Possible to setup a second Wifi?

[AmbroseBSOD]

I've recently moved in with some friends and am currently living in their basement. This is all well and good but I can't get a wifi signal down here. There is a ridiculously long Ethernet cable that's been snaked down here which is great for my desktop but does nothing for my wifi only iPad or my Macbook Air. I have a Buffalo wzr-hp-ag300h from my old place and was wondering if I could use it to setup a separate wifi network for myself in the basement, preferably without causing too much trouble with the the other router (a D-Link wbr-2310). If it is possible is there anything special I need to do to make it work or can I just plug the Ethernet in and go? Any help/suggestions/layman's terms instructions would be most appreciated.

 

[MtnMan]

If you can't get a decent signal from their router, your router should not be much of an issue as far as interfering with theirs.
Connect the ethernet from their router to the WAN port on you router, basically treating them as your ISP and you should be good to go. If it interferes, coordinate with them to be on a different channel than they use. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are far enough apart to not interfere.

 

[Fardringle]

If you want to have a completely segregated (separate) network, just plug that ethernet cable into the WAN/Internet port on the router and then log in to your router to configure your own security (WPA2). Once this is done, connect other devices wired or wireless as needed to your router.

If you want to be able to access resources on their network, it's slightly more complex. Connect one of your computers to the router (do not connect the router to the ethernet yet). Log in to the router's configuration page (check the router documentation for the specific process for your router), disable DHCP server on your router, set up wireless security as desired (WPA2), then connect the ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports on the router. Once this is done, connect other devices wired or wireless as needed to your router.

 

[AmbroseBSOD]

Thanks for the quick responses guys! I'll go try get this setup now and report back. 2 things: WAN= The port I would normally connect to the modem? All other ports are marked LAN. @FArdingle: What do you mean by "access resources on their network"?

 

[Fardringle]

Yes, the WAN/Internet port is the one that would normally be connected to your modem.

I mean if you want to be able to share files or printers, or play local games on the LAN with them. If that doesn't matter, then just use the WAN port on your router.

 

[gsaldivar]

Plug the cable into a LAN port on your basement router, the WAN port should be left empty. Be sure you turn off the DHCP server on the router before doing this, or you will cause problems on the network...

 

[AmbroseBSOD]

Aces, I'll gonna give this a go and report back.

Thanks Fardingle and MtnMan. EDIT: Got hooked up and setup and everything seems to working. Thanks again for the help guys! @gsaldivar: Would going through a LAN port make a difference? I looked and DCHP server is already off.

 

[gsaldivar]

Would going through a LAN port make a difference? I looked and DCHP server is already off.

If its working satisfactorily, no need to make changes. DHCP off + LAN port is only required if you want one large network with multiple access points.

 

[AmbroseBSOD]

Ok, I think I'll keep things as they for know. Thanks.

 

[JackMDS]

Option 1. http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3227044

Option 2. http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html

 

[Peroxyde]

Hope it's not too late.

The easiest in my opinion is to use your Wireless router as Access Point (AP) without the router function. This means make your WL router works like a switch. This means hooking up your WL router using the LAN port (not the WAN for Internet). Then your current computer connect to your WL router using another LAN port. The other WL devices will get WL signals via your own router.

I hope you know how to access your WL router to configure a few things.

1. Disable DHCP

2. Set LAN address to a static address in the same subnet than the house main router. Example: in your current computer using the cable, look at the IP, it could be something like 192.168.x.y. If you have access to the configuration of main router, look what is the range of static IP you can use. For example assign the LAN address of the router to be 192.168.x.245 (y = something far after after 200, hoping the house router won't manage it).

3. Configure the WL security of your WL router (SSIS, encryption WPA2) which may be you had already done.

Good lucks.