TL-WR1043ND acting as second wifi AP?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › TL-WR1043ND acting as second wifi AP?

TopShelfCookieJar

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Master Geek

#138148 21-Dec-2013 23:31

Trying to set up a second wifi access point to extend our home's wifi coverage to the other end of the house as the existing Telecom-supplied Thomson TG585 doesn't have the range.

I've connected the Thomson via ethernet cable to a TP-Link TL-WR1043ND. At this stage the connection is between LAN ports (not WAN) on both routers - assume that's correct for what I want to do!

The Thomson is set as 192.168.1.254 (default). DHCP is enabled.
The TP-Link is set as 192.168.1.1 (default). DHCP is disabled.

A PC connected via ethernet to the Thomson can access the internet okay and can ping the Thomson, but can't ping the TP-Link.

A PC connected via ethernet to the TP-Link appears to pick up its IP/gateway from the Thomson but pinging either the Thomson or the TP-Link results in a random response ie sometimes an instant reply, sometimes timeout, sometimes Destination Unreachable, etc.

Couple of questions:

1) I've just realised that the TP-Link TL-WR1043ND may not have the ability to operate as an access point out of the box but is DD-WRT compatible - would that (DD-WRT) be my only option for having it operate in the fashion I'm after (ie extending wireless coverage)?

2) What would be the reason for the random ping responses for the PC connected to the secondary (TP-Link) router? Have I got the basic setup wrong, or does the answer to question 1 come into play (ie the second router needs to be in a specific 'mode')?

Any help/advice appreciated!

Thanks.

richms

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#956018 21-Dec-2013 23:46

First question - so long as DHCP is off, and also UPnP is off on the tp-link it will just bridge stuff together and be fine.

Second question - you shouldnt have any issues pinging the tp-link from a computer plugged into it with ethernet, once they have been assigned their IP addresses the thompson has no more to do with it. very strange thing to have happening.

I would try another cable, and try disabling anything on the network adapter in the PC related to green ethernet as that has given me erratic problems in the past. It will be in device manager, in the properties on the network adapter.

Richard rich.ms

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TopShelfCookieJar

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Master Geek

#956023 22-Dec-2013 00:02

richms: First question - so long as DHCP is off, and also UPnP is off on the tp-link it will just bridge stuff together and be fine.

Oh, that's good to hear then (Access Point Mode and thus DD-WRT not being necessary). Will remember to turn UPnP off, thanks!

Second question - you shouldnt have any issues pinging the tp-link from a computer plugged into it with ethernet, once they have been assigned their IP addresses the thompson has no more to do with it. very strange thing to have happening.

I would try another cable, and try disabling anything on the network adapter in the PC related to green ethernet as that has given me erratic problems in the past. It will be in device manager, in the properties on the network adapter.

I thought the cable between the routers had been used before (and thus considered 'good') but you're right, best to try out another considering the symptoms. Haven't got one immediately on hand but will give it a go tomorrow.

Out of interest, if I remove the connecting cable then the PC connected to the TP-Link no longer has any trouble pinging the TP-Link. That doesn't necessarily confirm the cable as being the source of the problem I suppose but it certainly doesn't eliminate it!

Will also check out the energy saving functions on the PC's network adapter. Good tip, thanks!

richms

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#956024 22-Dec-2013 00:09

Oh, that changes things, there could be a packet storm or something happening that is taking all the CPU on the TP-link making it slow to do anything.

Do the ethernet lights on the connection between the 2 devices go crazy when the cable is connected?

Richard rich.ms

TopShelfCookieJar

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Master Geek

#956351 22-Dec-2013 22:54

Sorry, was unable to re-look at this issue till late this evening.

The light comes on yes, but hard to say whether it qualifies as "going crazy". Seems to be fairly similar in its flashing to the port where a laptop is connected.

I did a slightly more 'scientific' test of the ping results based on different devices and situations - see if you can make sense of this: :-)

With the routers NOT connected to each other:

Laptop cabled to TP-Link can ping the TP-Link and an iPhone connected wirelessly to the TP-Link.
iPhone (wireless to TP-Link) can ping the TP-Link and the laptop though we did see at least one truncated packet (not sure if that means anything or just one of those random events when using wireless).

When the routers are connected to each other:

Laptop cabled to TP-Link gets random responses/timeouts to the TP-Link, and Destination Host Unreachable for the iPhone. It can however ping perfectly to the Thomson, but gets Destination Host Unreachable for a desktop cabled to the Thomson.
iPhone (wireless to TP-Link) can ping the TP-Link, but gets timeouts to the laptop cabled to the TP-Link. It can however ping perfectly to the Thomson, and gets timeouts for the desktop cabled to the Thomson.
Desktop cabled to Thomson can ping the Thomson, but gets Destination Host Unreachable for both the TP-Link and the laptop cabled to the TP-Link.

Also noting that we swapped out the cable originally connecting the two routers for a known good one. Fairly confident that shouldn't be considered the source of the problem at this stage.

Again, very appreciative of any thoughts/suggestions.

raytaylor

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#956527 23-Dec-2013 12:06

Stuff to try

1) Different LAN ports on the TP-Link / Thompson
2) Turn off WDS or anything to do with Repeating in the TP-Link
3) Plug laptop into the thompson, can you ping the tplink?

Ray Taylor

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Satch

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#956541 23-Dec-2013 12:37

I've just done the very same thing with the very same router and got it working fine. Check out my thread here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumId=66&topicId=137994

I followed the instructions I linked to in that thread.

TopShelfCookieJar

54 posts

Master Geek

#956609 23-Dec-2013 15:13

raytaylor: Stuff to try

1) Different LAN ports on the TP-Link / Thompson
2) Turn off WDS or anything to do with Repeating in the TP-Link
3) Plug laptop into the thompson, can you ping the tplink?

Thanks. Will check points 1 & 2 tonight, but I know for point 3 it can't ping the TP-Link if it's plugged into the Thomson (Destination Host Unreachable).

TopShelfCookieJar

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Master Geek

#956610 23-Dec-2013 15:19

Satch: I've just done the very same thing with the very same router and got it working fine. Check out my thread here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumId=66&topicId=137994

I followed the instructions I linked to in that thread.

Thanks Satch. I'd actually read that thread and it's what initially led me to think that the TL-WR1043ND couldn't do what I was attempting as it doesn't have an Access Point mode. Richms seemed to think it wouldn't be an issue.

I guess I need to understand exactly what the Access Point mode is required for and whether I fall into that particular use case. If so, I suspect going to DD-WRT might be my only choice with this particular router.

raytaylor

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#956738 23-Dec-2013 23:13

Read the extending wifi guide in my signature - going to WRT firmware wont really help much.

To me its sounding like one of the routers has a dicky port, or the auto crossover detection isnt working on the backhaul cable.

Ray Taylor

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TopShelfCookieJar

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Master Geek

#956744 23-Dec-2013 23:20

Yeah, I haven't had a chance to check all the ports yet - your theory seems like the most logical explanation.

Failing that, I've now gotten my hands on another router that I'll try swapping out for the Thomson, just to see if I can isolate the issue to either piece of hardware.

TopShelfCookieJar

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Master Geek

#961550 5-Jan-2014 15:48

Update: swapped out the Thomson with two other routers (NetComm NP804n and a TP-Link TD-W8960N) - both worked fine with the TL-WR1043ND so I'm going to say the original problem was due to some issue/limitation of the Thomson.

Thanks again for all the suggestions! :-)