struggling to bridge router and WAP

[413x]

Cannot figure this out. I practically broke the router last night trying messing with settings and had to mess with a few things to sort it out.

 

[413x]

It sounds to me like he's trying to create a wireless bridge between the two wireless networks. so things can go like this (prepare for BAD.ASS. ASCII diagramming skills)

http://pastebin.com/9ni5K906

Where solid lines are wired and wavey ones are wireless.

IF this is indeed true, then you need to check your hardware supports wireless bridging. It probably doesn't. Also to connect wireless client devices to an AP that's is also forming a wireless bridge would need a dual radio access point I think. Usually it'd be set up with Radio 1 serving clients while radio 2 bridges to the router. Essentially one radio is in infrastructure mode the other is behaving as a client.

almost right, except pc is connected to server by wire and router wireless

from the screen shots does it look like at least the WAP is capable of what i want to do but not the router?

router page

WAP page

 

[bremen1874]

The Netgear appears to have a client mode. If it works it should allow the Netgear to connect to the router wirelessly and allow the wired devices to connect to the Internet.

This would probably mean that the Netgear wouldn't be available to support wireless clients. They'd need to connect wirelessly to the router instead.

Could you use Powerline adapters to make the connection instead? The Netgear could then just be configured as a simple access point.

 

[413x]

The Netgear appears to have a client mode. If it works it should allow the Netgear to connect to the router wirelessly and allow the wired devices to connect to the Internet.

This would probably mean that the Netgear wouldn't be available to support wireless clients. They'd need to connect wirelessly to the router instead.

Could you use Powerline adapters to make the connection instead? The Netgear could then just be configured as a simple access point.

its not ideal, but its better than nothing (router only has wireless g)

so in this situation netgear only bridges to the router and nothing else?

In client mode netgear WAP has fields for
'MAC clone' enable or disable
MAC address

in Wireless Point to Multi–Point Bridge the following is available
-6*client associations each with this screen

 

[bremen1874]

its not ideal, but its better than nothing (router only has wireless g)

so in this situation netgear only bridges to the router and nothing else?

I believe so. If you want to 'bridge' and have an access point I think you'll need different kit.

As mentioned I'd use Powerline adapters instead of a wireless bridge. You could then use the router and the access point to serve wireless clients.

 

[lsg1r]

ok... not sure if the issue is fixed or not but here's my 10p anyways....

my setup is similar

192.168.1.1 - adsl modem/router (billion 7800n)
wireless connection
192.168.1.2 - zyxel wap3205 v2 (I suggested this in your other thread )... this is actually in client+repeater mode + guest mode but that's not really important here. Gateway is 192.168.1.1.
wired to
unmanaged switch
192.168.1.x - wired to pc/nas/slate/laptop (I use fixed ip but auto assignment also works fine) etc

android slate/phone and laptops all connect to the base station but can 'extend' the signal/range via the repeater on the zyxel.

On the netgear (same on zyxel) client mode literally connects point a and b, the multipoint allows for more than one of your netgear to communicate between themselves and the router, think of a mesh rather than a straight line.

My repeater mode literally resends the signal to the router and vice versa, think a string with another string attached. I'm not sure as I've not tested it but it may cut out the jump to the router when connecting to the 'switch network'

edit: My network is completely 'n' and iirc I did warn you in the last thread about possible the g speed issue...

 

[413x]

ive got to the point where there is one wireless signal despite both the wireless points being on.

however the only way to connect to the internet and the wired network is to be both connected to the wired network and the wireless

i also cannot get into the WAP without going wired (its ip address .99 is not accessible via wireless)..this i do not understand

is there a problem here? all these fields on the WAP are blank
IP Address
IP Subnet Mask
Default Gateway
Primary DNS Server
Secondary DNS Server

So. pc that is wired to the network and wirless to the router
to access the server i need a wired connection with no fixed IP
to access the WAP i need to employ a static IP
to axxess the router i need to use wirless

so atm this just a big mess! maybe time to admit defeat

that setup is very similar to mine.

i think the netgear WAP can do it. its more the router i am not sure about... the 'modes' in the router screen shot are wither routing or bridge only

the wap is in client+repeater mode like the screenshot

i can confirm that they are being seen as one network SSID, they just are not sharing the connection

 

[lsg1r]

On netgear (on my zyxel anyways may need to change ips to suit your setup) it sounds like you need to add the following -
IP Address 192.168.1.2
IP Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway 192.168.1.1
Primary DNS Server 192.168.1.1 (can use ip dns address)
Secondary DNS Server (can use ip dns address)

Your router: wan page - thats your adsl settings, login, password from isp, the ip and dns server ips should auto propogate when you login.... mine do

It sounds like you then need to setup the wireless lan as the access point for the wifi network.
Set up network name, wireless security (match with netgear) channel etc and you should be good to go.

I'll run through how I set mine up.
1) Set PC to fixed ip in the 192.168.1.x range avoiding x being any number mentioned by devices to be set up
2) log into router and set up adsl connection via cable connection - make a note of the dns server ip's, you may need them
3) go to wireless lan settings and set up ssid, security, channel etc - make a note of these you will need these
4) change the ip of router if needed to my preferred 192.168.1.1 (needed to on billion)
5) change the admin password, save and remove cable from router. I also make sure upnp is enabled and map some ports to internal ips but thats not needed for you.
5+) Optional - restict ip range for dhcp server on the router so you can only have x devices without fixed ips
6) plug in wireless access point [edit] you want this to be a wireless client [/edit]
7) login and set up wireless settings using the same security, password, ssid etc (some have easy tool to select this)
8) Fill in any info that may be required like below
IP Address 192.168.1.2
IP Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0 (this is the usual subnet mask)
Default Gateway 192.168.1.1
Primary DNS Server 192.168.1.1 (can use ip dns address)
Secondary DNS Server (can use ip dns address)

NOTE: change 192.168.1.x to whatever you use if needed, these are my network settings which are usually used by most home network gear.

9) reboot everything and it usually works.

Laptop/other wireless devices will need to connect to the ssid with security options set accordingly etc

 

[Skidilliplop]

I believe so. If you want to 'bridge' and have an access point I think you'll need different kit.

As mentioned I'd use Powerline adapters instead of a wireless bridge. You could then use the router and the access point to serve wireless clients.

It's not worth the hassle, just do this ^

Dual Radio APs are expensive, it'd be more cost effective to have the AP and router service wireless (at least 5 channel separation). Then connect them together using homeplugs, which are comparitively cheap and easy to use.

 

[413x]

It's not worth the hassle, just do this ^

Dual Radio APs are expensive, it'd be more cost effective to have the AP and router service wireless (at least 5 channel separation). Then connect them together using homeplugs, which are comparitively cheap and easy to use.

I dont think the router is up to it, i have done all of that, i will check one more time to make sure (the router is very cheap, came with talk talk)

I think i will go for powerline like suggested here. use the decent WAP on a different channel like suggested. the bridged speeds will be better this way too.

Just to make sure. with this i could effectively turn off the routers useless G wireless and just use the WAP to access network and inet?

What am i looking to spend to get decent power line? TBH if i can still connect to the wap for network/internet the connection speed is redundant as it is only 2megabit per second so all the powerline would be used for is 2megabits

TRENDNET TPL-306E2K ok? i can get a good price using a voucher i have

 

[bremen1874]

£25 to £30 for a set of AV200 adapters. If it's likely that you'll be getting a cable/FTTC connection in the near future then it could be worth getting AV500 adapters, but they'll cost about double.

You can either just use the access point for the wireless, or leave both running. Whatever works best for you.

 

[413x]

£25 to £30 for a set of AV200 adapters. If it's likely that you'll be getting a cable/FTTC connection in the near future then it could be worth getting AV500 adapters, but they'll cost about double.

You can either just use the access point for the wireless, or leave both running. Whatever works best for you.

thank you very much (you in particular) everyone for persevering with this in your own time. i really really appreciate it, even though i havent succeeded in the original aim the powerline is probably a better option with less interferance anyway (i think part of me just didnt want to be beaten by this). i have learnt a lot! so i feel its been worth it for me

it is likely that when i move i can use a wired connection entirely (ie no powerline/wireless connections) also we will proabably have a better router with a better provider

for now i will probably terminate the routers G wireless and just use the WAP, it is much newer and range is superior (N 300mbps too). we had a N router but a lightning strike blew the router (It literally it rattled after) and the network port of the PC it was connected to so reverted back to the supplied.

 

[413x]

glad i bought an 8 port switch now

 

[lsg1r]

you can get the zyxel I'm using for 30 quid lol... and seriously if you follow my instructions you should be able to connect at 'g' speeds. Then if you want to you can use your voucher to buy a better router with n speeds to replace the one you have now (billion 7800n is highly recommended by me and those on here)

 

[Skidilliplop]

glad i bought an 8 port switch now

Yup I think this is the best way to go.
Plus in the future if you upgrade to a nicer N router, you can turn the wireless on and use both to improve coverage and aggregate wireless bandwidth. Which will be a noticable improvement if filesharing off the server.

 

[413x]

^^ that requires more hardware than the powerline! I will try the wireless bridge one more time but i am now thinking as suggested more than once powerline would be easier and better, i also still think the WAP i have is capable, if anything its the router

^cheers yes when i move i will get a better router, either supplied or bought

 

[lsg1r]

^^ that requires more hardware than the powerline! I will try the wireless bridge one more time but i am now thinking as suggested more than once powerline would be easier and better, i also still think the WAP i have is capable, if anything its the router

miscommunication... I actually meant using the netgear not the zyxel

 

[413x]

got the home plugs. a comparative doddle to set up! with all wired everything is much less laggy, have set up static IPs and everything is talking to everything else. just got a few speed issues to resolve

cheers guys!