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Nomad
10-24-2004, 04:21 PM
From some of the issues I'm having, I believe I have a problem in understanding the theory of operation of a wireless network.

Let's take a fairly typical situation. You want to set up a home network or SOHO operation. The way the premise is laid out, a single wireless router will not be able to handle all the wireless devices because of range/wall/floor issues. Further, lets assume you have been told that a new 8011G router would solve your problem (but naturally it doesn't) so you buy a new router. So now there is an extra router that is available to "extend" the wireless part of the SOHO application.

Since the equipment in the above example is Dlink, and if someone has specific solutions that fact should probably be known, the principles should be the same regardless of manufacturer.

Router one connects to the ISP via the WAN port, DHCP is enabled, if for no other reason than it is required by the ISP.

Router one handles all devices via the wireless LAN ports except for Router 2 and one desktop computer. Router 2 handles all of it's devices via the wireless LAN ports except for Router 1 and one desktop computer.

Both devices have to be able to handle roaming laptops through the wireless LAN ports, meaning a laptop may be connected to router one at one time and router two at another. It may begin using the radio signal from router one, and end up on router two at the end of the journey.

First question: Is this wishfull thinking?

Some have suggested that router two be connected vial LAN ports only as opposed to using the WAN port to connect to router 1. Disabling DHCP, and then use static IP addresses on router two. This is where my biggest theoritical problem comes in.

Doesn't router 1 have to assign an IP address to router 2 inorder for router 2 to be recognized by router 1? Can a router have three dynamic IP address' and one static address on its LAN ports? If you use a static IP addressing scheme, what happens with wireless roaming devices that need dynamic addressing to talk with router 1?

Second possible configuration, second router uses a LAN port from router 1 and WAN port on itself. This would seem to eliminate all the addressing problems. However, for whatever reason I have been unable to pass any traffic to the web under what seems to be the simple way to hook the equipment up. Probably because both routers are attempting to use the same default IP addressing. But how can one device be dynamic and the other static? The second router should be asking for an IP from the first, and then assigning it's own devices based on what it was given.

Anyone wanting to weigh in on how the two routers should be configured to work in this application and why? :confused:

wirelessoceans
10-25-2004, 12:07 AM
Nomad,

This is how I would set it up.

ISP into WAN on Router 1
Router 1 will be the network router.
DHCP enabled
Lets say IP the default gatway IP will be 192.168.5.1
DHCP range will start at 192.168.5.10 (no real reason...could be 192.168.5.whatever as long as its over .3)

Router 2 (will only be a simple AP)
Plug into lan port
should be assigined a static IP of 192.168.5.2
or not you, can let the DHCP router address it, but you will not be able to reconfigure without resetting becuase you wont know its IP address (thats why you should assign it a static IP)

Now set both AP's with the exact same SSID.

All wireless clients will be addressed by router 1 regarless if you are on router 1 or 2. Because 1 is the only true "router" in the network. 2 is only an AP

You will be able to roam between networks without having to reconfigure.....but not without a short delay. D-Link doesnt support seamless roaming so it will cut out fro about 10 sec while it reassociates.

Answers to questions

No
No
Yes
Router 1 will serve the IP address to the client
Static and Dynamic IPs are just ways for a router to send info to a destination. DHCP is easy to use becuase it allows any client access onto the network by giving the client the proper IP address for the network. If you turn off dhcp you have to know the IP address to get on to the network and send data. (This is an easy way to keep people off off your networks...just make sure you write the IP address down and put it somewhere safe;) )
A router can have static routes and still DHCP also, as long as DHCP is not in the same range as the statics so you dont cause an IP conflict.
It really not as complicated as it seems, just takes a good explanation...verbal becuase it needs Q&A.

Good Luck

murphyw
08-23-2005, 10:21 PM
hi, i have exactly the same setup, as memtioned in the above post.
1 linksys router connected to ISP, 1 levelone router (config as AP) connected to linksys router, both with same SSID, different channel (1 & 6).
though my laptop can roam between both routers, but my problem is, when laptop changed router (process of diconnecting from 1 router & associating to the other router is short & ok), it will lost the ability to connect to the internet (e.g. not able to ping to www.google.com) for a long time (1 min or more).
is there a solution to this problem?

Tanubis
08-24-2005, 03:10 PM
Just stumbled across this thread when attempting to answer a question of my own, and I was wondering if anyone here would know the answer.

I'm attempting to get an understanding of how to set up a larger WLAN, something that would cover a distance of perhaps 3km^2, involving roughly 15-25 access points. The idea is to provide low-speed wireless internet to the downtown core of my city.

What I'm attempting to do right now is just research the idea and discover if it's feasible or not.

Can the idea of setting up the routers on the same SSID be used to do this? I'd eventually like to be able to install more than one gateway and have the network check for the closest out to the internet, and if possible have it so that devices are connected ad-hoc to the network so each transient device could extend the range a little and take some load off of the main system.

wirelessoceans
08-28-2005, 10:35 AM
Tanibus,

What you are probably refering to is a mesh type network. There are a few out their that have worked for similar applications. Try and search for products from tropos, firetide, belaire, and the very popoular locust world. They are preconfigured with the feature set you described plus much more. Make sure to be sitting down when you get pricing.

Good luck