Router advice for VLAN with DHCP

Tony359

Tony359

Tony359

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Joined
22 Nov 2022
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42
Location
United Kingdom
Hi all,

I am looking for a WiFi router which allows me to create a VLAN on a separate subnet where DHCP is enabled. The router would then sit on another network which provides internet access via WLAN. This WLAN and the aforementioned VLAN should be able to talk - but kept separate.

As an example, the router is 192.168.0.100, its gateway is 192.168.0.1 via WLAN. The router should be able to generate a VLAN on 192.168.10.0 with DHCP. Computers on 192.168.10.0 should be able to talk to 192.168.0.0 and also access the internet.

I know a Draytek can do that but it's like using 1% of its capabilities and they are very expensive - at least for my needs.

Is there anything else which could be used that can do the above?

Thanks
Tony
 
OpenWRT is great can be installed on many routers or dedicated preflashed ones from the China places.

Can do all what you ask, may take a little learning though.

£20 BTHomehub 5 aka also Plusnet routers preflashed with OpenWRT can be found in the regular places.
 
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Interesting thanks. I believe I might have a BTHomehub, not sure what model though.

However, I need a more long-term solution (may need more than one router) and one which others can operate as well without the steep learning curve.

Is the Draytek really the only viable solution here?

Thank you!
 
Wouldn't it be better to just avoid a 2nd router in the first place (avoiding such issues as double-nat) ?

Might be worth posting a diagram of your network layout and what you are actually trying to achieve (as opposed to how to solve the specific problem you've decided needs to be solved)
 
The main router is not something I manage and unfortunately won't be something that could be used. Not really my decision! :)

attached a basic diagram. The idea is that when you connect to the service wifi you get an IP address (otherwise you have to set the IP manually) and whatever you do on that network won't interfere with the main network which is a bit critical.

Right now I have a wifi access point just extending the main network but
1. it requires manual IP change which can be tricky particularly when more than one user is on that network
2. It puts the various service laptops on a critical network

Again, I cannot change the network topology nor IP addresses or anything. That is why I am thinking of making my own little subnet which I can control and won't interfere with the main network.


Diagram here

Thank you!
 
the Edgerouter looks impressive and as you say it's cheap. It does not have WiFi thought - Can you recommend a WiFi adaptor from Ubiquiti? My concern is that by the time you have the router and the access point you're not far away from the Draytek solution. I guess it does not have to be an Ubiquiti Access point but probably a good idea to match the router to another Ubiquiti product.

Thanks for now!
 
well, I don't have a wifi router - or I won't have one for a new project. So I'm looking for a complete solution which also includes WiFi.
 
Thank you. I did look into Mikrotik products after Turn mentioned that but I got lost in their massive product list. This seems impressive. I might give that a go!

Edit: I got the HAP ac3, it has big aerials which I might need as I need to cover a large room. I shall let you know!
 
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The router has arrived and boy is it complicated to set up! Obviously when you want something flexible it won't be easy to use. I am ok with that but I will have to study the RouterOS a bit before I spend another 45 minutes on the thing and end up with very little! :) Any good place where to get a clear overview, besides the user manual?

Thanks
 
Edgerouter would have been a better choice, Mikrotik are cheap and great value but the software is terrible as you’ve discovered.

Draytek are overpriced for what they are.
 
I looked into the edgerouter and it looked like by the time I added WiFi, the price was not far away from Draytek's - unless I am mistaken?

I am ok with the clunky software of the Mikrotik, it'll take a little while to get familiar with it I guess. I just need to find something/someone which explains me how it works without assuming I am a software developer :)
 
Tony359 said:
I looked into the edgerouter and it looked like by the time I added WiFi, the price was not far away from Draytek's - unless I am mistaken?

I am ok with the clunky software of the Mikrotik, it'll take a little while to get familiar with it I guess. I just need to find something/someone which explains me how it works without assuming I know about networking :)
Click to expand...

Fixed that for you.

What are having trouble with? The original configuration should be good for most things. Then you just modify what needs changing.
 
Well, it depends what you mean with "know". There are several degrees of "knowledge". I see the Mikrotik are clearly designed for the professional IT engineer. I am what you could call an "advanced user".

Well... it's a sea of options. But I've read up a bit and I got somewhere. I now have what I need but I might have some WiFi performance issues.

I'm testing by transferring content from my NAS - so I take the internet out of the equation.

Via my ISP router (FritzBox) I do 450-350Mbit/s in 802.11ac. With the Microtik I do 70Mbit, same 802.11ac 5Ghz. This is transferring a single large 30GB file. I try setting up the same 5Ghz channel my FritzBox uses but it's still slow.

I think I have everything else set - besides I need to learn a bit more and probably configure the firewall.
 
Tony359 said:
Well, it depends what you mean with "know". There are several degrees of "knowledge". I see the Mikrotik are clearly designed for the professional IT engineer. I am what you could call an "advanced user".

Well... it's a sea of options. But I've read up a bit and I got somewhere. I now have what I need but I might have some WiFi performance issues.

I'm testing by transferring content from my NAS - so I take the internet out of the equation.

Via my ISP router (FritzBox) I do 450-350Mbit/s in 802.11ac. With the Microtik I do 70Mbit, same 802.11ac 5Ghz. This is transferring a single large 30GB file. I try setting up the same 5Ghz channel my FritzBox uses but it's still slow.

I think I have everything else set - besides I need to learn a bit more and probably configure the firewall.
Click to expand...

By setting the same channel as your Fritzbox you are making things worse for a start.
What channel width do you have your 'tik set to use? Sounds like you've got it on 20.

There is a lot of buttons available in The MikroTik config but I can tll you from experience, once you get the basics grounded, you'll find the rest of your way through. Some stuff you need to just understand to configure a MikroTik to work well though.

5Ghz WiFi has never been a particularly strong point for MikroTik though, I'd be more bothered on setting somethign stable and legal than a how fast contest.
 
I cannot remember what channel was set by default - then I tried the same channel of my other router (with 2.4Mhz it’s ok to use the same centre frequency, it’s actually recommended) but nothing changed.

I’m not doing a speed competition, I’m learning how to set it up. I won’t use 5Ghz anyways I guess as I need stability and long range which 2.4 is better at.

Still, I’m learning and I’m testing things. When something doesn’t work as expected I’m the curious person which tries to understand and improve.

Same for all the other functions, I’d like to know as much as I can so I know how to solve a problem should it arises. But yes you’re right in saying I won’t need 90% of those.
 
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