Another good use of dual routers is for managing mixed wireless networks. I just picked up a new linksys WRT54G to replace my older linksys wireless-B router. Since I have four wireless devices in my house and one of them is B while the rest are G I didn't want the B device to slow down my whole wireless network whenever it was used since a single B device will revert the entire wireless network to it's slower speed when it's connected.
The solution was to set up the older linksys b router as a "router" rather than a "gateway" with a dedicated static IP on the LAN (I don't use DHCP at all). This way I have two wireless access points each dedicated to the separate protocol. You set up the channel for the B router to the opposite end of the G router. Since there is some overlap of frequency on wireless channels I simply set one of them at channel 1 and the other at channel 11 to minimize any interference. I live in a fairly rural location so my neighbors shouldn't complain that I'm hogging all the frequencies! ;-) this may be considered somewhat rude in an apartment or condo complex.
The G router is connected to the cable modem and has the firewall features enabled. You could do it either way but since the G router is newer with better firewall features it makes more sense to do it this way. It also keeps the traffic across my old crossover cable to a minimum.
I then connected the two routers using a crossover cable plugged into one of the four ports on the B router (not the WAN port). I tried using a standard cable into the WAN port and it didn't work. I set the G router to broadcast wireless G network signals only so my old B laptop that the kids use won't accidentally connect to it rather than the B router like it's supposed to. I set up an active MAC table on the B router to ensure only the wireless B laptop will connect to that router.
It works great and keeps my G network running at top speed even when B devices are present and connected to the LAN. I have mixed Macintosh and Windows systems and cross platform networking is working fine across the whole LAN.
Hope this helps some people.
The solution was to set up the older linksys b router as a "router" rather than a "gateway" with a dedicated static IP on the LAN (I don't use DHCP at all). This way I have two wireless access points each dedicated to the separate protocol. You set up the channel for the B router to the opposite end of the G router. Since there is some overlap of frequency on wireless channels I simply set one of them at channel 1 and the other at channel 11 to minimize any interference. I live in a fairly rural location so my neighbors shouldn't complain that I'm hogging all the frequencies! ;-) this may be considered somewhat rude in an apartment or condo complex.
The G router is connected to the cable modem and has the firewall features enabled. You could do it either way but since the G router is newer with better firewall features it makes more sense to do it this way. It also keeps the traffic across my old crossover cable to a minimum.
I then connected the two routers using a crossover cable plugged into one of the four ports on the B router (not the WAN port). I tried using a standard cable into the WAN port and it didn't work. I set the G router to broadcast wireless G network signals only so my old B laptop that the kids use won't accidentally connect to it rather than the B router like it's supposed to. I set up an active MAC table on the B router to ensure only the wireless B laptop will connect to that router.
It works great and keeps my G network running at top speed even when B devices are present and connected to the LAN. I have mixed Macintosh and Windows systems and cross platform networking is working fine across the whole LAN.
Hope this helps some people.
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