Network question (bridging)

[Leung]

I was wondering if anyone has tried bridging two routers without a Ethernet cable between them? I have the adsl modem down in my room with a cable that runs into the living room. Connected to that cable is a wireless router that supports that new "n" signal. My brother has a tower and a 360 in his room that frequently loses signal correction. I heard that this bridging of two routers may be able to remedy his signal loss. I was just wondering if anyone has tried it and how's the signal strength for that their clusters of equipment.?

[drummersteve7]

We do this at work. We have like 7 routers all plugged into each other, then they plug into a main router with configured tables on the router to search for specific IP address. From there we have about 35 systems running.

The condition of your signal is going to depend on the bandwith of your routers. That normally is the key factor.

[Pandemic]

I never thought of that. No idea how you'd get that going.

[Leung]

well i guess i'll give it a try. I have two wireless N routers, one will go in my brother's room which will completely be wireless from the one in the living room.


Both routers are the same which are rated for 300 Mbps so i think the only bottleneck in my network will be the work group switch that splits off into my Xbox, my computer and the living room router. If my theory is right, all i have to do is set the IP address on the living room, enable wireless bridging, secure the point with WPA2, then install and set up the one in the bedroom.

If things go right, we both should be able to play Xbox live at the same time with little to no lag.

[Pandemic]

Keep us updated. I've never set a network up like that.

[Raf99]

If using two wireless routers in bridging mode you need to set the SSID on both routers to the same name. Then you will leave the 1st router as is; this is DHCP turned on and it assigns the addresses to all the devices connected (computers, routers, printers, etc).

The key here is that the 2nd router (or 3rd, 4th) needs to be put into bridging mode. Different routers use different terms for this, some will call it "Access Point". Some you turn DHCP off and it then turns into a bridge.

Doing this allows the router to act as a bridge (pass-thru, AP, extender, etc. baa that there are several terms for one thing in the IT world). It takes the information coming into the WAN port and relays it on out the LAN ports. So its easy to have a good setup in a really really long house.

Cable modem > WAN Port wireless router1
Wireless Router1 LAN line out to WAN port of Wireless Router2
Wireless router2 LAN line out to WAN port of Wireless Router3

The devices connected by ethernet cable (max dist is 100m, 328feet). The key here is that the consecutive wireless modems have to be in bridging mode/access point mode/etc mode, and letting the 1st guy do the IP assignments.

Example: If you were to travel through a school or university which was one long building (500feet, whatever lengh), you OS would automatically connect to each AP and keep you online as you walk down the hallway.

[Gtseviper]

interesting

[TheFirstNutZo]

Also, depending on the router you may experience quirkyness that doesn't initially make sense. I have come across a few shitty routers that will not accept "inbound" connections when they are in "bridged mode", making it so that as long as you are on the computers behind the bridge you are fine, but if you are before the bridge everything behind the bridge is inaccessible.

[Raf99]

I've seen some crappy routers that do not even have a bridging mode too.

[Leung]

after two hours of messing around with the router settings i think i got it finally.

My brother now has Excellent connections for both his computer and his 360. My sister also gets an excellent connection on her netbook all throughout the house(upstairs, haven't tested the basement yet).

We now can both stream Netflix simultaneously with no hiccups.

Let the butt kicking on BlackOps commence.

Oh if anyone is curious, i have a Tenda model 307R wireless router. It's currently only 29 bucks at Microcenter and has lasted a lot longer than anything i've used previously from Dlink and Linksys.

[Raf99]

after two hours of messing around with the router settings i think i got it finally.

My brother now has Excellent connections for both his computer and his 360. My sister also gets an excellent connection on her netbook all throughout the house(upstairs, haven't tested the basement yet).

We now can both stream Netflix simultaneously with no hiccups.

Let the butt kicking on BlackOps commence.

Oh if anyone is curious, i have a Tenda model 307R wireless router. It's currently only 29 bucks at Microcenter and has lasted a lot longer than anything i've used previously from Dlink and Linksys.

Awsome! If you do start to see any hickups make sure that router is not overheating

[Leung]

Will do skipper!