Hey, it’s pre-dawn on a Sunday morning! Let’s talk wireless networking, shall we?
One of the revelations from my the Florida trip is that wi-fi (even 802.11g) is a little too slow for my liking. For those of you that have got the itch though, let me make one suggestion: Buy a wireless access point versus a wireless router.
Why? A wireless access point does nothing on the network but talk to your little wi-fi devices. It plugs straight into your existing router. A wireless router is intended to replace your Ethernet router – meaning all your Ethernet traffic would be directed through the wireless unit while it is busy sending out little 54mHz signals. While well intentioned, the wireless router seems to slow down traffic on the Ethernet to about half. For those of you accustomed to 100Mbps, it’s a crawl.
Already bought a wireless router? Well all hope is not lost.
Linksys, in it’s product documentation and support docs, says that connecting a wireless router to an Ethernet router “can potentially cause unforeseen problems” during the troubleshooting process.
Let’s set the record straight – If your Ethernet network is already working properly, there is no reason you can’t expand it by adding a wireless router. That being said, everyone is agreed that if you’re going to add wireless networking, it is recommended that you do so by adding a Linksys wireless access point (WAP54g) instead of a wireless router.
How to connect a Linksys Wireless router to a regular Ethernet Linksys router
Take a straight through Ethernet cable and connect it to a regular port on your main router, and plug the other end into the Uplink port on your Wireless Router (If your wireless router does not have an uplink port, try a regular port). After you connect the two, you should get a Link LED on the port that you plugged the wireless router into on the main router. For example, if you connected the wireless router to port 2 on the main router, then you should get a “Link” LED on the number 2 Column.
CONFIGURE
- With the router powered up, hold in the Reset button located on the front or back of the unit for about 1 minute. On some units you may need a paperclip to hold in the reset.
- Connect one computer (It does not matter which one) into one of the numbered ports on the back of your Wireless router (Or into the LAN port on some wireless routers), then start the computer.
- After connecting that computer, verify that you’re getting a Link LED that corresponds to the port which you plugged the computer into (I.E. if the computer was plugged into port 2, then the “Link/Act” LED on the front of the router for the number 2 column should be illuminated).
- When the computer finishes its boot up, open Internet Explorer, or your web browser of choice. After your web browser opens, type in http://192.168.1.1 into the “Address” bar.
- You’ll be prompted for a “User Name” and “Password”, leave the “User Name” blank, and type in admin as the password, then click OK.
- The “Setup” page should load, after it does, click onto the DHCP tab. When the “DHCP” area loads, you’re going to want to click the option to Disable under the “DHCP Server” area. After you set the option to “Disable” click the Apply button, then Continue if you’re prompted. (screenshot)
- Click onto the Setup tab. Once the “Setup” page loads, you’ll need to change the LAN IP Address to correspond with the other routers IP subnet. For example, if your other router is set to 192.168.1.1, then you’ll need to set the wireless router to an IP Address of 192.168.1.254. After you make the change click the Apply button. After you hit Apply, you’ll be able to access the Wireless router via the IP address you just assigned it, so if you assigned it 192.168.1.254, then you would need to type in 192.168.1.254 into your browser to access it’s setup. (screenshot)
Directions originally posted here – all credit to original author team.
I’ve only messed with wireless in a larger environment, where public IP’s were available, but that’s the real problem, me thinks.
A lot of different brands of routers, especially those from the same company like Linksys, tend to use the same default IP for administration and DHCP NAT. This is why those, “unforeseen problems” arise.
On your computer, if you’re on a LAN, and your IP is already in use somewhere else, your computer will let you know (especially in WindowsXP). The routers have no such advocate on their behalf. They just sit there and not work.
So then, I think that if you want to use a wired router, and then run a wireless router off of it as well, the best thing to do is make sure at least one of them has a configurable default IP and a configurable DHCP table range. In so doing, you can assure that your two routers will not attempt to use the same NAT IP at any time. Just my (really long) thoughts. =)
Um. Ok, I’m a moron. I just realized that everything I said is what you said in your post, Kevin. Feel free to delete that, heh. I’m going to go sit in a corner so I don’t cause any more problems today.
What access point do you recommend I buy?
From my experience, Linksys really does make the best networking products. We’ve got six or seven total running on a couple of networks.
what do i use for an IP if the main router is 192.168.0.129 with netmask 255.255.255.128 ?
i am confused by what step 7 is doing. is 192.168.1.254 just another number other than 192.168.1.1 so the 2 IP’s are not identical, or does it have to be 192.168.1.254 because of netmasks and powers of two that calculate it out. if the number 254 is calculated, what are the rules. thanks.
what do i use for an IP if the main router is 192.168.0.129 with netmask 255.255.255.128 ?
i am confused by what step 7 is doing. is 192.168.1.254 just another number other than 192.168.1.1 so the 2 IP’s are not identical, or does it have to be 192.168.1.254 because of netmasks and powers of two that calculate it out. if the number 254 is calculated, what are the rules. thanks.
what do i use for an IP if the main router is 192.168.0.129 with netmask 255.255.255.128 ?
i am confused by what step 7 is doing. is 192.168.1.254 just another number other than 192.168.1.1 so the 2 IP’s are not identical, or does it have to be 192.168.1.254 because of netmasks and powers of two that calculate it out. if the number 254 is calculated, what are the rules. thanks.
what do i use for an IP if the main router is 192.168.0.129 with netmask 255.255.255.128 ?
i am confused by what step 7 is doing. is 192.168.1.254 just another number other than 192.168.1.1 so the 2 IP’s are not identical, or does it have to be 192.168.1.254 because of netmasks and powers of two that calculate it out. if the number 254 is calculated, what are the rules. thanks.
Would a Wireless router (WRT54G) give any better security? I already have a Firewall, so would playing with restricting Mac addresses or IP address access improve my security from the internet? My Firewall is a Linksys WEFSX41.
Thanks in advance.
I have recently purchaed a WAP54g wireless router. I am using a WPC54g wireless PC card. I had it configured and working for a friend of mine. When I left, her daughter changed the password, and now I am not getting a signal. When I open the configuration screen, I get the message “No connection to AP”. I understand that the card is not finding the access point, but what changes could have been made to cause this? What can I do to fix it? Any help would be great.
Thanks,
-B
I am moving to home wireless for first time.
I have a linksys wireless router and 2 B wireless network card (will be used in laptops)
Do you have directions?
I am moving to home wireless for first time.
I have a linksys wireless router and 2 B wireless network card (will be used in laptops)
Do you have directions?