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timmmay

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#71493 11-Nov-2010 12:42
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Long version
I have the internet feed to my house coming into my office by TC cable modem, which is way down the back of my house. Right now it plugs into a Linksys WRT-54GL running DD-WRT which provides wireless service to the house, and I plug a cable into my main PC. In the body of the house there are two iPods, an iPhone, and two laptops. They only really talk to the internet, not each other. Signal strength is low but works fine now I increased the router transmit power. The Linksys is a B/G router, not N, but given it's a 15Mbps internet connection B/G is plenty.

I recently added a TV and PS3 to my lounge, and both need a network connection to connect to other PCs and to the internet. My latest plan is to run an ethernet cable from the main router under the house to the lounge and put a switch/WAP in there. I got a D-Link DIR-615, which is B/G/N, and a 25m ethernet cable. The extra WAP will just give better signal strength, reduce device battery usage, etc. I figured for an extra $80 over a cheap switch I might as well have the extra wap, which will help if I do VOIP.

One router will have to act as the main router, using the static IP of my internet, doing DNS and DHCP, etc, and acting as a switch. The other will just be a switch/WAP, and won't really provide any services. I'm not sure which router to use as main.

My questions:
 - Which configuration would be best, and why?
 - Is there anything I need to do with two routers on the network? Obviously I have to make one the main, give it my static IP, and on the other just make it a repeater and disable unneeded services like DHCP and probably DNS. I'll probably have to check they're on different channels too.


Short version
Given I have a D-Link DIR-615 Wireless N router and a Linksys WRT54-GL B/G router which should act as the main router/switch at the back of the property and which should act as a switch/WAP in the main body of the house?

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Ragnor
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  #403432 11-Nov-2010 14:52
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Doesn't really matter which is the main router, both will do the job.  D-Link 615 can be flashed with DD-WRT too if you so desire (apart from one revision)

I'd put the N router closer to where you use wireless the most so I guess that would be the main body of the house.

Only other things to remember are:
- Connect the main router to the additional wap from LAN port to LAN port (bypassing the WAN port on the 2nd device). 



timmmay

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  #403436 11-Nov-2010 14:57
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Thanks Ragnor. The Linksys works fine, one thing I have noticed is with a few torrents running once I get to about 1MB/sec it sometimes crashes. My solution is to limit the client to 800kb/sec, which is no problem.

I just wondered if there were extra features in the newer D-Link that'd be useful, like a decent firewall or something. Also I wondered if it might be easier to set up one as a dumb wap/switch than the other.

You're probably right that it'd make little difference, and that the N router in the main body of the house is a good idea.

timmmay

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  #403589 11-Nov-2010 20:11
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Can anyone give me any tips on how to set it up as a WAP and as a switch, but to otherwise be transparent? The default is it thinks it's the main router, so it'll try to take over the connection.

If I could set it up as a wireless bridge, wap, and switch that'd be awesome.



Ragnor
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  #403680 12-Nov-2010 00:18
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If you are running an ethernet cable between the Linksys and the D-Link do this:

Modem
  |
Main Router (LAN IP: 192.168.x.1, DHCP Range: 192.168.x.3 - 254)
  |
2nd switch/wap (LAN IP: 192.168.x.2, Disable DHCP server, connect from LAN port on main router to LAN port on this device, ie: bypass WAN port on this device)


.. Wireless bridging is a bit more complicated (especially if you want wireless clients to be able to connect to the 2nd WAP).  You need to use WDS which is prone to incompatibility between vendors.

I would only go down that path if you can't run a cable between them, if you can't run a cable first I would also consider powerline/homeplug eg: http://www.dynalink.co.nz/products/ethernet-over-power/np201av before resorting to trying to get a wireless bridge working between two different make/model devices.

Ragnor
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  #403683 12-Nov-2010 00:33
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Actually if you make the D Link the primary router and use the Linksys as the secondary WAP you can try this Repeater Bridge mode in DD-WRT

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater_Bridge

I think think ethernet cable or homeplug connecting them is preferable to wireless link though.

timmmay

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  #403766 12-Nov-2010 09:29
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Awesome, thanks Ragnor. I might try the wireless bridge idea with dd-wrt to start with, then I can install a physical cable when I find a drill bit big enough to make a network plug sized hole.

I can install dd-wrt on both routers, but it would make sense to keep the newer d-link router with stock firmware as the main and use the existing router that already has dd-wrt on it as the remote bridge/wap.

Netlink homeplug only got 8Mbps when I had it installed last week, so I returned it.

timmmay

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  #404621 14-Nov-2010 21:22
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Well I set it up just like the guide said and it worked first time! I'm getting about 18Mbps between my two routers, one B/G, one B/G/N, through three walls and about 20m away. That's pretty good, considering it reserves 1/2 the bandwidth for receiving and 1/2 the bandwidth for transmitting. It's faster than my powerline network, which got about 8Mbps.

It's fast enough for now, standard def streams fine most of the time, but high def won't work. Fortunately I don't need to stream high def. In the future I can either upgrade to wireless N on both routers, for around 50-60Mbps, or I can just run the cable under the house and get 100Mbps.

Thanks for the help Ragnor :)

 
 
 

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Ragnor
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  #404682 15-Nov-2010 01:16
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Great success!

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