Connecting two routers using a wireless bridge

ethernet

I have two routers: a Netgear ADSL, wireless router and the popular Linksys WRT54GS. They are in opposite sides of the house.

I'm using the Netgear router for Internet access as we have DSL. I also plan connecting other ethernet devices to the Linksys router on the far side of the house. It has an uplink/WAN port.

I purchased a Linksys wireless bridge [http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=30HT&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=linksys+wireless+bridge&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0] with the intention of connecting the two. It was faulty and it's [hopefully] being returned today. I should have asked here before buying, but will this work for what I want to do?

I want to have a "wireless" cable, as such, between the two routers so that they both provide web access. I also want the two routers to allow any devices connected to be part of our home network.

I tried connecting the bridge to both routers and changing IP addresses. I could not connect to the bridge's web-based configuration page when I connected it to either router. I guess I had it configured incorrectly. I plan to order another bridge. Hopefully the reset button will actually work on this one!

Long-winded post I know, but the Netgear USB adapter I have doesn't work in Linux [what a surprise]. At least with this approach, my PC would be connected to the Linksys router with an ethernet cable and I'd overcome this issue and thus have Internet acces in both Windows and Linux.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

ethernet

[Didn't know how to add an attachment when editing]

Here's a diagram of the setup.

Foxwood

There is only one "gateway" on your network - it's the box that connects to internet.

As long as your connection marked 2 is a wired connection (it's not entirely clear from the diagram), and it is plugged into one of the LAN ports on your WRT54G (NOT the WAN port), then everything should work, as long as you have given the WET54G the credentials that it needs to log into the Netgear.

Note that you need to plug the WET54G into a LAN port, not the WAN port. You'll be using the WRT54G as a switch, not a router. If possible, disable wireless altogether on the WRT54G. If you need it, make sure that the Netgear and WET54G are using one "channel", and the WRT54G is using another (with a different SSID).

ethernet

Thank you for the explanation. It's a lot clearer in my head now.

The courier never showed on Friday. I'm very annoyed. I'll have to wait another few days before ordering another bridge as they have to credit my card :mad:.

I'll disable wireless on the WRT54GS and do as you say -- have the Netgear router and the WET54G on the same channel.

Would it be okay to let the WET54G be assigned an IP address by the WRT54GS? I think it defaults to 192.168.1.226. Could this be a problem if the Netgear's is 192.168.0.1 and the WRT54G's IP is 192.168.0.2?

Perhaps I should set the bridge's IP address to 192.168.0.3 altogether.

Foxwood

ethernet wrote:

Would it be okay to let the WET54G be assigned an IP address by the WRT54GS? I think it defaults to 192.168.1.226. Could this be a problem if the Netgear's is 192.168.0.1 and the WRT54G's IP is 192.168.0.2?

Perhaps I should set the bridge's IP address to 192.168.0.3 altogether.

You should only have 1 DHCP server on the network. If you won't have anything else connected to the Netgear, then you can disable DHCP altogether on it, but f you will have devices connected to both routers, then disable DHCP on the WRT54G. It shouldn't really matter what the bridges IP address is (in theory it doesn't even need one), but it would be perfectly sensible to set it to 192.168.0.3, and it would make things easier to keep track of.

But you should modify the DHCP settings on whichever router you use as the DHCP server to make sure that .2 and .3 are not in the DHCP "pool", so that it doesn't try to assign those addresses to something else.

ethernet

I think I know what I'm doing now [we'll soon see].

I'll let you know what happens. Again, many thanks for your replies.

ethernet

Well, finally got a replacement. I've been blessed with a revision of the WET54G bridge -- version 3.1 [last version I had was plain old 3.0].

It honestly took two hours to get it to accept all my settings. Every time I changed the wifi settings, it froze. Had to do a complete reset and, I discovered, only works if you time it with removing the reconnecting the power cable. This shouldn't be.

The bridge says it's connected to the Netgear router. Usually over 85% quality, often higher. The wireless LED on the bridge flashes very often. I think it's constantly checking the connection stats. However, in the Netgear's web interface, under 'attached devices', the bridge isn't listed even though it appears to be connected.

Just to clarify, I want to use this bridge to connect the two routers so that I don't have to run cables.

Do I need to set up static route, create firewall rules or even edit routing tables to get this going?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Foxwood

ethernet wrote:

The bridge says it's connected to the Netgear router. Usually over 85% quality, often higher. The wireless LED on the bridge flashes very often. I think it's constantly checking the connection stats. However, in the Netgear's web interface, under 'attached devices', the bridge isn't listed even though it appears to be connected.

If the netgear doesn't say that it's connected, then it's not connected. (I'm assuming that the Netgears list is accurate, but the "server" is always in a better position to tell you who is connected than the "client").

Just to clarify, I want to use this bridge to connect the two routers so that I don't have to run cables.

Do I need to set up static route, create firewall rules or even edit routing tables to get this going?

No. The bridge should be completely transparent - if it's not transparent, then it's not a bridge.

ethernet

I now have the bridge directly connected to the Netgear router. The bridge has been set up to connect wirelessly to the Linksys instead [I had this the other way around at first].

Of course, as it's a wired connection, the bridge shows up as being connected under the Netgear's 'attached devices'. I'm connected to the Netgear for Internet access using a USB dongle. This is also how I configure the router. I've used the ping utility on the Netgear. It 'sees' the bridge but not the Linksys [192.168.0.2]. Of course it should. They're all in the same subnet of 255.255.255.0. I've even disabled the MAC filter on the Linksys to avoid any problems there. The bridge's gateway still points at the Netgear [192.168.0.1].

What do you reckon? Is the bridge playing up?

Foxwood

ethernet wrote:

I now have the bridge directly connected to the Netgear router. The bridge has been set up to connect wirelessly to the Linksys instead [I had this the other way around at first].

Of course, as it's a wired connection, the bridge shows up as being connected under the Netgear's 'attached devices'. I'm connected to the Netgear for Internet access using a USB dongle. This is also how I configure the router. I've used the ping utility on the Netgear. It 'sees' the bridge but not the Linksys [192.168.0.2]. Of course it should. They're all in the same subnet of 255.255.255.0. I've even disabled the MAC filter on the Linksys to avoid any problems there. The bridge's gateway still points at the Netgear [192.168.0.1].

What do you reckon? Is the bridge playing up?

The WRT54GS is the Gateway - you go through it to get to the internet. According to your diagram, the Bridge is trying to use the Netgear as it's gateway.

The Bridge should be plugged into the LAN connection of the Netgear, not the WAN connection.

It would be more logical to set the WRT54GS as 192.168.0.1 and the Netgear to be 192.168.0.2, but that's just a detail.

ethernet

Oops, yet another unclear diagram from me in my last post!

I have ADSL. Using the Netgear's ADSL modem. In this case, isn't this my gateway? The bridge is connected to the first port of the Netgear router.

At work, our ISP initially provided us with broadband using the same bridge [slightly older version]. It was replaced a few months ago to improve reliability of service. I won't return the bridge anyway -- it looks nice!

I think I've wrecked your head enough with this thread. Thank you for the replies. I think I'll just have to run a cable. Hopefully that'll work!

Foxwood

ethernet wrote:

Oops, yet another unclear diagram from me in my last post!

I have ADSL. Using the Netgear's ADSL modem. In this case, isn't this my gateway? The bridge is connected to the first port of the Netgear router.

Okay - that makes sense, but the diagram says that the WRT54G says that it's set up to get it's internet address from the ISP.

You can connect to the Bridge from a PC plugged into the Netgear. The Bridge is configured to connect to the SSID of the Linksys, and has the WPA encryption key of the linksys, right? Does the Linksys see the bridge? Is there anything in it's logs indicating a connection? Have you tried to connect without encryption?

Note that using wireless on the Netgear will probably mean that the Bridge is getting a much stronger signal from the Netgear than from the Linksys, and this will probably impact the ability of the Bridge to talk to the Linksys. I'd stronly suggest that you disable wireless on the Netgear if you're trying to create a Wireless bridge. (You mention using a wireless dongle to connect to the Netgear).

ethernet

Foxwood wrote:

Okay - that makes sense, but the diagram says that the WRT54G says that it's set up to get it's internet address from the ISP.

I should have explained that a bit better. Under its main setup page, from a drop-down menu, I have selected 'automatic configuration -- DHCP' [DHCP in the sense of getting a WAN IP address, right?]. If I select 'static IP' from this menu, I can fill in the gateway details, along with a static IP address which I don't have. I was really pointing out how the Linksys is configured.

Foxwood wrote:

You can connect to the Bridge from a PC plugged into the Netgear. The Bridge is configured to connect to the SSID of the Linksys, and has the WPA encryption key of the linksys, right? Does the Linksys see the bridge? Is there anything in it's logs indicating a connection? Have you tried to connect without encryption?

Spot on, the bridge is connected to the Netgear router using an ethernet cable and is connected to the Linksys wirelessly. Both wireless-g networks are using two different channels [6 and 11] as well as WPA-PSK TKIP. SSIDs are hidden. Because my PC is connected to the Netgear router wirelessly, I can access the bridge's and the Netgear's web-based configs. The same PC is also connected to the Linksys with an ethernet cable. I want to ditch the USB dongle and just have the connection to the Linksys router, hoping to have all LAN and WAN traffic routed through it to the bridge and, thus, the Netgear router.

The logs are empty both on the Linksys [in and out] as well as the bridge. There was one entry in the bridge's log a few days ago alright when I was trying a different setup. I remember something about WPA message 1, or something like that. I wasn't bothered about it as I didn't have anything to reference it to.

I have just tried to connect to the Linksys without encryption. Nothing. The bridge reported it was connected as usual though.

The bridge is in infrastructure mode. I can't tell if the Linksys sees the bridge. I must say, I prefer the Netgear's interface for this reason. The Linksys offers me a log alright as well as a list of DHCP client but, seeing as I'm not using DHCP on the Linksys for the bridge, it's of no use to me for this purpose.

Foxwood wrote:

Note that using wireless on the Netgear will probably mean that the Bridge is getting a much stronger signal from the Netgear than from the Linksys, and this will probably impact the ability of the Bridge to talk to the Linksys. I'd stronly suggest that you disable wireless on the Netgear if you're trying to create a Wireless bridge. (You mention using a wireless dongle to connect to the Netgear).

It certainly can't help things. So, if I was to disable wifi on the Netgear and if I could get the bridge working, wouldn't that mean I could just use the Linksys for wifi and Internet traffic would reach the Netgear as well? That would be an ideal situation as the wireless signal on the Linksys is stronger [two antennae].

EDIT 1
In the space of a few seconds, I got this in the bridge's log:

WPA-PSK Mode
No. 	Log Message
1	Got WPA/WPA2 PTK Message 1
2	Sending WPA/WPA2 PTK Message 2
3	Got WPA/WPA2 PTK Message 3
4	Sending WPA/WPA2 PTK Message 4
5	Got WPA/WPA2 GTK Message 1
6	Sending WPA/WPA2 GTK Message 2
7	WPA/WPA2 Procedure Success!

EDIT 2
I rebooted the bridge and Linksys by removing the power cable for a few second there. Just tried pinging the bridge using the diagnostic page in the Linksys. For the first time, there wasn't a 100% packet loss. Has this got something to do with MTU or some other acronym that confuses me?! Here are the results of the ping:

  	  	
PING 192.168.0.3 ( 192.168.0.3 ) : 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=1, ttl=255 times=0. ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=2, ttl=255 times=0. ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=3, ttl=255 times=0. ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.3: icmp_seq=4, ttl=255 times=0. ms
--- 192.168.0.3 ping statistics ---
packets transmitted = 5 , packets received = 4 packet loss = 20%
round-trip min/avg/max = 0/0/0

Looking good, eh?

ethernet

It's working!

It must have been the reboot.

After editing my last post for the second time, I pinged the bridge again. 0% packet loss.

LAN traffic was now getting through the Linksys router, i.e. I could access the config pages for the routers and the bridge but no Internet access.

I then opened up Network Connection, edited the properties for the Linksys' wired connection to my PC. I don't know if I needed to, but I stuck in eircom's DNS servers and set the gateway to 192.168.0.1 [the Netgear]. All now works perfectly. With all these LEDs in the house, I won't need any Christmas lights.

Thank you so much, Foxwood, for all your posts, spanning almost a full month. Yet another technical issue solved using boards.ie.

Now I better write that Irish essay for tomorrow!

Foxwood

ethernet wrote:

I should have explained that a bit better. Under its main setup page, from a drop-down menu, I have selected 'automatic configuration -- DHCP' [DHCP in the sense of getting a WAN IP address, right?]. If I select 'static IP' from this menu, I can fill in the gateway details, along with a static IP address which I don't have. I was really pointing out how the Linksys is configured.

I know that you have it working, but I just want to clear up a few things.

It doesn't matter what settings the Linksys has, because you're not using it's WAN port - there's nothing plugged into it! The Bridge is making a connection to it's LAN side. You're just using the Linksys as an Access point, not as a router.

The Netgear DSL router is the only device that is talking to the ISP, and is the only device that will have a WAN IP address.

You'll have to set a static LAN address for the Linksys, so that you can talk to it's admin interface if you need to, but when your PC is connected to the Linksys (wired or wirelessly, it doesn't matter) any packets that are addressed to the Netgear (for delivery to the WAN or to access the Netgears admin interface) will stay on the LAN side of the Linksys - they won't pass "through" it from the LAN side to the WAN side, if you know what I mean. That includes DHCP packets - once the Linksys is connected to the bridge, any PC connected to the Linksys should get DHCP responses from the Netopia, so you shouldn't have to set static addresses, or DNS addresses - the Netopia should set them all for you.

ethernet

After what you've said, I'll almost certainly end up using the Linksys for all wireless connections in the house, without overloading it either.

I should also mention [for the sake of any poor soul having to install this thing also] that I reflashed the bridge's firmware using the latest version. At the time, it was the exact same version and the only version released yet. After doing this, stability was greatly improved.

In addition, I noticed on the bridge's setup page, beside the area for wireless settings, the drop-down menu for selecting a channel is greyed out and stuck on six. I initially thought nothing of it but I did change the Linksys' wi-fi channel to six and the Netgear's to eleven [swapped them]. Perhaps that was what was stopping things before. Can't complain -- it's now performing very well.

Frester

Ok I know that this thread is like 4 years old but I think I'm having a similar problem. I want to bridge 2 eircom netopia routers wirelessly. Unfortunately I have just been clicking buttons frantically looking for a solution. I've looked for how to do it on the internet but I'm finding it all a little too complicated.

Could anybody describe to me how to do it? With as simple language as possible. I have 2 eircom routers, one connected to the internet downstairs and one just plugged into the wall upstairs.

Thanks

Dardania

simple answer - not gonna happen. netopia can't act as a wireless client of another router, to repeat

Frester

Dardania wrote: »

simple answer - not gonna happen. netopia can't act as a wireless client of another router, to repeat

Ok. Thanks! I'll just have to use a cable or whatever then!

ethernet

Wow, flashback. If I knew then what I know now, etc.

Your best bet is a wireless bridge, a cable or, if you're against running a cable, have a look at homeplug devices to use electrical cabling for networking.