using 2 routers with pppoe connection

[ozsa]

Hi guys, I have a problem with my network, got a modem -> lan goes to router (A), which has 2lan pc, 1switch (2pc on it) and about 4wireless connections. Problem is, it cannot transmit stable enough signal to wireless clients, so what i want to do, is to buy another router (B), connect them together with lan, and let the B router give the signal to the nearest 2 clients. My net is user pass pppoe based, how can I make the B router receive and transmit the signal ? I never done such thing. drop a line if you know the solution

 

[RealBeast]

All you need to do is buy a cheap router and configure it as an access point -- i.e. connect it LAN port to LAN port to the wired network, give it a static IP address in the main router, and set up its wireless with the same security type and passkey. It is probably best to give it a slightly different SSID than the main router so you can select what attaches wirelessly to the AP and the router.

That your modem uses PPPoE makes no difference for this wireless extension method.

 

[ozsa]

I have 2 TP-link routers now, here's what I did.
Modem goes to #1 router WAN, everything is good, wireless and lan goes ok. From #1 router I have a 30m cable to a switch, then from the switch a cable to #2 router. Gateway of #2 router is the same as #1, dhcp server is disabled (somehow I cannot connect to #2 router's webpage after I disabled it, but I dont mind). Now wireless clients have 100% signal to #2 router but after a few minutes they lose network connectivity, its like the router is not even there, and in a few seconds it reconnects. Why is this ?
#1 router connects to net with pppoe and on #2 router I have dynamic IP, other options are pppoe (many variants) and static ip. Should I put static and reserve an IP on #1 router and put that as static ? I can't understand why the connection just collapses instantly, without doing anything.

 

[RealBeast]

No you have to configure router #2 as an access point, so its gateway must be the router 1 address. Router 2 must have DHCP disabled to be on the same network, router 1 will do all the DHCP assignment work.

In short you need to connect router 1 (through the switch is fine) to an LAN port on router 2 (not the WAN), turn off DHCP on 2, give 2 a static address (or reserved dynamic) in both router 1 and make that the address in 2 itself. So if router 1 is 192.168.0.1 you can make router 2 (now an AP not a router) 192.168.0.2 and then set the router 1 DHCP range to 192.168.0.3 and up. Also insure that 2 uses a different radio channel from the non-overlapping choices.

It is up to you if you want to use a different SSID in 2 to control which radio things connect to -- I usually do that. And you can use the same wireless security and passkey just for ease of remembering the key. When you go to connect a device you can select from whichever of the two radio SSIDs that you want the device to use.

 

[ozsa]

thanks for your fast reply.
On router #1 I have 192.168.0.1, and 192.168.0.2 on #2, DHCP is set to 192.168.1.100 on #1 and disabled on #2. Wireless channels are set to automatic on both. How do I give 2 static address ? I can do DHCP address reservation or add new static routing beside this, there isnt much I can set.
On router #2, what do I put for wan connection ? Do I put static and enter 192.168.0.1 to both IP and gateway (#1 routers IP) ?
Also, do I need to disable all firewalls and such on router #2 ?

This sudden disconnection is an interference with the 1st router or where does it come from ?
The wireless channel, should I put 1 on router #1 and 2 on router #2 or I cant leave automatic on #1 and change it on #2 ?

 

[RealBeast]

The easiest thing to do is to just set the address in the AP and then also enter that in the #1 router static address table (you will need the MAC address on #2 to enter it in the static table of #1).

Much of your problem could come from allowing auto channels, I would set them to specific channels (selecting from 1, 6 and 11) that are different for each.

#2 doesn't need any firewalls as it is only an access point, not a router any longer, just use the same WPA2 security.

 

[Ken Sent Me]

Sorry to butt in here but I have similar issues

@RealBeast: couple of question for you:

- when disabling DHCP on router #2, how does router #2 assign IP addresses to clients like phones or tablets trying to connect to its wireless network? does router #2 essentially tunnel through to router #1 to assign IP addresses and should I therefore be able to see any of these clients in router #1's list of attached devices?

- router #2 in my case is connected via a TP Link Powerline adapter which itself is paired (and works) with a Powerline cabled to my router #1. Should work OK? (the powerline link seems to work elsewhere in the house)

Thanks!

 

[ozsa]

I did everything, except the static routing I couldnt do because there is a default routing to 192.168.0.0, and when i try to put the IP of the #2 router there, it says subnet cannot be the same as the routers IP, its 255.255.255.0. But it did connect, and I saw the connection work fine for at least 30minute, but now I checked the router and it restarts somehow (lost uptime)

I cannot log what happend before the restart, just after, does this help anything ?
http://pastebin.com/SqTuvDhr

Maybe the router itself is faulty ? It restart in about 20-30sec, its pretty fast.

Edit: Btw, now I can access the #2 router's webpage, I dont know how, before it was completely inaccessable as soon as I turned off DHCP server

 

[RealBeast]

Sorry to butt in here but I have similar issues

@RealBeast: couple of question for you:

- when disabling DHCP on router #2, how does router #2 assign IP addresses to clients like phones or tablets trying to connect to its wireless network? does router #2 essentially tunnel through to router #1 to assign IP addresses and should I therefore be able to see any of these clients in router #1's list of attached devices?

- router #2 in my case is connected via a TP Link Powerline adapter which itself is paired (and works) with a Powerline cabled to my router #1. Should work OK? (the powerline link seems to work elsewhere in the house)

Thanks!

Please start your own thread, rather than tagging onto another. Router 1 will provide DHCP service for the entire network, including attached access points. #2 is no longer a router, it is an access point only.

 

[RealBeast]

I did everything, except the static routing I couldnt do because there is a default routing to 192.168.0.0, and when i try to put the IP of the #2 router there, it says subnet cannot be the same as the routers IP, its 255.255.255.0. But it did connect, and I saw the connection work fine for at least 30minute, but now I checked the router and it restarts somehow (lost uptime)

I cannot log what happend before the restart, just after, does this help anything ?
http://pastebin.com/SqTuvDhr

Maybe the router itself is faulty ? It restart in about 20-30sec, its pretty fast.

Edit: Btw, now I can access the #2 router's webpage, I dont know how, before it was completely inaccessable as soon as I turned off DHCP server

It is possible that one or the other is faulty but I don't think it highly probably, more likely that you just don't have it properly configured yet. I've done this type of connection with dozens of TP Link units and not had any issues.

Have you looked at the manual for router #1 so you can see where you enter static addresses? You need to enter them in the configuration page that is for that purpose and you won't get the error that you are getting. What are the model numbers of unit #1 and #2?

When you set up #2 as an access point, you still can access it using its new address that you assign to it by attaching a cable from a computer to an LAN port and using that computer browser to access it. If things get messed up just reset it to defaults with the reset button and start over.

 

[ozsa]

router #1 is TL-WR841N
router #2 is TL-WR1043ND (the older white version, new is black)

they both have the same config page, advanced routing, static new static routing, and there I cannot enter the IP of the #1 router, unless I put a different subnet than 255.255.255.0
Can the settings make the router restart itself absolutely at random times ?

When you say setting up #2 as an access point, you mean there should be an option in the router to set to AP or you mean just disabling most things in it so it wont have the job of a normal router ?

Is it possible that the WAN option -> dynamic is doing the problem ? I cannot put WAN->static IP , if I want to put in the second router the #1 routers IP/subnet, same error as in static routing.

Is there a specific device for extended a router thisway or any wireless router will do ? if this wont work, i'll buy another router.

 

[RealBeast]

There is nowhere that you need to enter the address of #1 as a static address.

The address of #1 is entered as the gateway address in #2 and the address of #2 is entered as a static address in #1.

No -- do not change the WAN to static, you only need to make the address of the AP (#2) a static address on the main router. Leave the WAN of #1 as dynamic and there is no WAN settings for #2 as nothing is plugged into the WAN port of #2, only into the LAN ports.

With most routers configuring as an AP is just changing the settings, although there are a couple that have a feature to automatically set them as APs, your routers are not among them. You need to manually set the changes so that DHCP is off and all traffic is directed to #1 by making it the gateway address for #2.

Start fresh and with #1 having an address of 192.168.0.1, make #2 192.168.0.2 and then set the DHCP range of #1 from 192.168.0.3 to .254 -- that will leave #2 outside the DHCP range assigned. Then in #2 give it that address: 192.168.0.2, turn off DHCP. Test to see if you can connect to the Internet from one of the unused LAN ports on #2. If so, then set up your wireless radio on #2 so that it does not interfere with the radio channel used on #1. That is really all that is to it.