Add a wireless router behind another router.

thanks for the info, never tried it before, but i've thought about it.

 

Any particular reason why two routers instead of a router and a switch?
I was using a router and a switch, which was an easy setup. (If I could figure it out, it can't be too hard! )

 

I found this thread very interesting.

I've got a Linksys Wireless-G Router that connects 4 computers together.

We've recently expanded our Offices and I need to connect 2 additional computers to my Network ... your solution seems simple enough: Get another Wireless Router (since I do need to have some Wireless Access), and join them together.

However, I have 2 questions regarding this method:

1) How do I Set Router 1 as a Gateway and Router 2 as a Router ? ... I don't know how to do this in the Advanced Tab (see attached) ... I'm sort of a Newbie with Networks

2) Will I be able to see Computers on Router 1 from the Computers on Router 2 and Vice versa ? ... I need to be able to do that.

Thanks in advance

 

OK.....all of your machines are wireless devices? Because, you still needed to run a wire from wireless router 1 to wireless router 2 concrete and all.

 

Both Routers are Wireless but all of my computers are wired to the Routers ... I only use the Wireless for my Laptop.

I'll be running a wire from Router 1 (Lan to Lan from what I understand) to Router 2 and then have the remaining computers connect through that Router.

 

I'm sorry I'm getting two posters mingled.

petitpiti - turn off the wireless functionality in your second router and simply use it as a switch wired to the first router. There is no need for the second wireless router to function as a router. You want it to function as a switch.

corporal punishment - OK.....all of your machines are wireless devices? Because, you would still needed to run a wire from wireless router 1 to wireless router 2 concrete and all.

 

Problem is that I need the Wireless functionality to work in both places ... sometimes I got in Office 1 and sometimes in Office 2 with my Laptop.

That's the main reason I can't use a Switch

Going back to the Initial Post, wouldn't that work for me ??? ...

''Set router 1 to ip address 192.168.1.1
Set router 2 to ip address 192.168.1.2 and disable dhcp server

On router 1 make sure the starting IP range is something like 192.168.1.100

Go to advanced routing settings in router 1 and set it as a gateway .
Go to advanced routing settings in router 2 and set it as a router .
(Problem is that I don't know how to set this up)

Cable the two together via lan to lan ports (don't use wan)

Couple notes.
- You need to direct cable router 2 to a machine to set it up like this.
- If both routers are wireless, its a good idea to have the same wep key.
- Any machine that has to be directly wired into the second/wireless router, you should set your tcp/ip properties to point to dns server 192.168.1.1 , but if you're just going wi-fi that doesn;t matter. ''

... but I want to make sure that I can see all computers this way.

Is this possible ??? ... I've not yet purchased the second router, simply waiting to see what the best option is.

Thanks for any suggestions

 

Yes that should work. The only thing I can see as a problem is the LAN to LAN port wired connection needs to be a crossover cable.

 

Thanks a bunch !

Only one thing, how do you setup a router as a Gateway or as a Router (indicated in the steps) ??? ... I don't understand what the difference is and can't find it in advanced setup tab (see attached)

 

View attachment.

 

Sorry jconstan,

I made a mistake, my router i s a Wireless-N Home Router and does not have that option in Advanced settings.

Instead it has a NAT and a RIP option (see attached) ... what do I do with this ?

 

Linksys?

 

Yes ... see attached in earlier post

 

Sorry, I am not familiar with that particular router.

 

Thanks anyways !

If I decide to only hook up one Wireless Router and use a switch instead, can I connect some computers to the Wireless router and others to the switch ... or do I need to connect all the computers to the switch ?

also is there any configuration that I need to do on the router...6 computers in all.

 

Yes you will be able to connect some computers to the switch and some to the wireless router. No configuration settings need to be changed. You will need to connect the router and switch together with a crossover cable if your switch does not have an UPLINK/MDI port. An uplink port is required for linking two like devices directly with a standard patch cable because the wire pairs would be connected transmit-to-transmit and receive-to-receive, and thus the devices would not be able to communicate with each other. The uplink port is a special port that automatically crosses over the xmit and receive connections.

 

AFAIK most routers/switches these days all have full UPLINK/MDI ports.

 

Seems conflicting info here. If you turn on dhcp then the unit will act as a router and will issue Lan IP addresses to new clients.

I have 2 wireless routers which I am merely using as waps (one 'b' the other 'g') connected to ethernet ports on my router. The configurations are as follows:

1. Router has dhcp enabled hence acts as gateway 192.168.0.1. Lan IP address range set to 192.168.0.2-64. Wireless functionality is disabled.

2. Wap 1 fixed IP address 192.168.0.100. DHCP disabled

3. Wap 2 fixed IP address 192.168.0.101. DHCP disabled.

The routing is handled uniquely by the router. In my opinion much easier set up especially for trouble shooting.

If you want to extend wireless range then you should have also considered using repeaters.

Good luck

 

Thanks for your help guys.

I think that I'll simply relocate my router and add a switch to it ... less hassle !

 

Thanks much for laying this out - my friend in a biggish Victorian house wants to satisfy daughter#2 in the upper far back bedroom with a full wireless; this will do it.

I would say set it up as your normal router to
connect to your ISP.

I would say this means disable the connection to ISP and disable DHCP functionality.

I am suggesting to my mate to get 2 ethernet/mains power adaptors ("Homeplug") to save drilling through walls/ceilings.

Question - I would recommend disabling firewall function in router#2; is that correct?

OK, so router#2 ends up like a switch, but with wireless it is a 'switch+' isn't it.

 

Nice guide CP. :cool Iv been running a setup like this for several months now. I'm running an Asus Rt-N16 for QoS, 802.11n and gigalan upstares and a Asus wl500GP downstairs for 802.11g and Legacy 802.11b. I'm going to add a 5Ghz 802.11n access point to the network soon. Im starting to get into networking as much as I am into overclocking. rolleyes

Most if not all modern routers and switches automatically swap pins internally so there is no need for crossover cables.