HOWTO: Turn your Wireless Router into a WAP

[glutenberg]

If my setup has the router setup so that it sends the internet signal through wall jacks placed around the house, would I need to connect a crossover cable from the original router to the machine that's sending the signal out throughout the house and also one from the access point to the wall jack or would I be able to just hook up a crossover cable from the access point to the wall? I should mention that the wireless router that's being used as a wireless access point is a WRT54G but the router hooked up to the modem is about 4 years old (so that may not have MDX capability). Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[JackMDS]

If every thing in the wall is Straight then all of the connection that you describe should be straight with one exception.

If the Linksys is connected through one of it regular ports to the Modem and it does not do MDX it would need Crossover.

In general, CAT5e Straight or Crossover, what should I use? http://www.ezlan.net/faq.html#crossover

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
If every thing in the wall is Straight then all of the connection that you describe should be straight with one exception.

If the Linksys is connected through one of it regular ports to the Modem and it does not do MDX it would need Crossover.

In general, CAT5e Straight or Crossover, what should I use? http://www.ezlan.net/faq.html#crossover

Well, assuming all the lines are straight and that the router doesn't do MDX, would I need to hook up a crossover from the router to the switch and another crossover cable from the wall jack to the access point? Would it work if I only had a crossover cable from the wall jack to the access point but not from the router to the switch that supplies the internet to the wall jacks?

 

[JackMDS]

The fact that one port might need a Crossover does not change the rules for other connections.

Read the page linked above and evaluate each connection.

I could not figure out your toplogy, but if the Linksys gets its feed from a Modem or a Mode/Router's port the connection between the Modem/Router to a regular port on the Linksys is the only one that might need crossover.

 

[schlottj]

i am going to try this out in a little while, my router(linksys wrt54g v5) rj45 ports are going bad, so i got a spare router from a buddy of mine, its a d-link di524. the range isnt that great on it, so i was going to run a cable down to the basement and throw the linksys on that for my laptops.

i had a question, do i have to wire the linksys straight to the router linksys AP<=>dlink router<=>cablemodem
or can i run a switch inbetween linksys AP<=>linksys switch(eg008w)<=>dlink router<=>cablemodem

i have 3 machines i would like wired on the main router(4 ports), 4th wire to the switch, xbox360, tivo, and the linksys AP wired wire off the switch


ill post back with my findings

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: schlottj
i had a question, do i have to wire the linksys straight to the router linksys AP<=>dlink router<=>cablemodem
or can i run a switch inbetween linksys AP<=>linksys switch(eg008w)<=>dlink router<=>cablemodem

i have 3 machines i would like wired on the main router(4 ports), 4th wire to the switch, xbox360, tivo, and the linksys AP wired wire off the switch

You can pretty much swap those devices around as you like, provided you use the LAN ports for everything but the main router's connection to the cable modem. Auto crossover is common these days, so you generally don't have to worry about crossover cables.

In other words, inserting the switch should be fine.

But in this case, if you're doing large file transfers among gigabit-capable computers, it could be better to have the computers on the gigabit switch and the XBox, Tivo, and AP on 100 Mb/s instead.

So you might consider a variation of this layout:

Cable modem <-(long cable)-> router <-> { (long cable) AP, XBox, Tivo, Gigabit switch <-> {desktops} }

 

[tyler811]

Originally posted by: bluestrobe
Is it just me or is this common knowledge?

So what if it is to you and some of us. Can you rebuild an engine or fly a jet or preform brain surgery.


Thanks Kaido

 

[tyler811]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: eshtog
Ok makes sense, so just connect port 1 one from the wired router to port 1 on the wireless router? This should work right? After I do this my wireless router will have internet access and I will be able to connect my laptop to it correct?

Sorry if I am repeating myself I tried this yesterday and it wouldnt work for some reason, I will try again later tonight.

Your situation would be like this:

1. Connect Cable Modem to the WAN port on your 8-port Router using an Ethernet cable
2. Make sure your 8-port Router has DHCP turned on and make the IP 192.168.1.1
3. Configure your Wireless Router's IP as 192.168.1.2, disable DHCP, and turn on WPA security (or whatever you want to use)
4. Connect a LAN jack on your 8-port Router to a LAN jack on your Wireless Router
5. Connect to the Wireless Router wirelessly and see if you can access the Internet

It would look something like this:

Cable Modem <==> Wired Router (192.168.1.1 + DHCP) <==> Wireless Router (192.168.1.2 + No DHCP)

If you have problems:

1. Like JackMDS said, make sure at least one of your LAN jacks is MDX capable, if not use a crossover cable
2. Try turning off any Security/Firewall stuff your Wireless Router may have
3. Make sure you are not using the WAN port on your Wireless Router

switches
I have the same cable modem<==>router with DHCP<==^>switches<==>wap