Home Wireless: Bridging Linksys Equipment

[Rose Chap]

Morning all,

Hopefully the collective MB Forum wisdom can help with my home network dilemma.

I've got a single phone point downstairs in my new house, which is where my ADSL modem lives, a Linksys WAG345G V2 combined modem/switch/wireless access point.

Now, what I want to do is to set up a network upstairs in my study (wireless signal is fine). To do this I've purchased a Linksys WAP54G and a Linksys 8 Port 10/100 switch.

I want to bridge the connection between the WAG345G (downstairs) and the WAP54G (upstairs), with the WAP54G plugged into the switch, so I can plug in my other equipment into the switch, NAS, PS2, desktop PC, etc.

Going through the setup for the WAP54G said that bridging was only supported between another WAP54G or a Linksys router that I can't remember the name of, however given that the software has an American bias I didn't think it outside the realms of possibility that my ADSL modem should also be supported. At the moment though its not working, hence my post.

Has anyone else done this using similar equipment? Failing that, anyone got any hints or tips on how I could proceed?

If I have to buy another WAP54G I will but that would be annoying as I already have a wireless access point downstairs in the form of the WAG345G.

Cheers all.

RC

 

[masqueraid]

Should work in theory at least.
Can you switch the WAP54G into an AP Client mode?
If you can connect it to the switch though the uplink port and to the modem via a WEP encoded AP Client link it should provide the wireless bridge you are after.

If this doesn't work you might have to "clone" the MAC address of the Router to the Access Point

 

[SGCW124]

Apologies if this is a hijack but on a related matter can you get booster or repeater stations ?

my BT home hub has a weak signal in some upstairs rooms,

Steve

 

[masqueraid]

can you get booster or repeater stations ?

Yes, check here (other devices are available!)

 

[Rose Chap]

Good tip Masqueraid, I'll give that a go when I get home. Fingers crossed!

 

[agatward]

I have done this using a pair of WAP11G's with D-link firmware on them. The WAP* etc. certainly used to be Karlsnet (sp?) devices underneath which were used by a number of manufacturers.

As part of our campus network here we are running two D-Link APs in bridge mode. The part of the campus this connects didn't want to pay to have a fibre installed and couldn't afford a properly managed solution!

Anyway, I digress. Yes it does work in bridge mode; and I would be very surprised if the two devices don't talk to each other. As has already been said, if the proprietary mode doesn't work, flip one into AP client mode and give that a go. Ironically it may be better to flip the one on the ADSL router into client mode as it then has a single MAC address to bridge (the router's one) rather than however many you plug in upstairs.

I'm just about to embark on a similar project at home to link to a friend's house. He's just moved in round the corner so a couple of Yagi antennae and some cables are in order. I'll probably end up using a couple of WAP54Gs in bridge mode for this as we both have proper routers at each end (one Cisco, one Juniper).

HTH,

Andy.

 

[HughJarse]

Is this what youre after
http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/LKSWL020

 

[Rose Chap]

Thanks very much to all for all the tips and help. I put the WAP54G in AP Client mode, made everything talk to everything else, and plugged it all in. Success!

All I need to do now is to put some encyption on my WiFi network, I suppose MAC address filtering is the way forward as I'm not sure the WAP54G in AP Client mode supports encryption.

I owe you a beer masqueraid!