Second Router as AP

steloide

Hi everyone,
I am looking for help in set up a second router as an Access point. I have a router (router 1) in my kitchen but i have no internet access in the other side of the house (Bedroom) so i setup a router there.
Router 1 has the DSL connection on channel 3 and an ethernet port joining to router 2. On router 2 DHCP is turned off, its on channel is 7 and the SSID's are the same and LAN IP is changed to 192.168.1.2 as router 1's IP is default 192.168.1.254. Am I missing somthing? like a router setting they are both Eircom routers 1 silver one and a new black one.
Thanks.

srsly78

Nope that's it. Make sure both routers use the same security settings, clients should "just work" everywhere then.

Making sure only one is running DHCP server is the important bit. If you manually set the ip address on a device, make sure this is an IP outside the dhcp pool range. I usually setup routers etc using .1 to .10 - and have dhcp give out addresses above .10. If you get ip address conflicts then you need to do this.

steloide

srsly78 wrote: »

Nope that's it. Make sure both routers use the same security settings, clients should "just work" everywhere then.

Making sure only one is running DHCP server is the important bit. If you manually set the ip address on a device, make sure this is an IP outside the dhcp pool range. I usually setup routers etc using .1 to .10 - and have dhcp give out addresses above .10. If you get ip address conflicts then you need to do this.

Thanks for that......
When configuring the routers i have it pluged into DSL, the wireless turned off and pluged directly into the laptop?
It should work wirelessly as well.......shouldn't it. The mobile is picking up 2.
I'm not 100% on what IP to use. The main router, router 1 is at default 192.168.1.254. and i set the other one at 192.168.1.2. Its an Eircom netopia one. I used an alarm cable instead of a patch cable (already in my wall) and as I had no RJ45's I cut a small patch cable in half and matched the wiring. I know its not ideal but it should work for now.......shouldn't it??????

srsly78

You can just set the second router to use dhcp, it should get an ip address off the first. Yes run wifi access point on both.

Your cable solution will only work at very low speeds, and even then it might drop packets. Get a proper cable. The redundant pairs are there for noise cancellation, this becomes more important as speed increases. Use powerline adapters if running a new cable is an issue.

steloide

Sound. I thought I had to turn DHCP off on the second router. Some patch cables have 4 pair.....what are they for if only 2 wires carry data? Am i right in saying i can use only 2 wires (1 pair) to communicate with the other router? So many questions.......sorry.

srsly78

You do have to turn dhcp server off on the second router. Only one device should act as dhcp server.

However, you can have the second router "obtain ip address automatically" - this means it acts as a dhcp client and gets its address from the dhcp server. Exactly the same as the pcs and phones etc that connect and get their address. Don't confuse dhcp server with dhcp client.

Regarding the cable, as stated already - the redundant pairs are for noise cancellation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable

"This use of balanced lines helps preserve a high signal-to-noise ratio despite interference from both external sources and crosstalk from other pairs."

the_syco

I find the 2nd eircom router has to be in "bridge mode".

If you go into Expert Mode on the Netopia Page (usually http://192.168.1.254/) and select "Connection" there should be an option to enable/disable the bridge mode.

/edit
On a side note, set the IP address of the 2nd router to something like 192.168.1.99 and write it on the router, so if you need to access it (to change settings, etc), you can connect to it easier.

srsly78

Bridge mode should not be needed.

edanto

Firstly, can you confirm if your cabling is working. If you connect your computer to the bedroom end of the cable, will you get an IP from the kitchen router and browse internet OK?

I've never heard of anyone using an alarm cable instead of cat5; but I see where you're going with it since cat5 only uses 4 wires (2 pair) for signal. Still, the joins and different twisting will probably give a bad quality connection.

You might need a homeplug to connect the second router, and if you're buying a homeplug you might as well buy a plug in WiFi extender instead of two homeplugs. Couldn't recommend a particular one, but have heard they work out well for some people I know using them.

the_syco

If you're going the homeplug route, and are a Eircom customer, I'd advise that you get this. But you have to be an Eircom customer to buy it.

steloide

Thanks everyone. Its up and running. My speed is not the best but i have coverage where i once had none, it has to be the cable but i didn't think i'd loose that much about 5Mbps.

steloide

edanto wrote: »

Firstly, can you confirm if your cabling is working. If you connect your computer to the bedroom end of the cable, will you get an IP from the kitchen router and browse internet OK?

I've never heard of anyone using an alarm cable instead of cat5; but I see where you're going with it since cat5 only uses 4 wires (2 pair) for signal. Still, the joins and different twisting will probably give a bad quality connection.

You might need a homeplug to connect the second router, and if you're buying a homeplug you might as well buy a plug in WiFi extender instead of two homeplugs. Couldn't recommend a particular one, but have heard they work out well for some people I know using them.

The cable i'm using is alarm cable, 6 core. When wiring the house I used alarm cable instead on telephone cable so I'm stuck to using that.:)