Windstream → Instructions to setup Bridge Mode on F@ST 1704

I would like to use this to connect a few devices into the living room directly to another router using bridge mode. Are there any instructions on how to do this?

I had a WRT54G2 with DD-WRT doing this, but that router is no longer in service and I need to use this 1704.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry this is a little unclear to me. Are you trying to bridge two wireless access points together? Or use one wireless access point to be a client of another access point? Or just put your 1704 in bridge mode to deactivate its routing functionality so you can use your own 3rd party router?

JINXR-
Could you please elaborate on what you are trying to accomplish?

Thank you,

Aaron
Specialist II

I was with Windstream for a year or so and had DSL. I just moved to an area where I don't get Windstream DSL anymore, which sucks because I really liked it compared to cable internet I had before.

When I had it, I flashed DD-WRT onto my old Linksys WRT54G2 in order to use it as a bridge and used the F@ST 1704 as the wireless access point. This allowed me to connect my Dish Networks receiver since it only has an ethernet port. I also connected my PS3 using the ethernet port since it gave me a LOT faster speeds and better stability. This setup worked great!

Anyhow, when I cancelled my service they told me to keep the F@ST 1704 DSL Router. Now I'm back to having cable internet and had to revert my WRT54G2 back to a normal router. But I'd like to use the 1704 as a bridge in order to connect my Dish receiver and PS3 back up.

I saw bridge mode in the settings and I enabled it, but nothing happened.

I just had an idea while typing this. Is it possible to use one of the 4 outputs on the 1704 as an input? That would let me attach it to my cable modem and let me keep the same exact setup I had at my last house.

To my knowledge it is not possible to use a output as an input. If I am understanding what you are trying to do correctly there are a few problems with your plan.
1. I can not picture a way to connect the 1704 to a cable modem.
Typically cable modems do not authenticate with a un/pw. They are plug and play, simple DHCP.
2. If you bridge the 1704 the wireless will not work. You are essentially making it a dumb switch.
3. Now that your Linksys is reverted to a normal router again why don't you just plug it into the cable modem and eliminate potential problems by using only the Linksys?

If I am not understanding correctly please let me know. I am having a hard time picturing what you are trying to do.

Aaron
Specialist II

Since this is not strictly a Windstream question, the mods may move this thread to one of the hardware support forums.

I think there may be a mixture of terms here. When you are talking about bridging an DSL modem, you are removing all the routing capabilities and it only serves the purpose of bridging the ATM network of your DSL line to the Ethernet inside your house. With this setup you would need a 3rd party NAT router (your Linksys, etc) set up with PPPoE authentication to the DSL network in order to hook multiple devices to the Internet. Another type of bridging would be if you wanted to bridge two Wireless access points to each other in order to have a bunch of wired devices on one end (your living room) wirelessly connect to an access point connected directly to your Internet service. To avoid running CAT5 all over the house. DD-WRT can be configured this way, as a client to another access point, allowing directly connected wired devices to reach the Internet, if you have another access point hooked up to the cable modem.

While you could technically hook your cable modem up to one of the 4 switch ports on the 1704, take the 1704 out of bridge mode, and enable the wireless, and hook other wired devices up to the remaining switch ports (in this config you are simply using your 1704 as a basic network switch), you will find that the vast majority of cable ISPs will not allow this configuration. They usually only allow one active device behind the cable modem to be registered on the network. When you hook everything up to the switch, what happens is that all devices would be trying to get IP addresses directly from the Cable Network, and the ISP will only assign one. Only the first device connected would probably get an Internet connection.

You need to hook a NAT router (your Linksys would work fine for this) up to the cable modem, with the WAN configured as DHCP and then hook all your internal devices to the router. This way the cable network only sees one device (the router), and assigns it a public IP address. All your PCs and game consoles will get private IP addresses from your router.

I hope all this made sense, it is a lot of words. But I can make a diagram if needed.

This is what I am trying to accomplish. As I understand it, you can use a router in "wireless bridge mode" to make a wireless link. I was hoping I could do this with the F@ST 1704 in order to save me from having to buy a new router.

OK that helps a lot to understand what you want. Some people do refer to this wireless bridge mode, but I think a more accurate description is putting the WAP in client mode, since it acts as a client to your Linksys. The bridge part takes place where you are bridging the Ethernet portion where the Dish and PS3 are connected with the 802.11 wireless. Not the part where the 1704 and Linksys are connecting to each other. I have done this config and it works well.

Having said that, and after looking through the 1704 config, I don't think it supports wireless client mode.. but it does support Wireless Distribution System mode. I can't guarantee this will work, I have never done this config. You would have to put both 1704 and Linksys in WDS mode, but I am not entirely sure how this affects your normal WiFi access like from a laptop or a smart phone.

Thank you for the assist BlueArcher.

Aaron
Specialist II

Well at least I tried. Thanks for the help. Looks like I'll just buy another router.

I want to do the same thing except switch the position of the 1704 and the other router in the diagram. The 1704 will remain in the house with a PC connected with cat5 and a laptop connected with wifi to it. There's also a blueray player on wifi to the 1704 for netflix purposes. I want to use one of my spare routers out in the shop behind the house as an access point to connect my HP 8000 printer and 2 or 3 PCs also in the shop to the internet. Would those PCs be required to use cat5 or could the router/access point in the shop also be used to extend the range of the wifi and let me connect my laptop which is out of range of the 1704 (It's in an RV in back of the shop.) The printer requires a cat5 connection but the PCs and laptop all have wifi ability. I hope that makes sense.