Expanding wifi footprint with 2 Linksys routers (newbie!)

[benjudy]

Please read & respond if you're a kind-hearted person who's willing to help out a newbie! (I'll be forever grateful!)

I have (1) each WRT54G and WRT54GS routers. There are two houses on my property. The WRT54GS is already set-up and providing wireless DSL access to house 1.

What I want to do is expand the wifi footprint or boost the signal strength, to include house 2 (about 75 feet away). Currently I can get a VERY weak signal in house 2.

So, what do I need to do to use the WRT54G as a repeater / signal booster / access point, or whatever? I'm experienced in graphic & interactive media design, so I'm not a computer newbie by any means. I just don't have much network / router experience.

All of our systems are WinXP or Win2K, if that helps. I noticed there are firmware upgrades for the WRT54G from Linksys, as well as third-party sources. I read something about using one of these firmware versions to give the router repeater functionality, but I have no idea how to go about doing that.

Thanks for your help and for being patient with my ignorance!

 

[bcastner]

If the issue is internet access, and a small amount of LAN traffic, without question I would use powerline adapters:

http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030108S0003

http://www.internetwk.com/story/INW20021125S0007?ls=TW_010303_fea&fb=20030103_network

The alternative is WDS, assuming something reasonable in terms of Line of Sight between the two sites. See this recent discussion using Sveasoft firmware: thread916-837246

 

[Preyhunter]

What you want to do is follow Sawback's first post on June 7 in the thread linked above. I have done that and it works as a repeater or range extender for an existing wireless lan.

 

[bcastner]

I can do the powerline solution for under US$90. 14mbs, the current standards for powerline are at 300 meters with no bandwidth drop-off until you reach 300 meters; the newer standard (you cannot yet buy the stuff until later this year) is 4.5 miles at 120 mbs.

WDS from a price point cannot touch that.

 

[bcastner]

Remember that using WDS solutions with one radio is effectively taking your nominal 54mps connection and cutting it in half.

Remember that at 75' you in actual office tests are not getting even the nominal 54mps promised. The Super or GS or TurboG implementations can help boost bandwidth, but concomitantly often reduce coverage.

I love wireless solutions. I love playing with them, setting them up, messing with firmware and antennas, and just about everything about them.

But I asked recently the Microsoft Networking MVP list about being embarassed that in the last year I was throwing powerline adapters for a simple solution of ethernet bridging and asked for a cost-effective wireless solution, and was stunned to find that most were doing the same. Really, why create an expensive and finicky wireless bridge when an inexpensive powerline adapter set can do the same thing without trauma or expense? If you find a situation with a line of sight, and either very heavy LAN traffic or an internet connection that exceeds 5.5 mbs download, then consider dedicated G or A bridges depending on distance.

Otherwise, slap a pair of Netgear or Sieman's powerline adapters on the problem and be done with it.

 

[benjudy]

Thank you all for your replies! Looks like the powerline solution is the best when it comes to maintaining a high-bandwidth network.

Unfortunately, I'm not really willing to spend any more money. (Also, a question: I don't know much about residential electrical wiring, but these are two different houses, though they are on the same property... does that make a difference?)

Besides, this is just a simple residential setup and we don't need screaming fast bandwidth. I do have direct LOS between the two routers - the only thing in between is a window pane and about 75 feet of air. So I'm tinkering with the WDS solution.

I was able to upgrade the firmware for both my routers to SVEASoft's Satori (being careful to use the GS firmware for the GS router.) Following sawback's guide (in the post you linked to, bcastner - thanks), I'm fairly certain I was successful in setting up WDS.

Now... I get to prove how little I actually know about networking How do I tell each client system which router's signal to lock on to? For instance, if I'm on my wireless laptop in house 2, I'm going to be able to pick up both signals, from the GS and the S routers. The S is (hopefully) going to be much stronger, so I will want to ensure my wifi card picks up that router, not the GS... and vice-versa if I'm in house 1. Make sense?

There's got to be an easy way. I'm guessing it has to do with my IP addresses? The GS router is 192.168.1.1 and the S router is 192.168.1.2

How do I tell my network card to only pick up one router and ignore the other?

Thanks!!!

 

[bcastner]

I am not sure why it should matter. The laptop client should be able to transparently roam between both APs.