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Actiontec GT701-WG as Access Point?

I'm taking a stab in the dark as I'm not 100% sure what an AP is.

The 701wg does not have a WAN input, so it can't be an AP.

^ Is that right, those who know more than I?

I think that depends on how the Ethernet port is addressed in firmware. Both input and output traffic can pass through the Ethernet port. The question is whether that includes WAN traffic as well as LAN traffic. But I'm aware of no technical reason why this couldn't be done.

A good case in point is the Linksys wireless cable modem that I'm using now (WCG200). Its only real WAN port is a single coax cable jack. Yet it functions fine as an access point: connect any one one of its Ethernet or USB LAN ports to a DSL modem and it will share that internet connection with wireless devices via wi-fi. Any LAN port will essentially function as a WAN port, for example, by acting as either a DHCP client or server.

So I was trying to find out whether anyone had ever been able to configure the Actiontec to work this way. I wouldn't be surprised if no one has, but it can't hurt to ask.

The Actiontec Gt-701wg can work as an access point. You only need a WAN port if you are trying to use the router functionality. The ethernet port and the wireless are bridged together on the local side of the router, so you should have no trouble using it as a wireless access point. However, the wireless functionality in the Actiontec is not the best. It is not compatible with some wireless devices/cards, and the range seems to be less than many other wireless AP's and/or routers.

But, if it does work with your devices and you don't need an extended range then it should work fine.

I still have to disagree. I could be totally wrong, but there is no input circuitry in the actiontec. Meaning network input. It gets it's DSL via phone line, does PPPOA authentication via the modem portion, then directly enters the router section. As written in firmware, my question would be; how will the wireless section of the actiontec, talk back to the NON wireless actiontec he is using as his dsl broadband connection? There's no input into the wg. So, has does he connect it. The output of the non wireless is ethernet or usb. Anyway, I just don't see it. Then again, there's a lot of things I don't see. Definitely interesting if possible. later... Mike....

reply to msj
Well, I've been fiddling with it, and I can't seem to get it to work yet. My setup is:

DSL modem (which does PPPoA authentication) -> router (in modem's DMZ) -> switch -> several wired computers + wireless access point -> laptop computer.

When I tried to use the Actiontec as an access point, I couldn't get it to take an IP address from the router. I could give it a static IP address in the router's LAN subnet, but the router couldn't ping it (nor could any of the computers see it). I tried all the combinations I could think of regarding the Actiontec's WAN and LAN configuration. I did see some entries in the router logs blocking my laptop (and in one instance, the Actiontec) on account of the packet being from the wrong interface. The router thought it was being spoofed. But I couldn't seem to get through the Actiontec in either direction, much less reach the internet through it.

So Mike, you may be right on this one, although I haven't yet given up.

Edit: Oops, I take it back. I guess I hadn't tried all the combinations after all. In any event, I am now reaching the internet via the Actiontec. I'll see how it compares, but so far, I have not found the range or compatibility to be a problem.

Actiontec makes a 'wireless access point' device (model HWS0543001) and a wireless cable/DSL router (model GT704WR).

If all the devices are AR7 based, there is a chance the firmware amongst them might be interchangeable. I was able to run GT701WG firmware on the GT704WG, but not perfectly. I'd guess there is a good chance that the GT704WR firmware would run on the GT704WG, but for the others it would be much more of a longshot.

GT701WG's in good condition are fetching $30-45 on eBay these days. And I've seen Actiontec HWS0543001 'wireless access point' boxes on eBay for under $30 (they are only $60 new). So, if you have your heart set on an Actiontec WAP, you probably can sell your gt701wg, buy a HWS0543001, and pocket some change.

reply to christcorp

OK, this is sounding really cool. So, in reality, the actiontec gt701-wg can in fact become a wireless ethernet bridge? I definitely understand how it would be necessary to turn off DHCP, and possibly even NAT in the actiontec. Do you then just set a static IP for the device plugged into the LAN of the actiontec WG to be received by the Host wireless?

There are definitely some possibilities here. Maybe when I have time I will see about trying this out. I'll keep watch of caseydoug's progress. I have used linksys wrt54gs with DDWRT as a gateway. Just never saw the firmware capability in the actiontec. Still don't see it in my head, but if it's working, then that's all that matters. Definitely some cool stuff. Later... Mike...

Yes, it's working fine Mike. In fact I have now disconnected the other access point. Turning off DHCP was one of the first things I did. Msj is correct that the WAN side is not involved; it perpetually and unsuccessfully tries to connect to a DSL provider, but it doesn't appear to affect the LAN ports. The LAN ports act like they are on a single switch, except that I did have to assign the Actiontec an IP address on the router's LAN subnet.

Msj's comment about the Actiontec not trying to get an IP address on the local side brings up an interesting comparison. My Linksys WCG200 works as an access point only when I assign an IP address on the LAN side AND allow it to get its IP address from my router on the WAN side. Note that it gets that IP address from my router not through its cable port (which is where you would expect the WAN interface to be), but through an Ethernet port. It appears that the Ethernet port on the WCG200 can operate as both a WAN connection and a LAN connection. I don't know why it needs an IP address on its WAN side in order to function, but it does. Possibly this relates to the way cable internet operates as opposed to DSL. For the cable modem, the choice is either static or dynamic IP addressing, whereas DSL has various flavors of PPP. In any event, setting a static WAN address won't work. It needs to get a WAN address through DHCP; it needs to get that address from my router; and it is connected to my router via Ethernet. Unless these conditions are met, I can't reach the internet through this device (although I can reach other devices on my network).

As for the Actiontec, the reason it took me so long to set it up was that I had a physical cable problem. I tried the correct configuration early on, but I didn't realize that there was a problem with the Ethernet jack I was using. For comfort, I moved to a different room, and continued trying different configurations. After seeing msj's post last night, I tried the correct configuration again, this time using a different jack, and voila, it worked.

Thanks, all, for helping me work through this.

reply to christcorp

If you don't mind, let me paraphrase what I believe to be the procedures, and tell be if that is correct. Pretending this is a scenario that someone may have.

1. Main network up and running. i.e. DSL modem to wireless router. Wireless portion turned on. Physical 4 port switch in router connected to local computers. (Normal Setup for many people).

2. Have a computer that has no wireless capabilities in another room. Extending a cat-5 cable to that room is not practical.

3. Connect this computer to the lan output of the Spare GT701-WG you have sitting around. Set the computer to a static IP, gateway, etc... of the subnet of the main working wireless router from step (1).

4. Set the spare GT701-WG to wireless on, and set it's WAN section also to a static IP address of the subnet of the main working wireless router from step (1).

5. Turn OFF DHCP in the spare GT701-WG.

6. Stir Briskly and add flavoring as desired. Drink and enjoy.

Does this sound right, or am I missing what the OP was trying to do? Thx... Mike...

Mike, as msj said, you don't want to set the WAN side up with a static IP in the router's subnet. If I remember correctly, this actually caused problems, I think because of conflicts (my router was rejecting packets because they were from the wrong interface). While I didn't try all combinations, I suspect you could give the WAN side of the Actiontec a dummy IP address, or set it to get its address through DHCP. It doesn't matter. The WAN side just sits there and the status reports that it is "connecting . . ." but it never does. It's looking for DSL input which never comes.

I don't know whether you should keep NAT on: it may be necessary to communicate with the Actiontec, but probably not.

The scenario you described requires the Actiontec's wireless interface to connect to the router's wireless interface. I don't know why that wouldn't work, but I haven't tried it. As msj said, I have the Actiontec connected to my network via Ethernet. I didn't use this device as my dsl modem because my router, switch, and wiring all comes into the basement where the reception is not as good. I put this Actiontec upstairs to get better coverage, and used a second (non-wireless) Actiontec to connect to Qwest.

Msj, is it correct to say that the LAN side of the Actiontec simply functions as a switch, connecting the Ethernet, wireless, and USB ports? Can you think of why my wireless cable modem, when used in a similar way, requires its WAN port to obtain an IP address from my router in order to pass traffic from my laptop to the internet? If the cable modem were functioning as a simple switch, that wouldn't be necessary. Perhaps it's a firewall issue?

I have a question about the electrical behavior of this Actiontec, slightly OT, that baffles me. As I mentioned, I have Ethernet jacks distributed around the house, terminating at a 16 port switch in my basement. When I connected the Actiontec to two different jacks on the second floor, it required a crossover cable for the status light to go on. When I connected to a jack on the first floor, a straight through cable worked fine (I didn't try a crossover cable on that jack). I tested the jacks, and they are all wired the same. I tested the cables and tried other equipment on the jacks, and everything is normal.

What could cause the Actiontec to behave this way? The only thing I could think of is that the signal to the upstairs jack is weaker or noisier, but even that wouldn't explain why the crossover cable works upstairs. I suppose that if the quality of the signal is affected by both the distance traveled and whether a crossover is required, and if the Actiontec's Ethernet port is autosensing, you might get this result. But it's just weird.

I could start a new topic on this question, but everything's working OK, and I'm mostly just curious.

Depending on the switch, do all ports have auto-sensing ports?

Back to the original subject, I'm wondering if setting the WAN side of the GT701-wg, for my purposes, to transparent bridge mode would be better? If the lan port is still active, which it must be even in transparent bridge mode, then based on the posts here, the wireless should also be active. Transparent bridge mode would disable and bypass all router and modem functions. Basically leaving a single port ethernet, a USB, and the wireless acting as a 3 port switch. Things that make you go hmmmmmm? Later... Mike....

Regarding transparent bridge mode, it doesn't matter. I tried it, and it works fine. But so long as DHCP is turned off, the other modes work fine too.

On the other topic, when I said auto-sensing, I was referring to the Actiontec's Ethernet port. However, your point is well taken. The ports on my switch, a Netgear FS-116, are all auto-sensing. I suppose the auto-sensing feature could be somehow defective on the two upstairs ports I tried. That would also cause the behavior I saw.

Mike, I tried to set up a configuration somewhat like the one you described, but I couldn't make it work. I turned off the radio in my laptop, then connected via Ethernet to my wireless cable modem, leaving the Actiontec on and connected by wire to my router. I could connect to the cable modem, but I couldn't get through it to anything else on my network.

I understand that your desired configuration is different. You essentially want to use the Actiontec as a wireless Ethernet card. I'm not too confident that would work either. Of course, the simpler thing would be to go out and buy a cheap wireless card -- even a USB card -- for the computer in the far room. But that would deprive you of the opportunity to tinker with the Actiontec. :>)