WR850G as wireless bridge?

I am currently using my WR850G in client bridge mode to provide 4 computers with access via 1 wireless connection. It is very easy to set up if you are using the DD-WRT firmware. If you are hesitant to use that firmware because it is not official Motorola firmware, I would suggest getting the latest 6.1.4 firmware from Motorola. It has settings built into it for easier client mode setup. I have not done this, but have heard reports on the dslreports.com forums of this being possible

If you feel adventurous, and you have a V2 or V3 WR850g, download the V.23 DD-WRT moto-mini firmware from:

and upload it to your WR850G using the upgrade page in the router's web configuration. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WILL WORK IF YOU HAVE A V1 ROUTER, SO PLEASE ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE SURE OF YOUR ROUTER VERSION.

If you didn't frick your router, when you log in you can view the wireless status and do a scan of visible WAPs. There is then a button labeled JOIN after each entry. Just click the join button on the network that represents your Barricade router and the WR850G is now in client mode. You will then have to go the the wireless security settings to make sure they match the security settings on the Barricade router. After you have done these two easy steps, any computer you plug into the LAN ports on you WR580G willbe wirelessly connect to your Barricade router (Up to 32 comptuters I think).

Good Luck

Thank you very much.

Can I clarify one thing?

Does the existing router have to support WDS mode?

If I upgrade to Motorola 6.1.4 does that change the answer?

If I try the dd-wrt firmware, does that change the answer?

Thanks!

WDS isn't the mode that will get you a wireless bridge, but the same functionality that allows WDS can also allow a router to be a wireless bridge. Not all WDS routers can be a bridge and not all wireless bridges can do WDS. WDS mode is typically used to create a sort of repeater for a wireless signal. In your case you are not repeasting the wireless signal, but using the router as a wireless bridge to connect multiple wired computers to your wireless network. The WR850G has this capability (WDS and bridge), but your Barricade router doesn't.

Motorola firmware prior to 6.1.4 didn't really give you specific options for building a wireless bridge. I think if you mess around with the WDS settings enough, you can probably make it work, but I'm not sure. Version 6.1.4 has specific configuration options to put the router in client mode (which turns it into a bridge).

DD-WRT just makes the process of setting things up easier and allows you to use the full capabilities of the router. These Broadcom based linux routers (like the WR850G and the Linksys WRT54G) are basically Linux computers that have a couple ethernet cards and a wireless adapter. The firmware allows you to configure that "computer" to fill many different roles, including client-bridged mode. Basically the WR580G connects to the Barricade like any other computer with a wireless card and then shares its internet connection with the computers hooked to its LAN ports. I just like if you had a Windows box connected to the Barricade router wirelessly and then turned on Internet Connection Sharing and shared the connection with other computers on its wired network connection.

Thank you for taking the time to explain this.

I've upgraded the router to 6.1.4 and tried to get this working.

Before I bite the bullet and load DD-WRT on it instead, I thought I should post the settings I've tried to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid.

My main router is a Barricade 802.11b. I run it with 128-bit WEP encryption. It's LAN IP is 192.168.2.1 and its DHCP server is enabled, with an address pool from 150-199.

I've set the 850G to "Wireless Bridge" mode. I've assigned it a LAN IP of 192.168.2.3 and gateway = 192.168.2.1. I've set the wireless SSID, channel number, and WEP key to match the Barricade. DHCP server is off. WAN Connection Type is Disabled.

I've hooked 1 PC up the 850 with a static IP 192.168.2.91, gateway =

192.168.2.1.

All of the IP masks are set to 255.255.255.0

On the Barricades config interface, I've taken what it calls its "WLAN MAC address" which is shown in the form NN-NN-NN-NN..etc and entered that MAC address in the 850 as NN:NN:NN:NN...etc. The 850 shows this as "up", but I don't put a lot of faith in that, since I tried entering a totally made up MAC and it reported that as "up" also.

These are the main settings I've changed and have then tried to ping a machine on the Barricade's LAN from the machine connected to the 850 (along with trying to reach the Internet also).

Can't seem to figure out the right recipe for this to work, any ideas?

Thanks!

These settings look good to me. Can you ping the Barricade router from the 850g? I can't remember is the 850g has a ping utility or not. The only other thing I would try is to set the computer connected to the

850g as DHCP and see if it will get an IP address from the Barricade. Maybe the Barricade router is picky on which IP addresses it routes to other machines. Also, make sure MAC address filtering is off on the Barricade router if it supports it.

Some other ideas: Are you using a HEX WEP key? If you try to using an ASCII passphrase it may not work.

SSID is case sensitive, do you type it correctly?

If you do decide to go with DD_WRT please read the wiki and all documentation before you start. I'd hate to see a router get turned into a brick (Although I have had good success unbricking my 850G when I have messed it up in the past).

Good Luck, soory I couldn't be more help. Maybe the guys on DSLReports.com forums will be able to help you. (I see you posted there too).

Have you seen this post too:

I didn't see a ping built into the 850.

I did try pinging the DHCP server (the Barricade) from that computer. I didn't try it as a DHCP client though.

Went through the Barricade's entire interface - couldn't see anywhere you'd be able to enter a MAC address.

Using HEX all around.

Yep, all lowercase.

Well, I bit the bullet and loaded the "moto" version of v23 today. I can browse the entire new Web interface, so I guess I didn't ruin it.

You're kidding, right? You've been a tremendous help. Thanks!

Yes, I am getting desperate %^)

Cheers.

Thought I'd post my results, in case anyone else out there walks down this path.

I ended up loading DD_WRT firmware on my 850G. I configured every page the way I believed it should have been (I could even see my router in the wireless poll), but it still refused to work.

Then I remembered seeing a blurb somewhere about having to cold boot the router after making changes.

I unplugged the power, waited a minute, then repowered. It just "started working".

Thanks for the help.