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[caracortada_uk]

Hi all, im hoping somebody can help me with this problem as im getting nowhere with it!

I have 3 x Netgear DG834GTs using the latest DGTeam 1018 firmware, diagram below. I am trying to set 2 of them into bridge mode to connect an isolated LAN in one building to the main LAN in my home which also has the ADSL connection (The third DG834GT). The problem is no matter what i do i can not get the bridge to work. The DG834GT doing the ADSL has been left alone and not changed any settings. With the two for the bridge i am doing the following:

1)Using Point-to-Point bridge with correct MAC addresses
2)MAC addresses have been put into the Wireless Station Access list
3)DCHP has been disabled (The 3rd DG834GT is doing that)
4)Each one has an IP outside the DCHP range
5)Physical distance is not an issue, i am testing them in the same room (1 connected to an isolated laptop, the other directly into the house LAN)

What am i doing wrong?

Code: [Select]

__ and |  = CAT5
~~~~      = Wireless
           
                 _____DG834GT  ~~~~~~~~~~~  DG834GT _____
                |     Bridge 1              Bridge 2     |
                |                                        | 
     House _____|                                        |_____ Isolated CAT5
  CAT5 & wiFi                         
 DG834GT ADSL
         

[jstallan]

when I wanted to extend my network I tried to setup WDS but wasted hours trying to get it to work. Eventually I purchased some HomePlugs and followed this method - works a treat

http://www.unix.ms/netgear/

[caracortada_uk]

Sorry Jstallan but using those will not be possible. I am trying to connect 2 LANS in 2 different buildings, they do not share a power line.

[waltergmw]

Hi Caracortada & welcome,

Just in case your cable run is under 100 m and the engineering isn't too difficult, you might run an external Cat 5 ethernet cable.
It's "only" £170 for a 300 m drum.

http://www.comms-express.com/products/cat5e-external-grade-ldpe-shielded-cable-305mt-box/

Kind regards,
Walter

[caracortada_uk]

Hi Waletergmw,

sorry to keep moving the goal posts but i didnt want to do information overload with my initial post. But i did look into that, but the buildings are separated by a road and installation would be a planning permission nightmare! Also im trying to do this as cheaply as possibly using the two DG834GTs as they are spare kit gathering dust.


Has anybody successfully set up WDS on the DGteam firmware and could provide a step by step in case im doing something daft?

[waltergmw]

Hi again Caracortada,

I can understand your hesitation to avoid physical road crossings.
It also depends upon how much you value your own time and what degree of reliability is necessary.
It might just be worth reviewing laser bridges or even this wireless solution for about £250:-

http://www.wifigear.co.uk/ubiquiti-nanostation-m5-airmax-wireless-ptp-kit

Kind regards,
Walter

[Mick]

Can you try again but this time do not set the two routers in the middle in bridged mode - you still need them to be able to switch packets.

Instead set up static IP addresses for each and disable the NAT function and DHCP server function on both, because the house/LAN routers are leasing IP addresses to their respective subnets.

Assuming the subnets are different between remote LAN and home network then you may need to set up RIP and experiment one node at a time.

HTH.

[caracortada_uk]

Walter - I have looked into those but they are far too expensive. I do not mind putting my time into doing this, but the material costs have to be kept low, hence using 2 old routers.



Mick - If the 2 routers in the middle are not set to bridge mode then how do i get them to talk to each other? Both need WDS activated and that requires bridging mode.

Both bridge routers have DCHP disabled and have static IPs outside the range of the main routers DCHP (as stated in original post). They are also all on the same subnet, so no need for RIP. What do you mean by NAT? I can not find a mention of it in the router config.

The isolated CAT5 is not a separate network, but actually a group of PCs i want to link into the main house network. They will be plugged in router Bridge 2 with CAT5 which will then transmit the data to Birdge 1 with WDS Point-to-Point bridge mode and finally into the house network.

[Mick]

Mick - If the 2 routers in the middle are not set to bridge mode then how do i get them to talk to each other? Both need WDS activated and that requires bridging mode.

Oh! I misunderstood.  I see now that you meant "wireless bridge" not "router bridge mode".  The latter disables switching and turns the router into a transparent modem.  You can find the page for this setting by going here: http://192.168.0.1/setup.cgi?next_file=mode.htm but that's of no use to you anyway.

Both bridge routers have DCHP disabled and have static IPs outside the range of the main routers DCHP (as stated in original post). They are also all on the same subnet, so no need for RIP. What do you mean by NAT? I can not find a mention of it in the router config.

The isolated CAT5 is not a separate network, but actually a group of PCs i want to link into the main house network. They will be plugged in router Bridge 2 with CAT5 which will then transmit the data to Birdge 1 with WDS Point-to-Point bridge mode and finally into the house network.

OK, I understand now that the only router which is serving IP addresses is the main router at home.  This simplifies things.

You may want to check the following settings in your bridge 1 & 2 router config pages.  I do not have a router flashed with DGTeam firmware handy, so I will refer to the vanilla router config pages instead:

Under Setup/Basic Settings, the section Does Your Internet Connection Require A Login? should be set to No.  Also leave the Account and Domain Names blank.

Internet IP Address

Set this to Get Dynamically From ISP

Domain Name Server (DNS) Address

Set this to the main home router's IP address, e.g. 192.168.0.1

NAT (Network Address Translation)

Tick Disable

Then under Advanced/LAN IP Setup:

LAN TCP/IP Setup

Enter here the static IP address for each router e.g. 192.168.0.251/255.255.255.0 and 192.168.0.252/255.255.255.0

It is a good idea to have these static IP addresses outside the range served by the main router to its clients, to avoid conflicts, but it is not essential.

Then untick Use Router as DHCP Server on both bridge 1 & 2 because we only want the main router to perform dhcp service.

Then, go to Wireless Settings page and set up different SSIDs for each bridge, e.g. Netgear_Bridge_1 and Netgear_Bridge_2.

I'd leave WEP/WPA encryption off initially (just in case you make a typo in the key).

Under Access Control List/Trusted Wireless Stations. add the MAC address of the other bridged router.

Then go to Advanced > Advanced Access Point Settings and tick Enable Wireless Bridging and repeating then tick Wireless Point-to-Point Bridge and enter there the other bridge's MAC address.

Also check that both bridges are using the same channel.

Finally, enable wireless encryption once it's all up and running and reboot both bridges.

Hope this works.