Question Modem - Linux (router 1) - Mesh (router 2) - same subnet

[zentsang]

Before anyone jumps on me... yes, I looked through the forum and read a couple different entries for this topic... however, mine is a little different. Point of reference... https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/two-router-setup-single-subnet.942563/

I am looking to connect this way...

Modem -> Linux Router (DHCP server 192.168.1.1) -> Mesh Network Router (disabled DHCP server but on same 192.168.1.x subnet).

I see the things about simply turn off the DHCP server of the second router in the sequence and assign it a Static IP, but I'm using the Tenda Mesh Router (they look like over-sized sugar cubes but work awesomely). The only way to access the Mesh router is via their mobile app. It's not cloud based. The app works over wireless, so even if you loose the internet connection, you still just need the app to get to the router).

The Tenda Mesh router is just super limited on Port Forwarding rules. It only has 8. I need way more than that, and prior to upgrading to Mesh, I just used my Linux Router + a Cisco BGN Router with DHCP turned off...but it had a web interface versus mobile.

So my question to anyone who has successfully setup a 2 router network consisting of a MESH wireless setup ... any pointers or tips would be awesome before I just jump head first into trying and piss off my wife when she can't get to Facebook on her Chromebook. 😉

 

[SamirD]

What do you need the Tenda for? If it's just for the wireless signal, just use them as a glorified AP and let your linux router route.

 

[zentsang]

What do you need the Tenda for? If it's just for the wireless signal, just use them as a glorified AP and let your linux router route.

I tried it but no go. I had it setup like this...

Internet -> Linux router -> AP in bridged mode

The AP would never get connected. So I had to revert for the time being while doing more research.

 

[SamirD]

I tried it but no go. I had it setup like this...

Internet -> Linux router -> AP in bridged mode

The AP would never get connected. So I had to revert for the time being while doing more research.

Is there a way to shut off the dhcp server on it? Then you could just hook up it up to your lan and it should work unless it's trying to be 'smart'.

 

[zentsang]

Is there a way to shut off the dhcp server on it? Then you could just hook up it up to your lan and it should work unless it's trying to be 'smart'.

Like most of these new "Mesh" networks... you are limited to a mobile app with no webpage-based access. So the choices I have are "Static, DHCP, PPPoe, and Bridge". Under LAN Settings... the ONLY setting is for what numbers you want to setup for DHCP Server. There is no way to toggle the DHCP server ON/OFF. However, according the the manufacturer, when you switch to Bridge mode, all the "advanced settings" including DHCP Server are disabled and you've essentially made the router an Access Point. However, once you make that change and reboot... the it never connects. Almost like bridging just does not work. That's why I'm at a loss.

I spoke to one of my buddies and we kind of worked out a solution we think will work. I will leave the Mesh router as is but use a different subdomain. So my main Linux router will be 192.168.1.1 and I will make the Mesh router 192.168.2.1 ... then change my setup to a Class B network (255.255.0.0) instead of Class A (255.255.255.0). Since all my servers and the Mesh router are plugged into a switch, using Class B setup, they call all still interact and see each other without any conflicting IP issues. All the server use static IPs on the 192.168.1.x network. All the wireless devices will use the 192.168.2.x network.

Now I just need to make time to test it out. =)