help wanted - alfa aip-w610h router/bridge setup

cannot open a web page...

the computer is cat5 wired to a lan port on the alfa wireless router. the alfa wireless router is connected, over the air, to a netgear wap (wireless access point). the netgear wap is wired to a zyxel router that is wired to a microwave radio. radio and zyxel router are provided by the isp.

the alfa router status display (in a browser running on the computer) shows the alfa router is "connected" to the netgear wap. the status screen displays the netgear wap's ssid.

everything appears correct but the browser on the computer cannot resolve a url. there is always a timout. if the computer's built-in wireless adapter connects to the netgear wap, no internet access problem.

i'm guessing there is some setting in the alfa aip-w610h router that is being overlooked. any suggestions as to what it might be?

fixed ip addresses are used throughout the network for this testing. security is disabled. anti-virus and firewall are disabled.

Reply to
J David Ellis
Loading thread data ...

On Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:36:42 -0800, J David Ellis wrote in :

Then the alga wireless router must actually be a wireless Ethernet

*client* bridge -- a true wireless router or access point cannot connect as a client to a wireless router or access point.

Run the following in a CMD window on the computer, and paste the *exact* result here:

IPCONFIG /ALL

My own current output:

We can see from this that DHCP worked properly, giving my computer a private IP Address, proper Subnet Mack, Gateway address, and DNS server address, plus of course the address of the DHCP Server.

Any special reason you're keeping all the hardware models secret? Makes it much harder to help you.

Reply to
John Navas

John -- thanks for offering to help. here's what you asked for, and then some.

.....................

C:\\Documents and Settings\\D>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : e1705 Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x

10/100 Integrated Controller Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-18-8B-DA-71-1A Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.2 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\\Documents and Settings\\D>

...........................

the alfa manual title is "High-Power 400mW 802.11b/g Router AIP-610H." i agree with you that it is a wireless ethernet bridge (that can be configured as a router). the specs suggest it is hard to dream up a configuration that it cannot be set to. for the sake of conversation allow me to call it a "bridge."

the alfa user manual is explicit about the bridge ip address = 192.168.2.1 and in order for the computer to "talk" to the bridge, the computer ip address must be 192.168.2.2. there is a warning that nothing other than these values will work.

here are the alfa status page values:

System AP Alias Name Uptime 0day:0h:2m:20s Firmware Version v6.1-en Wireless Mode Infrastructure Client Band 2.4 GHz (G) SSID NETGEAR Channel Number 6 Encryption Disabled BSSID 00:14:6c:ff:42:4a State Connected Current Tx Rate 11 Mbps TCP/IP Configuration Attain IP Protocol Fixed IP IP Address 192.168.2.1 Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway 192.168.2.1 MAC Address 00:c0:ca:18:8b:19 WAN Configuration Attain IP Protocol Fixed IP IP Address 172.1.1.1 Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway 172.1.1.254 MAC Address 00:c0:ca:18:8b:1b Traffic Control Interface Control Disabled IP Control Disabled MAC Control Disabled Traffic Control Firewall Disabled DHCP Settings DHCP Server Enabled

the reason for keeping the hardware models secret is because i lack experience with this type of posting.

microwave radio model unknown | zyxel prestige 334 router | netgear wpn802v2 wireless access point | alfa aip-w620h bridge | dell inspiron e1705

i should mention the e1705 internal wireless adapter works as expected with the netgear wireless access point; no problem accessing the web. the netgear wireless access point has been pushbutton reset to factory settings: no security encryption or filtering.

the alfa bridge fails with a wireless access point other than the netgear. further, a zyxel wireless ethernet adapter g-470 works as expected with both the netgear and the other wireless access point. the latter access point hardware model is unknown; it is some distance away. the netgear wireless access point is ten feet from the e1705.

noting is connected to the alfa bridge's wan port.

--david (neophyte networker)

Reply to
J David Ellis

On Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:11:03 -0800, J David Ellis wrote in :

Bad -- you have it configured manually and incompletely. You should probably reconfigure it for DHCP, and make sure it gets configured properly by your DHCP server. Or make sure the manual configuration is complete and correct.

That's probably not entirely correct, and just advice on how to connect to the configuration page in the client bridge. Once that is done, the bridge should be transparent, and you should be able to switch to DHCP and get configured by the DHCP server in your Zyxel router.

You'll want to turn on WPA PSK with a strong passphrase once you get everything working.

DHCP should be disabled in a wireless Ethernet client bridge.

Thanks. That helps.

OK.

Reply to
John Navas

john --

using the e1705 wireless adapter, i get the following display from an 'ipconfig /all'

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1B-77-60-49-2A Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.35 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 64.118.98.90 64.118.98.89 Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, January 09, 2009 7:02:45 PM Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, January 12, 2009 7:02:45 PM

since the wireless access point has no such numbers built into it and its dhcp is disabled, i'm assuming these ip addresses are coming from the isp via the zyxel router. this connection works!

the alfa bridge status screen shows the alfa bridge is "connected" to the netgear wireless access point and the e1705 local area connection is set to get the ip addresses via dhcp. this is what the e1705 sees:

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-18-8B-DA-71-1A Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.2 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1 Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, January 09, 2009 7:09:56 PM Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, January 19, 2009 7:09:56 PM

the .2. ip addresses appear to come from the alfa bridge in spite of the bridge's dhcp being disabled. this connection does not work!

the alfa bridge status screen includes:

TCP/IP Configuration Attain IP Protocol Fixed IP IP Address 192.168.2.1 Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway 0.0.0.0

the alfa bridge wan port is empty but i set it up to get ip from dhcp server. status screen:

WAN Configuration Attain IP Protocol Getting IP from DHCP server... IP Address 172.1.1.1 Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway 172.1.1.254

these ip addresses are the factory defaults, which indicates to me the wan interface is doing nothing to get an ip address from a dhcp server via the radio. this does not work.

i tried using the e1705 wireless adapter ip addresses, obtained via dhcp, in the e1705 lan settings and that didn't work.

this is really confusing... no setting results in the e1705 "seeing" the internet through the alfa bridge and no bridge setting results in the e1705 getting an ip address from the isp's zyxel router.

the desired alfa bridge transparency is elusive. there must be some setting overlooked. what am i doing wrong?

--david

Reply to
J David Ellis

On Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:42:58 -0800, J David Ellis wrote in :

That means valid addresses must be in the 192.168.1.nnn block.

I'm guessing the Zyxel _router_ is handing them out.

Not surprising, because it's not in the 192.168.1.nnn block. Looks like it's still working as a DHCP server and router.

That's not helpful for anything other than configuring the alfa.

It looks like you still have the alfa configured as a wireless router, not a wireless Ethernet client bridge.

Are you sure you have the correct model number? I can't find it on the ALFA webpile or anywhere else on the Internet.

The closest thing I can find is the AIP-W610

According to the manual, the AIP-W610 does *not* support operation as a wireless Ethernet *client* bridge -- the "bridge" option is still a

*host* mode.

I suspect your unit has the same limitation, and that what you're trying to do will *not* work.

Reply to
John Navas

On 10/01/2009 19:42, John Navas wrote: John the manual is available here:-

formatting link

Reply to
LR

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:57:51 +0000, LR wrote in :

I know. I checked it. But that's the 610, not the mysterious 620. ;)

Reply to
John Navas

620? All the posts refer to "alfa aip-w610h"
Reply to
LR

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:16:48 +0000, LR wrote in :

"alfa aip-w620h bridge"

Reply to
John Navas

it surely behaves this way. the operation-mode setup choices are gateway, bridge, wisp client, router (wan ethernet) and router (wan wireless).

the label on the bottom of the alfa bridge is: 802.11g ap router fcc id: uq2aipw610 model: aip-w610h

the 'AIP-W610H user manual-200704.pdf' manual i'm using comes from

formatting link

using the aip-w6010h setup wizard, which is not mentioned in the user manual, i chose an operation mode called "wisp client." on page 7 the user manual claims: "in this mode, all ethernet ports are bridged together and the wireless client will connect to isp access point. ..."

i surely appreciate your efforts to get to the bottom of this puzzle. if you have time to look at the 'AIP-W610H user manual-200704.pdf' and still reach the "will not work" conclusion, i'll send the alfa back to the vendor.

i like the aip-w610h because it has receive-sensitivity and transmit-power controls, a useful feature in our wireless environment.

--david

Reply to
J David Ellis

On 10 Jan, 23:25, J David Ellis wrote: (snip)

1) Try to ping 74.125.77.103. If you're able to do so, you know you've got network conectivity.

Then you can check out dns. Set LAN interface on your dell client to

64.118.98.90. 2) Try surfing google.com If this works, we know dns is the problem, but we do not know it's source, it can be either netgear wpn802v2 wireless access point or alfa aip-w620h bridge.

Come back and tell me about your results of 1) and 2). Maybe I can help you to get the most elegant/dynamical setup.

Reply to
Chrisjoy

yesterday's reply to this failed to post. so here's another attempt...

this produces four "request timed out" messages.

entering this ip address causes the subnet mask to be set to 255.0.0.0 instead of the usual 255.255.255.0 and the surf-gogle attempt yields "Firefox can't find the server at

formatting link
"

same result with subnet mask 255.255.255.0

if the current state of things changes, i'll be overjoyed to describe it as an "elegant/dynamical setup." :=)

on thing has changed since testing began. when the dell 'ethernet adapter local area connection' is enabled with 'obtain ip address automatically', the time to get the address has substantially increased. it used to take about five seconds to get an ip address 192.168.2.nnn, an alfa bridge address i think, and it now takes about a minute. the dell now gets:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-18-8B-DA-71-1A Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.1.38 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.1.38

i wonder which which dhcp server is providing this?

--david

Reply to
J David Ellis

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:25:05 -0800, J David Ellis wrote in :

WISP Client sounds like _client router_ mode, _not_ wireless Ethernet _client bridge_, using NAT and its own DHCP server to connect multiple clients to a single WISP address, rather than depending on the WISP to hand out multiple addresses through a wireless Ethernet client bridge.

That's not as clean as a wireless Ethernet client bridge, since you'll be doing "double NAT" (one in the ALFA and one in the ZyXEL), which can interfere with certain things (VPN, gaming, etc), but it should still work.

As a WISP Client router, the ALFA needs to use DHCP to get its own network address from the WISP (the ZyXEL wired router in your case). In other words, when the ALFA is properly connected to your wireless you should see essentially the same WAN information in the ALFA as you see in your e1705 when it's connected to your wireless.

Thus your first job is to verify the mode of the ALFA, and connectivity from the ALFA to the ZyXEL. See if it has a 'ping' tool.

The different netblock client addresses being handed out by the ALFA should be fine if it's in router mode and acting as a proper NAT gateway.

p.s. If you want my help, please don't get sidetracked with someone else, because that can easily lead to confusion and wasted time. Thanks.

Reply to
John Navas

i've tried seemingly endless combinations of settings in wisp client mode and most other modes, including 'bridge' and 'router (wan wireless)'. when the alfa status page shows "connected" i cannot ping any address other than the alfa's address: 198.162.2.1

nothing appears in the ip address list when the wan configuration is set to get an ip from the dhcp. here's the wan part of the alfa status page:

WAN Configuration Attain IP Protocol Getting IP from DHCP server... IP Address 0.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 0.0.0.0 Default Gateway 0.0.0.0 MAC Address 00:c0:ca:18:8b:1a

i never see, anywhere in the alfa status page, an ip address that appears to have come from a dhcp server.

if you have a few minutes to look at the rather poorly written manual, i'd appreciate your help choosing the appropriate mode:

the 'AIP-W610H user manual-200704.pdf' manual i'm using comes from

formatting link
there's no ping tool in the alfa that i can find, except on the last page of the manual there's a reference to ping capability if one uses a script. i don't see how this will help us.

no problem. i'm glad to get some coaching in how to do all this.

Reply to
J David Ellis

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:18:58 -0800, J David Ellis wrote in :

VALID 'OPERATION MODE' OPTIONS FOR YOU (BEST FIRST);

(1) Bridge The wired Ethernet and wireless NIC are bridged together. Once the mode is selected, all the WAN related functions will be disabled.

->CLIENT BRIDGE

(2) Router (WAN Wireless) The device is supposed to connect to Internet via Wireless port and it will act as router. NAT system will be disabled.

->ROUTER, CLIENTS MUST BE CONFIGURED MANUALLY FOR THE ALFA.

(3) WISP (Wireless ISP) This mode can let you access the AP of your wireless ISP and share the same public IP address form your ISP to the PCs connecting with the wired Ethernet port of the device. To use this mode, first you must set the wireless radio to be client mode and connect to the AP of your ISP then you can configure the WAN IP configuration to meet your ISP requirement.

->ROUTER + DHCP WITH DOUBLE NAT

IN ALL CASES:

  • WIRELESS RADIO MUST BE ON
  • RADIO MUST BE IN 'CLIENT' MODE.
  • USE THE 'SITE SURVEY' PAGE TO FIND YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK AND CONNECT Make sure all security for your wireless network is OFF when trying to connect. Turn on security (WPA) after everything is working.

Start by trying (1): (a) Get ALFA connected to your wireless network (b) See if DHCP works for wired clients of the ALFA.

Reply to
John Navas

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:26:41 -0800, John Navas wrote in :

You'll probably need manual configuration of both ALFA and wired ALFA client on 192.168.2.nnn netblock to do this.

You'll need to change configuration of wired ALFA client to DHCP.

Reply to
John Navas

Then we can conclude you got no network connectivity. You told us that this is only a problem when you add the last box in the path. Let us call this box C, and the box closer to the net for B. For C to forward packets to B, it needs IP on LAN side, IP on WAN side, subnet mask on both, defalt gateway and at least one dns IP, OR it needs to be transparent running as a dumb bridge. When running as a bridge, it cannot filter any traffic, specially not DHCP and arp. Not in either way. Other than that, WAN side must point to internet and LAN away from internet using cables or wirless. Log into the box and look if the box got necessary info. If ran as a bridge, you need to give yourself (dell) a static IP in the subnet of the bridge connecting to it's IP. If box are running as a router, you can connct to the dell's default gateway, as this would be the box C if C is running a DHCP server. A part of a reasonable troubleshoot you may want to put box C in router mode, to see if it's working as such.

This should be used as your primary dns IP address and not as the IP on the interface, but it doesn't matter you misunderstood this, cause this was only meaningful if you were able to ping that google.com IP.

I think we need some time to get there.

Non. 169.254.*.* addresses are default randomized IP addresses when a dhcp client does not get connected to DHCP server and got no fresh lease.

Reply to
Chrisjoy

victory in bridge mode! this reply is posted through the alfa bridge.

Mr. Navas, i can't thank you enough for your patience and generosity while teaching this network neophyte a lot of network terminology, useful diagnostic principles and some newsgroup protocol.

--david

Reply to
J David Ellis

Chrisjoy -- thank you very much for the help with this alfa networking problem. the solution turns out to be setting the alfa operating mode to 'bridge', wireless basic settings mode: client. connect to the access point. change the dell network properties back to 'obtain ip address automatically'. this message is posted through the alfa bridge. thanks again for your help. -- david

Reply to
J David Ellis

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