2 WRT54G’s connected wirelessly, HOW?

[JBL312]

Hello,

I have purchased two Linksys WRT54G Wireless routers with the intentions of using one as a router and the other as an access point. I am starting to think that I made this purchase foolishly thinking that the two routers would be able to communicate wirelessly.

I went into this thinking that it is a wireless device. It sends and receives wireless communications with other devices. I had no reason to think that it would not work properly connecting to another router, the way that I wanted it to.

I need the routers to communicate wirelessly. I have a wiring closet where all communications enter my condo. From here I am going to have one of the routers connected to my cable modem and in my office upstairs I want to have the second router acting as an access point.

My question is how can I configure two Linksys WRT54G wireless routers, to communicate wirelessly with each other? This has got to be possible; I can disable most of the router functionality on the device. And after all it is just another wireless device.

I thank you for any help that you can supply me with,

Ryan W.

PS: This is all because the Linksys WRT45G was $89 on sale when I purchased it and its access point counterpart was $130. The router has four connections and the WAP has one. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time. I know I can now pick them both up for $79, don’t remind me.

 

[bcastner]

You can do this fairly easily:

. set a base IP address for the WRT54G to be used as an access point outside the DHCP addresses handed out by the first router. 192.168.1.10 works fine, subnet 255.255.255.0, Gateway the IP of the first router (192.168.1.1).

. Disable DHCP on the router to be used as an AP.

. Connect router #1 to router #2 using regular LAN ports, not the WAN port. Use the "uplink" port if using regular CAT-5 drop cables on one side, a regular LAN port on the other side.

A good description of the process, (not WRT54G specific) can be found here:

http://www4.tomshardware.com/network/20030716/index.html

Though I suspect what you want to do is use the WRT54G devices as WDS devices. The official Linksys firmware does not support this usage, but other unofficial firmwares exists and works well.

Please see the discussion about Sveasoft firmware for the device, as it fully supports WDS mode for the WRT54G:

http://www.sveasoft.com/postt119.html

And more generally, the Seattle Wireless group discussion of "hacking" the WRT54G:

http://seattlewireless.net/?LinksysWrt54g#head-91dd746949e966913289a582d93a153b26b9a987

Please understand my note of caution: the WRT54G is an incredible bargain, and can be made to do things that would cost several thousands dollars in the alternative. Both sveasoft, and &quot;Wifi-box&quot; have been able to take this little < $100 US box to be an amazingly flexible device.

See, generally, the discussion in the Linksys forum of BroadBandReports. I must admit up front I am and MVM on the site, but for a review, discussion and links about playing with the WRT54G there is no argument it is the strongest site on the web, and a &quot;must&quot; read.

http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/equip,16

 

[JBL312]

Thank you for the quick reply, I appreciate the information. I was really hoping to find a simply configuration change that needed to be made to allow for this.

Although I like the idea of exposing some more functionality from this router I am not yet willing to make potentially destructive changes to the device to allow for this.

I still have the ability to return the routers and get my money back if I do not mess them up.

 

[bcastner]

I understand your concern.

If you replace one WRT54G with a WAP54G you can natively use the repeater function with the newest Linksys firmware.

For replacement units consider Buffalo, Cisco and possibly Zyxel.

I have tested the non-official firmware for the WRT54G, and am happy with the results. But I fully understand and share your concerns.

Best,
Bill Castner

 

[JBL312]

I have returned the two routers to the local store where I got them. I am going to order a WRT54G router and two WAP54G online today during lunch.

I am paying the same amount online that I would be paying locally with the rebates. So I end up saving an additional $30 up front doing it this way.

Thank you again for the information.