Help with two WRT54G on one WLAN
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Posted by __spc__ on January 14, 2006, 2:32 pm
Please log in for more thread options Hi, I have cable broadband into the front of my property, with the cable modem and 1st WRT54G router (DHCP enabled) in the front room. This creates my WLAN, which a desktop upstairs and a roaming laptop downstairs both connected wirelessly (802.11g) to it. Both machines are XP-Home SP2. At the back of the house, I have a PS2 that I want to network. Q1: Can I connect this to a second WRT54G (DHCP disabled), and use this as an ethernet bridge? If so, does the PS2 plug into the WAN port? Q2: Can I instead use a second WRT54G as a repeater, so that I can connect the PS2, but also extend the wireless coverage in my property? If I do this though, would the two PCs want to switch AP and thus keep dropping connections? (FYI, I do not want to run CAT5 the length of the property.) Many thanks for any help. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Jeff Liebermann on January 14, 2006, 10:22 am
Please log in for more thread options Sorta. To make this work, you would need to: 1. Disable DHCP on the 2nd WRT54G. 2. Setup the IP address of the 2nd WRT54G so that it does NOT conflict with the IP address of the main WRT54G. If the main is 192.168.1.1, use 192.168.1.2 for the 2nd WRT54G. 3. Ignore the WAN port. 4. Run a CAT5 cable between the *LAN* ports on the two WRT54G boxes. The PS2 and the XP Home machine would plug into the LAN ports on the back of the 2nd WRT54G. In effect, you've turned the WRT54G into a dumb ethernet switch. If you don't need wireless in the back end of the property, this can also be done with a $20 ethernet switch. >Q2: Can I instead use a second WRT54G as a repeater, so that I can connect
>the PS2, but also extend the wireless coverage in my property? Yes. Use the WDS feature of the WRT54G. This is exactly the same as the aformentioned setup (turning your wireless router into a wireless access point), except that there's no cable between the two boxes. You do lose half your thruput going wireless through the 2nd WRT54G, but the PS2 and PC plugged into the ethernet ports go at the full speed of the wireless link between WRT54G boxes. See: http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=7 for the general WDS setup. >If I do this
>though, would the two PCs want to switch AP and thus keep dropping >connections? Are the two PC's connected via wireless? If so, yes, they might. WDS requires that all wireless devices use the same SSID. There's a chance that the client will select the wrong access point. It's really up to the client adapter software to make that decision. A bit of antenna juggling should reduce that potential problem. >(FYI, I do not want to run CAT5 the length of the property.)
CAT5 between switched ports works up to at least 900ft. I've done it several times. -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by __spc__ on January 15, 2006, 8:47 am
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>
>>I have cable broadband into the front of my property, with the cable modem
>>and 1st WRT54G router (DHCP enabled) in the front room. This creates my >>WLAN, which a desktop upstairs and a roaming laptop downstairs both >>connected wirelessly (802.11g) to it. Both machines are XP-Home SP2. At >>the back of the house, I have a PS2 that I want to network. >> [snip] >>Q2: Can I instead use a second WRT54G as a repeater, so that I can connect
>>the PS2, but also extend the wireless coverage in my property? >
> Yes. Use the WDS feature of the WRT54G. This is exactly the same as > the aformentioned setup (turning your wireless router into a wireless > access point), except that there's no cable between the two boxes. You > do lose half your thruput going wireless through the 2nd WRT54G, but > the PS2 and PC plugged into the ethernet ports go at the full speed of > the wireless link between WRT54G boxes. See: > http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=7 > for the general WDS setup. Many thanks for this information, Jeff; this is what I am after, as I don't want to connect the two linksys boxes together with CAT5: PS2 <wire> WRT54G #2 <<wireless>> WRT54G #1 <wire> cable modem
...and two PCs connect to either AP wirelessly throughout the property. >>If I do this
>>though, would the two PCs want to switch AP and thus keep dropping >>connections? >
> Are the two PC's connected via wireless? If so, yes, they might. WDS > requires that all wireless devices use the same SSID. There's a > chance that the client will select the wrong access point. It's > really up to the client adapter software to make that decision. A bit > of antenna juggling should reduce that potential problem. Another question: Is it fair to say that two WRT54Gs could/would maintain a stronger connection between themselves than, say, one WRT54G and a laptop with built in WiFi , placed in the same location as the other WRT54G. Is the connection between the two WRT54G likely to be more stable, all other factors being considered equal? >>(FYI, I do not want to run CAT5 the length of the property.)
>
> CAT5 between switched ports works up to at least 900ft. I've done it > several times. For practical/aesthetic reasons, the cable won't get laid! | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Jeff Liebermann on January 15, 2006, 10:55 am
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>Is it fair to say that two WRT54Gs could/would maintain a stronger
>connection between themselves than, say, one WRT54G and a laptop with built >in WiFi , placed in the same location as the other WRT54G. Is the >connection between the two WRT54G likely to be more stable, all other >factors being considered equal? I have no idea. The "strength" of the connection is totally based upon signal strength. The more signal, the better. If the wireless path between the two WRT54G boxes is full of obstructions and infested with reflections, the reliability of ANY connection, whether from another WRT54G or from a laptop will be questionable. You either have a good RF path, or you have a problem. In this case, you can't just attach a highly directional antenna to the 2nd WRT54G and point it at the main WRT54G. If you did that, your ability to connect to the 2nd WRT54G from the laptop will depend on where you are located in the antenna pattern. I don't know what will happen if you attach a highly directional antenna to one antenna connector, and the stock omnidirectional antenna to the other. The link to the main WRT54G is via the directional antenna. The laptop connects via the omnidirectional antenna. I've had performance problems with this arrangement in the distant past, but suspect it might work with todays hardware. >>>(FYI, I do not want to run CAT5 the length of the property.)
>> CAT5 between switched ports works up to at least 900ft. I've done it
>> several times. >For practical/aesthetic reasons, the cable won't get laid!
Don't forget that there's also power line connected wireless access points. For example: http://www.netgear.com/products/details/WGXB102.php -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by __spc__ on January 15, 2006, 8:51 am
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[snip] > Yes. Use the WDS feature of the WRT54G. This is exactly the same as
> the aformentioned setup (turning your wireless router into a wireless > access point), except that there's no cable between the two boxes. You > do lose half your thruput going wireless through the 2nd WRT54G, but > the PS2 and PC plugged into the ethernet ports go at the full speed of > the wireless link between WRT54G boxes. See: > http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=7 > for the general WDS setup. I'm guessing I need 3rd party firmware, like Alchemy, for WDS? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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>and 1st WRT54G router (DHCP enabled) in the front room. This creates my
>WLAN, which a desktop upstairs and a roaming laptop downstairs both
>connected wirelessly (802.11g) to it. Both machines are XP-Home SP2. At
>the back of the house, I have a PS2 that I want to network.
>
>Q1: Can I connect this to a second WRT54G (DHCP disabled), and use this as
>an ethernet bridge? If so, does the PS2 plug into the WAN port?