Dual network connection help - Wireless + wired

[sarotara]

The current network layout is as follows. We have two homes sharing a single internet connection. There is a cable modem in home #1, with a wireless router (Linksys WRT54G) (SSID: Home1) connected to it. Home #2 has a wireless access point (Linksys WAP54G) (SSID: Home2) in repeater mode (it takes the wireless signal from the wireless router in home #1 and simply retransmits it). This was done to improve the signal strength in home # 2. All the computers in home #1 connect to the Home1 network, and the computers in home #2 connect to the Home2 network. All the computers connect through the wireless network. The only thing that's wired is the connection between the cable modem and the wireless router in home #1. All the computers are running Windows XP SP2.

I was wondering if anyone here would know how to configure the following. I would basically like to have the computers in home #2 (they all have gigabit ethernet cards) to connect through wired connections to a gigabit switch or router and, for local area network purposes (local area network gaming, file sharing, etc.), utilize the gigabit connection instead of the wireless. However, I would still like them to connect to the Internet using the wireless connection, however. I know there is a way to do this using metrics, but I'm not quite sure how to configure the connections. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[erwos]

You can solve this with a single piece of hardware: a wireless bridge. Get something like this:

http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=333

... and plug it in your gigabit switch in home #2. Configure it to bridge to the wireless router's wifi connection in home #1 (and turn off DHCP on the bridge, if it came enabled). Problem solved.

 

[sarotara]

Any way to do this without a wireless bridge?

 

[JackMDS]

Metrics is configured this way, http://www.ezlan.net/metrics.html

However this would not answer your needs.

The best is to separate the Wired Giga as its own Network. Bind File sharing to it and Unbind it form the Wireless.

 

[Madwand1]

The WAP54G has a LAN port, and it should be enabled in repeater mode. So the simple solution might be just to connect a gigabit switch to that port and connect all the other devices to the switch.

Failing that, there are some other modes in the WAP54G which might be usable together with the WRT54G.

Failing that, assuming you have a supported revision, you could flash the WAP54G with a DD-WRT micro edition, and then use it in a client bridge, client bridge repeater, or WDS mode together with a gigabit switch as above.

 

[sarotara]

Thank you everyone. Although doing it the way that JackMDS suggested is probably the best way to do things, I decided to connect the gigabit switch to the LAN port on the WAP54G. I didn't realize that the port was enabled in repeater mode... Thanks to Madwand1 for pointing that out. This does create unnecessary traffic on the wireless network, but since I had a gigabit switch sitting around the house anyway, it was the most cost-effective solution.