GaryP
join:2001-01-07
Cedar Rapids, IA | reply to Shootist
Re: Method for using a wireless router as AP A couple other things that are optional to consider, especially if you use logging on the wireless router acting as a access point:
1. Disable the WAN port entirely, or at least from acting as a DHCP client. How this is done will vary amongst manufactures, but if you don't and you are logging events from this device, you may see failed attempts on the router trying to get an IP address from an ISP on the WAN port (which of course won't work, because you're not using the WAN port). On the Buffalo WBR-G54, I changed the configuration to a hard-coded private address on a different subnet than my internal LAN.
2. If your wireless router can be configured to have the time set using NTP from a server over the Internet and you choose to do this, create a static route telling the NTP client in the router to use your existing wired router address as the route to the Internet for the NTP server. The NTP client in the router will most likely try to use the WAN port as the default gateway for this otherwise. Again, exactly how this is done will vary across manufactures, but hopefully most of them offer this capability.
Once again, both of these steps are optional but help polish off the installation if you wish to enable logging and want to have the time automatically set and accurate as well.
I agree that this is an excellent thread to have started. |
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ShootistPremium
join:2003-02-10
Decatur, GA
kudos:3 Reviews:
 ·AT&T Southeast
| As to your #1: Personally I do all my logging on my main router which if you have the wireless router setup as just a AP and switch everything goes through the main router anyway. No need to log anything on just the wireless side and most home router only log activity through the WAN port not from LAN port to LAN port. Now some might but I don't believe the typical home router, Linksys, D-Link, Netgear and such, do.
As to #2: You would have to use the WAN port on the wireless router to do any time configuring. To my knowledge the time feature will not look on a LAN port for a time server. My post is simply to use the wireless router as a AP with switch. NO router function at all. Using the WAN port on the wireless router starts a second LAN segment and this is not needed for the typical home LAN.
If you really want the the wireless router to preform all these types of functions then just make it the main router.
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Are You Ready--Stand By BEEP ******** |
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| reply to GaryP
GaryP, I hooked up an Dlink 624 as an AP and a Dlink 724 as my router (long story why). But I am experiencing exactly what you talked about and that is my 624 AP log is filled with 20 pages of failed attempts of the AP trying to get an IP address from the ISP on the WAN port (which of course it won't because I'm not using the WAN port).
I tried to assign a non existent (unused) static IP address and subnet to the AP WAN but after hitting the apply button the Dlink comes back and states "invalid address" and reverts back to Dynamic IP address mode.
So does anyone know how to assign a bogus static IP address to a D-Link DI-624 in AP mode so that it will accept it and stop looking to connect to an ISP thru the WAN port |
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| said by SoCal99:
GaryP, I hooked up an Dlink 624 as an AP and a Dlink 724 as my router (long story why). But I am experiencing exactly what you talked about and that is my 624 AP log is filled with 20 pages of failed attempts of the AP trying to get an IP address from the ISP on the WAN port (which of course it won't because I'm not using the WAN port).
I tried to assign a non existent (unused) static IP address and subnet to the AP WAN but after hitting the apply button the Dlink comes back and states "invalid address" and reverts back to Dynamic IP address mode.
So does anyone know how to assign a bogus static IP address to a D-Link DI-624 in AP mode so that it will accept it and stop looking to connect to an ISP thru the WAN port
As you know, the DI-624 has a number of log settings; System Activity, Debug Info, Attacks, Dropped Packets and Notice. We use all of our 624's as AP's and therefore don't use the WAN port. We disabled the Dropped Packets part of the log and don't have the problem you are experiencing. For that matter, you could disable whatever log functionality you find best for your environment.
On the WAN definition, we set up the configuration for static IP and an unused IP address. |
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| Lighthouse, as you know there is an issue with the 624 rebooting so I have System Activities logged (but nothing else) so I can see the reboots. But with this log on I see the "WAN IP address failing message" jamming the logs.
So the difference it that you have assigned a static IP addresses on your 624s and that is why you don't see the entries and it has nothing to do with Dropped Packets logs.
I see your post all over the forum and I can tell you're a smart guy but a lot of your post either state or imply "mine works so you must be doing something wrong"
which is not always the case (like WPA-PSK bug or the rescan after-bootup bug, both of which happen to some but not others).
In this case I agree with your inference that I must be doing something wrong, but the fact the you took the time to write "my works" (paraphrasing) is limited in it helpfulness.
Great it should work, you enter in a used IP address and subnet and hit apply and it should work. In fact, it worked fine when I did it on my 724p+ but when I do the same procedure on the 624 I get an error message...why?...what am I doing wrong? That's the kind of help from a kind, knowledgeable soul that I'm looking for. |
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| said by SoCal99:
Lighthouse, as you know there is an issue with the 624 rebooting so I have System Activities logged (but nothing else) so I can see the reboots. But with this log on I see the "WAN IP address failing message" jamming the logs.
So the difference it that you have assigned a static IP addresses on your 624s and that is why you don't see the entries and it has nothing to do with Dropped Packets logs.
I see your post all over the forum and I can tell you're a smart guy but a lot of your post either state or imply "mine works so you must be doing something wrong"
which is not always the case (like WPA-PSK bug or the rescan after-bootup bug, both of which happen to some but not others).
In this case I agree with your inference that I must be doing something wrong, but the fact the you took the time to write "my works" (paraphrasing) is limited in it helpfulness.
Great it should work, you enter in a used IP address and subnet and hit apply and it should work. In fact, it worked fine when I did it on my 724p+ but when I do the same procedure on the 624 I get an error message...why?...what am I doing wrong? That's the kind of help from a kind, knowledgeable soul that I'm looking for.
I really didn't mean to infer that you were doing something wrong and if you got that idea, I didn't articulate myself very well and I apologize.
We have 5 DI-624's running as AP's and I can only pass along what has been working for us. It is painfully aparent that using DI-624's for much of anything is the proverbial crap shoot at Vegas; what you see is what you get and it may not be repeatable or consistant.
All of our DI-624's are revision C1 units with the latest firmware. They are all connected from a LAN port on the 624 to a hub/switch and then to a ZyXel 10W router.
On the 624 configuration screens, we have the following:
WAN: Static IP address pointing to some unused IP address in the same subnet
LAN: A valid IP address and subnet mask (this must be a static IP)
DHCP: DHCP Server is disabled. Static DHCP is disabled
LOG: System Activity = enabled
Debug Information = enabled
Attacks = enabled
Dropped Packets = disabled
Notice = enabled
Aside from the random reboots, this configuration works for us on all five AP's. I can't see any reason it shouldn't work for you but given D-Links history on this device, anything is possible. Log entries are minimal with these setting and we do not show attempts to connect to the WAN port.
I hope this helps. |
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| reply to Lighthouse2
I hope this is not off topic. I have been using wireless routers as APs for about a year. The speed on the wireless side is about half of the wired side (325k/s v. 700k/s). Has anyone noticed this? If so, is there a solution to bring the wireless side up to the speed on the wired side? Thanks. |
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| I am a newie and was wondering if you can set up this configuration using two wireless routers? i.e. using the secondary router as a repeater to extend the range of my wireless network? Or can this only be done with a repeater? |
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 AnavSarcastic Llama? Naw, Just AcerbicPremium
join:2001-07-16
Dartmouth, NS
kudos:3 | Depends if the AP portion of the second wireless router was capable of a repeater mode. If the wifi router has a single radio then cut your throughput in half. Better to use a ethernet adaptor bridge into an AP or router for full throughput........
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Ain't nuthin but the blues! "Albert Collins". Leave your troubles at the door! "Pepe Peregil" De Sevilla. Just Don't Wifi without WPA, "Yul Brenner" |
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| Thanks for the info. I don't think either of my wireless routers have a repeater mode: SMC 7004VWBR and a Belkin F5D-6231-4.
So all I need to buy is an ethernet adaptor bridge (EAB)? Is this a wireless product?
Would it look like this? Where '----' is a wired connection and '~~~~' is a wireless connection (ignore the periods, spaces would not work to show the computer connected to the first router)?:
Internet----router/AP~~~~EAB----router/AP~~~~computer
..........................~~~~computer
thanks again. |
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| I been trying to find out kinda the same thing raiste is, if I set up two wireless routers with one described as above with dhcp off, and the change of the routers ip address. Can I set the second router not connected to the dsl and use that as a access point to connect multiple wired devices in? Using the diagram above
Internet---Router~~~~~~router-----Multiple wired computers.
Is there any downside to this and are there some routers that can't perform this function I was going to purchase a smc 2.4ghz 54mbps (SMC2804WBR) routers today if that would do what described above |
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| reply to Lighthouse2
Lighthouse, I got my system working correctly and I got busy so I didn't look back at this thread until just now. Thanks so much for taking the time to write in detail how your 5 systems are set up, I know that it will help others.
As far as the other stuff, when I wrote my very first post in this forum, I was having problems with WPA and fw version xx, my solution turned out to be fixed in a new fw version released from Dlink that day. When I saw someone else posting the exact same problem I had with WPA, I replied that the new FW fixed the problem for me.
You replied that you had the old version of fw and WPA enabled and it worked just fine and that "I must be doing something wrong."
Being that I had spent over 2 hours on the phone with Dlink and nothing worked but as soon as I installed the new firmware (viola) it worked perfectly, I knew that I wasn't doing anything wrong, but that it was some type of bug.
Anyway, that incident along with the reboot problems, I guess made me a little frustrated and a little defensive, sorry. As I said earlier you're a smart guy and your input to this forum is of great value.
Thanks again for all your help! |
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| SoCal99:
No problem. I'm glad you got everything working. I appreciate your comments. Thanks. |
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| reply to traice
I am not sure. If I had time I might try it out myself. But what little I know about the subject, I don't think it will work.
Hopefully, one of the gurus on here will tell us. |
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