Networking → AP and Router setup

I have 2 ZyXEL MWR102 routers setup. The first is in AP (client bridge) with an ip of 192.168.2.1 and the 2nd is setup as a router with an ip of 192.168.3.1 ...

I am using this so I can connect to a hotel wifi with the AP (client bridge) and then create my own network so I can use my chromecast and use all my devices while the hotel only sees 1 mac address. Right now I have to connect to the wireless router, change the WAN Access type as Static and route it to the AP (client bridge), then I can log into the AP client and use site survey to get it to connect to the wireless. Then I have to switch back to DHCP client to get it to connect to the internet. Is there a way to set it up so I can always access the AP client from the router without changing the WAN settings?

To be precise, the client bridge is not an AP, it’s a wireless client. The APs in this configuration are the hotel’s and your wireless router.

I hope you didn’t buy two of these Zyxel’s just for this purpose because it would have been a lot easier to use one dd-wrt compatible travel router and configure it for “repeater” (unbridged), aka WISP (wireless ISP) router. And you wouldn’t be having this problem. Having to deal w/ one of these w/ travel routers is bad enough. As a bonus, you could secure your traffic w/ the dd-wrt VPN client (PPTP/OpenVPN) running as your gateway. Now all your devices are safe from local eavesdropping, even those that don’t support a VPN natively.

Or if you buy two devices, buy one that supports “client” (unbridged) mode, and configure the second router as just a wireless AP. It’s functionally equivalent to the dd-wrt router config above except using two routers instead of one.

But unfortunately you chose the worst case; a client bridge + router. That’s fine for a fixed setup where changes are infrequent, but where you need portability, it’s a hassle.

Anyway, what I would do is keep the client bridge on the same network as your router (192.168.3.x). When you need to configure it, just connect it to the LAN port of the router. It’s just another device on the LAN (note, I realize the router only has a single LAN port, but I’m assuming you intend to use its wireless AP anyway, leaving it available). Now connect it to the hotel’s wifi. Finally, connect the client bridge’s LAN port to the router’s WAN. The only downside is that the client bridge is now inaccessible until you return it to the LAN side of the router. But moving it from LAN to WAN and LAN again is a lot easier than reconfiguring the devices all the time.

Does the Zyxel support IP alias? If so, just give the router's WAN an IP alias of 192.168.2.2. You may have to set up source NAT or give the bridge a default gateway to get it to talk back to you.

Another option is to change the bridge's IP address to be on the hotel's network (and the router's WAN). Of course this exposes the bridge's interface to the other hosts on the network, so this is less desirable and totally out of the question if you can't make the client reasonably secure to drive-by attacks.

Yet another option, if the Zyxel supports wireless client mode, is to use that. This mode makes it into a router with the wireless interface being the WAN. It get's its wireless dhcp lease from the hotel, and you enable the dhcp server on the LAN (wired ports). The second router gets its lease from the first and it able to communicate with it, as well as the internet.

Wouldn't a DDWRT compatible travel router require a second radio?

While having two radios (one for the wireless client, the other the wireless AP) would be preferred, it's not strictly necessary. The one radio can toggle between both roles. That's why repeating is supported on virtually every dd-wrt router, regardless of radio count. Even most consumer-grade repeaters use one radio. While there is some loss of efficiency compared to two radios, it shouldn't be very noticeable given the already limited bandwidth provided by the ISP. And given the scenario you described, I certainly wouldn't opt for using two routers/radios. But for home use, where things change very little and where you can gain performance benefits for local traffic too? Yeah, creating your own wireless repeater (which is what you're doing) makes much more sense.

The reason I wanted to go with the 2 travel router setup is because I can easily just plug the router into an Ethernet cord (if the hotel has one) and use the wired connection for the router, without the client bridge. I also wanted a low power solution (these are powered by less than 500 mAmps @ 5 volts... standard usb).

All I’m saying is that most ppl would find it a hassle. You could take that same dd-wrt router (which doesn’t use all that much power either, and its only ONE device, not two like yours) and reconfigure it as a client bridge. Save both configs and restore whichever one was appropriate for the situation. Only difference is you’re managing this “physically” by juggling two routers, while I’m suggesting it can all be done through one device w/ software reconfiguration.

FWIW, I personally use an ASUS WL-330gE Wireless G travel router w/dd-wrt for these same purposes ( »www.asus.com/Networking/WL330gE/ ). Your choice, AC or USB powered.

In the end, there is no “right” answer. It’s whatever works for YOU. I’m merely suggesting there are other options.

Thanks for the help.. Already spent the 40 bucks on both routers and have everything working so will stick with this method.