can't connect to internet via wireless USB adapter

[vbportal]

I have the following scenario

D-LINK router - D-link switch - Buffalo AP - PC1
!-- PC2
Not sure if the "ascii" will come out right, so it's the D-link router connected to D-link switch, which
is then connected to a Buffalo Access point + PC1 and PC2.
PC1 and PC2 have both network cards and wireless USB adapter software installed for the D-link wireless USB adapter

I setup the router with :
- 2 dns server addreses of my isp
-ip address 192.168.1.a
-dhcp between 192.168.1.x - 192.168.1.y.
-Below this range, I setup static ip addresses for PC1,PC2, a network printer, buffalo AP.

On both PC1 and PC2 I can access the web (web browser) via the
network cards.

For the wireless, I setup the Buffalo AP with :
- static ip address, default gateway = router ip address
- allow broadcast of SSID
- use Buffalo MAC address as SSID
- WPA-PSK authentication with TKIP or AES encryption.
- dns server - I typed in the 2 dns server addresses of my isp
- the key

What happens when I connect the usb wireless adapter to either PC1 or PC2:
- I use the D-link wireless USB adapter sw.
- The wireless networks are visible (mine from the buffalo AP
and one other one I know about)
- I mark my network, press connect and am asked for the key.
- I see the adapter going from ip = 0.0.0.0 to some intermediate ip address and then I see the dhcp assigned address 192.168.1.z
and "connected"
- when I open up Firefox - can't access web.
- ipconfig/all gives
- gateway = router ip
- ip address = as dhcp allocated
- dns - the two isp ip addresses

In Firefox I have "no proxy" marked under "Advanced"

What could be the problem ?

 

[rclarke250]

Can you ping the router? can you ping an site like yahoo.com? can you ping an outside address like 67.195.160.76? (yahoo.com) can you ping

http://www.yahoo.com?

Also I don't think you need the dns set in the AP, as it will just confuse things, it's job is to send all information to the router.

 

[vbportal]

I used the PC1 which had the NIC connected to the AP switch
for the test.
With wireless USB disabled and NIC enabled, I can ping the AP and the router and go on internet.
With wireless USB enabled and connected and NIC disabled, I can ping the AP but not the router.

I have windows firewall and kerio free firewall installed - the above is done with firewalls turned off.

 

[rclarke250]

So the AP is not sending packets back to the Router. Has to be a configuration issue on the AP, what model is it?

 

[vbportal]

Well I spent a lot of time getting nowhere to confirm what I already knew - I have a lot to learn about networking/protocols and windows.

I worked on PC1 which has the internal NIC and software for usb wireless adapter, with following connection:
router - AP -PC1

The AP (router turned off) is the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH.

Before doing some further tests, I reinstalled Win XP SP2(I had a problem with SP3 - the login box went blank and I couldn't type the password - why should things be simple when one can have problems ).

Results (the AP has diagnostics which allow pinging):

Ping from AP:
->wireless usb OK
->router OK
Ping from PC1
->AP OK
->router NOK

I have Win XP firewall, Kerio free firewall and Avast free antivirus running (I'm not sure whether two firewalls are a problem/needed)+ router has some basic firewall rules.

To get the wireless usb to get the DHCP IP address, I had to allow the following firewall rules (I did all this with DSL disconnected) but I have no clue what they are doing and I'm not sure what material I should dig into to understand this better:

'Generic Host Process for Win32 Services' from your computer wants to send UDP datagram to 255.255.255.255, port 67
application: c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe

Application: 'Tcpip Kernel Driver'; protocol: [2]; Remote address 239.255.255.250: Unknown event
application: tcpip kernel driver

'Generic Host Process for Win32 Services' from your computer wants to send UDP datagram to 239.255.255.250, port 1900
application: c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe

Application: 'Tcpip Kernel Driver'; protocol: [2]; Remote address 224.0.0.2: Unknown event
application: tcpip kernel driver

 

[rclarke250]

Ok, according to the manual, In bridge mode, which is what you want, the DHCP server should be set to auto. No cable in the WAN port, the switch should have a cable from the other router. I noticed that this is also a wireless router, with built in switch, is there a reason that you just don't use it as a router, and take the other router out of the setup?

In the manual, go to page 36-37 (en) and set the LAN configuration for bridge mode.

 

[vbportal]

I looked at the instructions again - as you indicate auto should recognise router/AP functionality but OFF=AP and that is what I had uptil now.

Not sure why you mention to use no cable in the WAN port ? Yesterday I connected the AP (set to OFF=AP) via blue port (WAN port) to the switch to which the router is connected and had the wireless USB adapter connected to PC1. I had previously already set a static IP address for the AP and the wireless USB is supposed to get it's via DHCP.

I switched authentication off and then switched it back on and strangely enough I could ping the router from PC1 (via the wireless USB adapter) - I have no idea why is didn't work until now/what caused it to start to work.

I am not using the router functionality because the DSL modem and distribution point is in the cellar but I need the wireless functionality two floors above and the signal is not strong enough through the concrete floors (I guess you were thinking of turning the DSL modem router into a modem and using the Buffalo as a router).

In the next few weeks I am changing ISP and will get a wireless DSL modem/router and I think the Buffalo will be again best used as an AP. Actually when I was buying the Buffalo, it looked like the APs cost more than the router/APs.