Can I use two DLink DI-524 wireless routers as a 'repeater'?

Sorry for messing up the terminology, but here's my situation. I've got one DLink wireless router hooked within my office LAN (with IP address

192.168.1.100). It works fine - laptops are able to connect to it wirelessly.I have an additional router which I want to use to wifi-enable my home (which is about 40 feet away - but the concrete inbetween doesnt let the signal of the first penetrate).

Now, can I have the second router configured in a such a way that

(a) it has no ethernet wires attached to it (b) it serves as a 'repeater' of sorts to allow the laptops connecting to it to access the office network

If so, how do I configure my 2nd router?

Lemme know if my situation isnt that clear...

Thanks, Sid

Reply to
siliconpi
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Do you own your office LAN, and/or is the company clear on allowing you to use it? There are concerns about security, access, and appropriate use of bandwidth that you and they will need to think about. [For instance, no 'file sharing' apps allowed, etc]

Concrete is really bad, you are going to need to find a location that's line-of-sight to the office LAN and your house to place your repeater, and supply power to it.

You can set up many APs in repeater mode, though it'll cut your available bandwidth in half. Not all routers will work in repeater mode, so you may want to make sure you get a repeater or AP.

That said, Duh-Link products are notorious for problems, last time I tried to set up D-Link repeaters with D-Link APs that they were _supposed_ to work with I wasted about a week proving that it was an unmitigated disaster and running wires to APs. [And then replacing them all with Linksys WAP54Gs with WAPPOE power-over-ethernet, which works really well.]

Reply to
William P.N. Smith

If the primary router can't transmitt a signal through the concrete wall, how do you expect a second router to do so? Anyway, most routers cannot be configured as repeaters or bridges.

Good luck, jimbo

Reply to
jimbo

Most quality wireless routers and access points have a "Bridge" mode setting, and have for many years. Some require a firmware update, others don't.

Reply to
Leythos
[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

If your home and office share the same power system, my suggestion is powerline Ethernet to connect your home access point to your office network.

Reply to
John Navas

Many Access Points have a bridge mode. Tell me of a router that has a bridge mode.

jimbo

Reply to
jimbo

Turn off DHCP, and plug everything into the LAN side, leaving the WAN side disconnected. Voila! Bridge mode.

Reply to
John Navas

You get no cigar. All you have done is create an access point, not a bridge. And OP said he didn't want any "wires" attached to the second router.

jimbo

Reply to
jimbo

That's nonetheless a *host* wireless bridge. If the wireless router has a client mode, then you have a *client* wireless bridge. Bridging is independent of how the wireless works.

Reply to
John Navas

It's NOT a bridge. Your solution requires an ethernet cable between the two routers. All you have with your solution is a second wireless Access Point in the existing network.

jimbo

Reply to
jimbo
[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

Please stick to what I actually wrote, rather than your own interpretation of it. I wasn't giving a "solution" there -- that was in my earlier reply about powerline networking -- I was pointing out in response to another reply that most low-end routers include a bridge, or switch if you prefer, that can be used with the wireless access point. That's because a wireless router is essentially a combination of:

wireless router +-------------------------------------------+ | +---------------------+ | | |wireless access point+---< antenna | +----------+----------+ | | | | | +-----------+ +----------+----------+ | WAN >--+router +--+ +---< | |DHCP server| | switch +---< wired | |firewall | | +---< LAN | +-----------+ | +---< | +---------------------+ | +-------------------------------------------+

Thus if you disable the DHCP server, and leave the WAN port disconnected, you have a bridge between wired and wireless network segments. That can be a

*host* wireless bridge (the most common kind), or if the firmware permits, a *client* wireless bridge. The latter could thus be a solution *without* an Ethernet cable, but only if there were a wireless signal, which apparently isn't the case. Thus some sort of wired solution would seem to be inevitable.
Reply to
John Navas

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com hath wroth:

My list of different types of wireless bridges: |

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's not complete as marketing is always inventing new wireless terms as the technology expands. The thing to remember is that *ALL*

802.11a/g/b wireless is bridging because it operates on ISO Layer 2 (MAC layer).

I'll assume that this Dlink is a DI-524 you mentioned in the subject line.

That will work if you turn this router into an "access point" by disabling the DHCP server and ignoring the router sections.

No.

No.

The DI-524 does NOT have have repeater mode. It also does not support WDS (wireless distribution service) which is what you would need to use to create a repeater, that users could still use to connect.

However, the choice of hardware is not the real problem. It's the concrete wall. It really doesn't matter what wireless contrivance you purchase, it's not going to go throught he concrete wall in a reliable manner. You might bounce around the wall, of perhaps find some holes, but in general, it's no RF is going to go through. Therefore, the problem is not how to build a repeater out of a DI-524 (which can't be done). It's how to send RF through a concrete wall.

Basically, your problem is "How do I get wireless to the other side of a concrete wall. Here are some possibilities. I've done most of these at one point or other and know they work. I can't tell which will work best for your situation.

  1. Punch a hole. Run CAT5 through the hole and install an access point on the othe side. Use same SSID but different RF channel (1,6, or 11). Do NOT borrow a hole from a electrical outlet as shoving signal wires through an electrical outlet box is both unsafe and a violation of electrical codes.
  2. Borrow some telephone wires, CATV coax cable, or AC power line wires to act as a bridge between the sides of the wall. Techniques, distance, and equipment vary depending on technology available. I don't know what you have available, so I won't go into much detail here. Buzzwords and starting links:

Power line: HomePlug

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Phone line: HomePNA
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CATV coaxial cable:
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You can run 10baseT-HDX over telco paired wires quite nicely. Same with 10base2 Cheapernet over coax cable. If you have the wires, there's usually a way of getting data to run over them.

  1. Punch a hole. Run LMR-240 coaxial cable through the hole. Install a 2-way power splitter at the antenna of your DI-524. On port goes to the original antenna. The other port goes to the coax, through the hole, and to a 2nd antenna. Half your RF goes through the hole.
    formatting link
  2. If you have metal HVAC ducting, you can use it as a waveguide. Install an antenna inside the ducting and hope that something comes out the other end. Pay attention to the polarization of the grillwork. I've used this when desperate. It works, but is not terribly reliable or guaranteed.
  3. If there's a connecting doorway, and the door is NOT made from metal, then you can "illuminate" the door with a directional antenna. Much of the RF will go through the wooden or fiberglass door. This is really a matter of positioning the access point and antenna. I have one such installation where the access point ended up hanging upside-down from just above the top of the door frame, with the vertical antenna projecting into the doorway. Obviously, the door opens in the opposite direction. Works nicely but looks a bit funny. Sorry, no photos.

Not too horrible. The general form of such questions should be:

  1. What are you trying to accomplish?
  2. What do you have to work with?
  3. What have you done so far and what happened?
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

I guess you are deliberately obfuscating. You have not answered any question or proposed any solution to the original question. You stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that your "bridge" is worthless for the OPs problem. Calling the connection between wired and wireless sections of a router a bridge is stretching definitions to the limit just to avoid admitting that you don't know what you are talking about.

jimbo

Reply to
jimbo

Reply to
Airman Thunderbird

what is the diff between a host bridge and a client bridge?

I never herd of client mode or host mode

Reply to
q_q_anonymous
[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

When bridging over wireless, one bridge is in host mode (typically a wireless access point) and the other bridge is in client mode (e.g., so-called wireless game adapter). The host controls the wireless channel and security. The client must be configured for the same security. Note that both the host and (more likely) the client may have a limit on how many devices the wireless bridge will support.

One common application for wireless bridging is on a sailboat. A client wireless bridge (with antenna) is installed at the top of the mast, with an Ethernet cable running down the mast for both networking and power. Multiple computers can then be attached to the wired Ethernet network on the boat. Case in point: SENAO CB3 Plus Long Range Wireless Client Bridge / Access Point

Reply to
John Navas

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