Linksys WRT54G-

[JUC]

Hi all, just moved to a new place and unfortunately i can't do wired right now.

I have a comcast router and a wrt54G wired to that to dispense wireless throughout my house. Server is wired to the wrt54G

Can i just buy another wrt54G and set that up as a "bridge" to the wrt54G i have connected to the modem/server? i've seen the threads, i'm just looking for confirmation.

Alternatively, what would be my cheapest option to get the mvp working wirelessly connected to the above setup?
Thanks
Juc

[mike1961]

I believe all routers do have the intelligence to be set up as a bridge but it might be easier to consider a wireless access point instead of a router if you are trying to strengthen your signal. Also, go into the routers Advanced settings, there is usually a wireless strength setting as well. Finally, for around $10-$20 you can often get a stronger antenna and can consider a directional antennal. But, I can't see why you can't just run a hard wire.

Mike

[doc]

There is a different firmware that can turn it into one, though it would probably void the warranty as its not written by linksys.

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials...le.php/3639271

The link above shows some details on it. Newer firmware may have this option built in, but it would be best to check with linksys first.

Some of the newer netgear DG834G's have the bridge option built into the firmware now, though I've never tried it myself.

[Polypro]

If your router version supports it, DD-WRT is the way to go. I upped the transmit power to a still mild 50mW and get great reception throughout the house. The router is in the basement. Better antennas on everything (make a free one) help as well.

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/

P

[mdnttoker]

Originally Posted by Polypro

If your router version supports it, DD-WRT is the way to go. I upped the transmit power to a still mild 50mW and get great reception throughout the house. The router is in the basement. Better antennas on everything (make a free one) help as well.

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/

P

Yeah, I use DD-WRT - very easy to set up a wireless bridge using that.

Tomato firmware is also very nice:
http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

[lovingHDTV]

I prefer the Tomato firmware to DD-WRT as it is lighter and QOS works without a hitch. I have done exactly what you are talking about with my two WRT54GS routers.

http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

But to each his own

EDIT: how did that post sneak in before mine DITTO from above.

[JUC]

thanks for the replies.

Would going the dual wrt54g's be the cheapest. Any plug and play solutions, like one of the wireless game adapters? would i just be able to plug that in and it would automatically find my network? i'm not concerned with signal strength.

thanks
juc

[KKnox]

I bought a WRT54G wireless router last summer but it's v9 and doesn't work with these alternative firmwares. I use a Linksys WET54 (not cheap!, ~$80) wireless bridge to connect to the MVP. The router is upstairs from the bridge and signal strength is not a problem. It's usually 100%, but even at 85-90%, I've never had any problems. However, when I first set it up this way, the MVP got stuck on "Loading Application ..." for over 24 hours. It worked when I ran a 100 ft cat5 cable down the stairs to initially boot the MVP. I could then switch to the bridge and it worked fine, but the UI was a little slow. I had to temporarily run the 100 ft cable whenever the power went out.

After I switched both the server and bridge to static IP addresses, things improved and I would only get stuck on "Loading Application ..." for about 1 hour. The responsiveness of the UI also improved. When I switched to running Sage as a service, both of these improved again. When booting the MVP, "Loading Application ..." takes about 5-10 minutes and the UI is quite fast now. I also bought a small UPS for the MVP to avoid power losses. I haven't had to pull out the 100 ft cable for months.

[CollinR]

Is it possible to have the server and MVP on the same wired switch?

The issues will come from MVP>Server not from Server>Internet. Being the case having the server near the MVP would allow a USB wifi adapter which is cheap. Really though the WRT54G is so cheap now it would be hard to get something cheaper.

[JUC]

so i ended up getting a second wrt54g and loaded up the dd-wrt firmware. I can access that firmware and get to the routers new setting menus. Couple of questions:

I have my main router setup using 192.168.1.1

Do i need to setup my "bridged router" for a different ip? Like 192.168.1.2?

Other than that, and making sure wireless client bridge mode is selected in the firmware, is there anything else i would need to do?

Should i also be able to plug this into my laptop, turn off my laptops wireless and connect to my network/internet that way as well (for testing purposes)?

Thanks,
Josh

[mdnttoker]

Originally Posted by JUC

so i ended up getting a second wrt54g and loaded up the dd-wrt firmware. I can access that firmware and get to the routers new setting menus. Couple of questions:

I have my main router setup using 192.168.1.1

Do i need to setup my "bridged router" for a different ip? Like 192.168.1.2?

Other than that, and making sure wireless client bridge mode is selected in the firmware, is there anything else i would need to do?

Should i also be able to plug this into my laptop, turn off my laptops wireless and connect to my network/internet that way as well (for testing purposes)?

Thanks,
Josh

Here's a good intro on it:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_Bridge

Setting wireless bridge mode is all you 'need' to do...unless you want to fool around

You would be able to plug in your laptop's wired ethernet and connect to the internet via the wireless bridge. (it is NOT a wireless range extender, you can not use the 2nd wrt54g to expand your wireless network).

[taylormadearmy]

I use wrt-dd too. Works very reliably. My current hardware of choice to run it on is the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 - as it has a high power transmitter so its range is great and it is also really cheap.

I have also recently tried a couple of the Homeplug powerline 200 meg jobbies - and I must say I am really impressed. If you want something that really is plug and play and has good throughput you cant beat them.

T

[mckinsey]

don't go cheap. 60 bucks for a linksys from newegg, load the tomato firmware, then bump the power up.

[JUC]

thanks all. I've got everything "setup" but am having problems. I guess I am confused as to what to set my bridged router's IP to.

Configuration: Main Router- ip is 192.168.1.1

Bridged Router - is 192.168.1.2 (am i supposed to set this up as a different IP as the Main router or the same??)

I have the DD-WRT firmware loaded on the bridged router and enabled client bridge in the settings. Disabled all firewalls for testing purposes.

I am trying to use my laptop to test but cannot get an internet connection or ping the main router. What should I have my laptops ip set to? If i let it choose automatically, for some reason it will come up as a limited connection.

Any thoughts? I figure i should make sure i can access my network on my laptop before i start working on the MVP.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!!

Juc

[Menehune]

Each device in the network needs a unique IP address.

I haven't used DD-WRT or setup bridging myself, but I think you set the bridge router to connect to the main router's IP and DNS settings.

Set the gateway and DNS on the "bridge" to the "master's" IP setting (192.168.0.1).
If you enabled MAC filtering, did you add the other router to the list?

The DD-WRT wiki has a bridging page which goes into details.

[taylormadearmy]

Originally Posted by JUC

Configuration: Main Router- ip is 192.168.1.1

Bridged Router - is 192.168.1.2 (am i supposed to set this up as a different IP as the Main router or the same??)
Juc

Yup - they should have different IPs. Make sure for gateway and DNS setting on the bridge you put in the IP of the main router.

Also - it may be worth first getting it working with any wireless encryption disabled (though obvioulsy get this turned on again as soon as possible).

Good luck!
T

[unkyjoe]

Linksys makes a specfic router that is made to install other party firmware.

It is the W54 series with the L extention on it.

Linksys released the WRT54GL in 2005 to support third-party firmware based on Linux

You can find it online at Neweggg etc.

The model # may have changed in this time but I know it is still avail.

Hope this helps.

P.S I just verified this unit is still available at newegg.

[JUC]

Thanks all. Still working on it but i know i didn't add in the DNS settings from the main router to the bridged router. I'll try that later tonight..

Juc

[mdnttoker]

Actually, if I recall correctly, the easiest way to create a bridge using DD-WRT was to log in to the 2nd router, do a wireless "area scan" to find your main network, then click the "join this network" option to automagically create a wireless bridge.

As noted above, you should disable security on the main router until you get everything working.

FYI: I never had to do anything with DNS or gateway entries on either router...

[JUC]

Thanks. I am making headway but not there yet. I was able to find the 'scan area networks' and connect that way. I can not ping my main router properly however i still cannot surf the internet. For the heck of it i tried connecting this to the mvp but it just gave me searching for DHCP and then went to the mediamvp boot screen.

Any thoughts as to why i can ping my main router but not get on the internet? i may just try to reset the router and start over with ww-drt and do the scan area first and see what happens.
thanks
juc