Spec me a second router (must support 'client mode')

pinkacidbootson · 19 Aug 2008 at 11:56

Going to be moving into my second year student house soon, and with 7 of us in the same house there will be a total of 7 laptops + 2 Xbox + PS3, all of which will want to be connected to the network.
I'm going to have 20mb or 10mb virgin media broadband installed, which comes with a free wireless router. I don't know how many wired/wireless devices this will support, but I'm sure for 10 devices in the house we will need another wireless router.
I just found this link http://compnetworking.about.com/od/routers/f/two_routers.htm which explains how to set up a second router on a home network, and apparently I need a router that supports 'client mode'.
Preferably a cheap one 'cos im a cheap student

bledd · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:03

buy a WRT54GL, and put tomato firmware on it.

FrenchTart · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:04

bledd. said:
buy a WRT54GL, and put tomato firmware on it.

Absolutely. Definitely the best choice.

pinkacidbootson · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:30

Looks perfect for me, how many wireless connections can it handle?

sidethink · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:18

Lots - and you can QoS every one of them if you can all sit down and agree a policy.

pinkacidbootson · 20 Aug 2008 at 02:53

I don't venture into the network section much, what's a QoS?

Caged · 20 Aug 2008 at 03:04

Quality of Service - you can set it up so that your webpages and gaming pings take priority over torrents and other downloads - so that nobody is treading on anyone else's toes.

I'd probably get the Buffalo router that can run Tomato, it's more compact and in my opinion looks nicer - seems to be a bit cheaper than the Linksys as well.

pinkacidbootson · 20 Aug 2008 at 03:42

How would I go about setting up a QoS?

pinkacidbootson · 20 Aug 2008 at 16:55

Also is there any point getting a wireless-N router right now instead of the Linksys just to futureproof?

csmager · 20 Aug 2008 at 19:44

You don't need a router, you want a switch to extend wired LAN ports or a wireless access point to extend wireless coverage if needed. 10 wireless clients would not be a problem, so you'd only need it for range extension.

Kemik · 20 Aug 2008 at 19:57

bledd. said:
buy a WRT54GL, and put tomato firmware on it.

Done that, hooked it up to my BT Home Hub, put the Linksys in router mode and nothing happened. No net connection at all. Works fine when I connect direct to the Home Hub but when I connect to the Linksys it won't find a connection.

csmager · 20 Aug 2008 at 20:05

Kemik said:
Done that, hooked it up to my BT Home Hub, put the Linksys in router mode and nothing happened. No net connection at all. Works fine when I connect direct to the Home Hub but when I connect to the Linksys it won't find a connection.

Definitely Home Hub -> WRT WAN port?

If it still doesn't work, probably better off buying an ADSL modem, unless you can set the HomeHub to give the Public IP to the WRT.

pinkacidbootson · 20 Aug 2008 at 20:44

Well it's a 3 storey 7 bedroomed house so we can't put wires everywhere, so do I need the Linksys router or a wireless range extender? What would be the difference?

tolien · 20 Aug 2008 at 21:29

Depends what the "free" wireless router from VM does. If it supports it, you could use WDS with a second router (which makes it a repeater, sort of).

You can't use a router in client mode to extend the wireless network, and to use it in AP mode you'd need to run a cable to it.

pinkacidbootson · 21 Aug 2008 at 01:44

AP mode?

tolien · 21 Aug 2008 at 10:23

The default, where clients can connect to it. It's working as a wireless AP...

pinkacidbootson · 1 Sep 2008 at 17:45

I think this is what I want...

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/images/3/3a/Standard_bridge_large.jpg

Just seen that in another thread.

In that setup, can both routers still be connected to wireless devices?
Also would it be possible to do the same thing but with an ethernet cable connecting the routers instead of a wireless link?

csmager · 1 Sep 2008 at 17:56

simon50 said:
In that setup, can both routers still be connected to wireless devices?

No, they're there as a wireless bridge.

Also would it be possible to do the same thing but with an ethernet cable connecting the routers instead of a wireless link?

Yes, as was suggested in this thread. As was also said, you don't need a router - you need a wireless access point.

pinkacidbootson · 1 Sep 2008 at 18:13

Let me explain more - my modem and router (Netgear WGR614) are both in my bedroom right now, and my PC and Xbox are connected to the router by ethernet cables, so I have no need for wireless with the current setup.
My 6 housemates all need wireless internet, but my room is in an extension on the house, so there's a thick wall between the router and the rest of the house, which is the main problem.
What I want to do is: either put a wireless range extender at the end of the corridor outside my room so everyone else gets a better signal,
or: run a cable from my router to a second wireless router (Linksys) that would be put somewhere central in the house, which would give them an even better signal.

Would the 2 router method I described work, and if so would it work with my current router and the Linksys.

csmager · 1 Sep 2008 at 18:15

simon50 said:
What I want to do is: either put a wireless range extender at the end of the corridor outside my room so everyone else gets a better signal,

That would work... provided the signal get there.

or: run a cable from my router to a second wireless router (Linksys) that would be put somewhere central in the house, which would give them an even better signal.

As we keep saying, you don't need a router for this. You need a wireless access point to do what you're describing.