having two access points in one network..

[viking66]

My current home network is as follows.. I have a cable modem connected to a 8 port router/switch in the basement, the eithernet is in everyroom of the house.. on the top floor of my house a have a linksys wap11 ( access point ) we will say it is set to channel 7 and called netone.. when i am in the kitchen i loose my connection on my laptop (most likely due to the fridge and microwave).. my plan is to use a wireless 4 port router as a access point for that area of the house.. the options in the that router do allow me to set it as a access point instead of a router.. per the directions in the manual i am to connect its wan port to my wired network and set the unit as access point.. My question is do i use the same network name and channel as the access point upstairs or do i choose a different one??

 

[zetter]

Use the same SSID as it'll be part of the same network and will allow you to easily roam from one AP to the other.

As for which channel, use whatever channel is the least congested in the area you are using it in.

 

[ojai00]

Actually, if you want to use the wireless router as an access point you don't hook up the WAN port to the wired network. Instead, you hook up port 1 of the wireless router to the wired network and disable DHCP. This is what I have done with my SMC wireless router hooked up to my SMC wired router. Hope this helps.

 

[ktwebb]

You won't want to use the WAN port if you just want AP functionality. You'd plug into one of the LAN ports. Did the manual actually say use the WAN port?

 

[viking66]

so you are saying that both access points should also have the same channel..?