.11g only network, WPA, and I don't plan to use the print server. I guess another question (that probably should be answer in another thread) I have is: is WPA bad? The router supports WPA/WPA2/RADIUS/WEP, but i'm not sure which one's the most secure.
corporate said:marley1,
i'm setting up a network just as you described...
- main gateway router (Linksys WRT54G)(MAIN LEVEL)
- secondary router to connect w/ gateway router via wireless, extending connectivity through its hard ports (UPPER LEVEL)
what router would you recommend that can do this? i was going to buy a wireless print server w/ 4-port switch for $80-100, but i would rather get a wireless router for $40 and use it as a wireless switch.
we have been using just Buffalo Wireless G router, which have the ability to do wireless bridging.
i think they are 45 bucks on newegg, its the HP-G54 i beleive
marley1 said:we have been using just Buffalo Wireless G router, which have the ability to do wireless bridging.
i think they are 45 bucks on newegg, its the HP-G54 i beleive
Some of the Buffalo products appear on the DD-WRT recommended hardware list. The main problem with Buffalo is that they're not everywhere. If this router is compatible with DD-WRT and supports wireless client mode bridging out of the box, and I could find it, I'd get it.
corporate said:The router supports WPA/WPA2/RADIUS/WEP, but i'm not sure which one's the most secure.
The Netgear's a bit "dated", and so supports at most WPA. This is good enough with a strong, long, randomized passkey, but WPA2 is theoretically better. WEP should be out of the question. RADIUS is for more sophisticated / corporate applications.
Madwand said:Some of the Buffalo products appear on the DD-WRT recommended hardware list. The main problem with Buffalo is that they're not everywhere. If this router is compatible with DD-WRT and supports wireless client mode bridging out of the box, and I could find it, I'd get it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833162134
those are the ones we use at work.
marley1 said:
I looked at the manual. Unfortunately, they don't support client mode bridging out of the box. They support WDS bridging, but this requires two compatible devices (so Buffalo will only claim to support other Buffalo WDS-capable routers).
DD-WRT supports it though, so you could get generic client mode bridging that way.
There's some discussion on DD-WRT forums as to which version, HP or non-HP, the author prefers. This might change over time.