HOWTO: Use Linksys WRT54G as a wireless ethernet bridge

[pascal333]

User1234 and others: A good description has been given of how to use a WRT54g to add a PC wirelessly to an existing LAN which already has a router similar to a WRT54g. Here, the second WRT54g can be used to support more than one device but my interest at the moment allows me to think of adding a WRT54g/laptop combo. My question is: Can another WRT54g/laptop combo be added?

I have three areas where I compute. The main connection with the DSL modem and primary WRT5rg is in the middle of the house. The other two are at the ends of the house and are too well shielded to by reached reliably by the existing WRT54g with pcmcia cards. Wire is out of the question. I have an old WRT54g that I tried as you described, and it works great at either end location with either laptop. So I am wondering if I purchase another one if it will allow both laptops to work or break the connection I now have.

Thanx
Pascal333

 

[pascal333]

user1234 or other who knows the answer:

First of all: Interesting work on the WRT54, user1234!!

Easy Question: The commannd
telnet 192.168.1.129
produces requests for login and password. When I use the web interface, I fill in a password, but no login or user. If I put in an arbitrary user here on the telnet login, the login fails, as it does if I do not put in an arbitrary user. What am I supposed to use for a login for telnet? (in plain dummy terms, please!) Thanx

 

[pascal333]

Got the clarification of answer to this one... you had answered it elsewhere but I did not understand your answer (too new to know the terminology). Happily I was able to make the final little step with a little google-ing and a bit of trial and error.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: pascal333
User1234 and others: A good description has been given of how to use a WRT54g to add a PC wirelessly to an existing LAN which already has a router similar to a WRT54g. Here, the second WRT54g can be used to support more than one device but my interest at the moment allows me to think of adding a WRT54g/laptop combo. My question is: Can another WRT54g/laptop combo be added?

I have three areas where I compute. The main connection with the DSL modem and primary WRT5rg is in the middle of the house. The other two are at the ends of the house and are too well shielded to by reached reliably by the existing WRT54g with pcmcia cards. Wire is out of the question. I have an old WRT54g that I tried as you described, and it works great at either end location with either laptop. So I am wondering if I purchase another one if it will allow both laptops to work or break the connection I now have.

Thanx
Pascal333

If you are using all wrt54g's and sveasoft firmware, there is no reason NOT to use WDS. It is built right in to that firmware, and you can daisy-chain as many routers as you like, till the channel gets saturated.

 

[user1234]

pascal333, you should be able to use two or more wrt54g routers as clients of your main router at the same time with no problem. This should work since each wrt54g is just a wirelell client of the main router, so you could have as many as you want (but note that they all share the wireless channel's bandwidth). Also, like skyking said, if your main router is also a wrt54g you could probably set up WDS mode (search for a thread here about two wrt54g's) which is more flexible than the "client mode" setup I described in this HOWTO. and btw the username to log in to the wrt54g is "root" (default password is "admin" unless you changed it).

Glad to hear about another successful setup !!

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: bgbysleepy
hey "user1234" can you help me fix this.
first here is my setting.
main router(netgear) has
Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
linksys wrt54gs has
default gateway: 192.168.1.1
subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
PC1 connect to wrt54gs ip is: 192.168.1.2

how do i forward port 1414 so that PC1 can use that port.
I've try to login to netgear forward like this
start: 1414 and end port 1414: server ip address: 192.168.1.1(which is linksys)
and also try to forward port 1414 in the linksys router to ip: 192.168.1.2(which is PC1)
but it doesn't work. please help me.
.......

ok, I think the info you gave about your setup is missing some stuff, but basically what you need to do is do the forwarding twice: first from your main router to the client router (the wrt54g) and second from the client router to its attached pc (PC1). The thing to note is that when you set up the forwarding from the main router to the client router, you have to enter (as destination) the address of client router on the main router's network (so it will be something like 192.168.0.x). This is the address by which the client router is known by the main router. You can see this address in the client router's status:setup screen , in IP Address field. So you have to set the forwarding from the main router to this address. Then on the client router set up forwarding to its attached PC. I've done that and can run a UT2004 server on a PC attached to the client router, and also manage it remotely using UT2004 built in http server (i also forward the http server's port, as well as the server's game ports).


woops I see you already figured it out on your own - good job

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: daniel29

Originally posted by: MartzisI update my WRT54GS with Satori firmware and now it is working fine as WLAN client. All dhcp traffic goes fine trough it.

And so do ARP request and other broadcast packets? And the WRT54's IP is just for administration and not for anything else (gateway address, dns proxy)? Fine! Exactly what the client mode should be: transparent.

What exactly is the Satori firmware version you are talking about? Does Satori know anything about "WPA"?

If I flash Satori, can I easily revert to Alchemy or DD-WRT (Alchemy based)? I am also interested in trying Enhanced WRT Linux distribution or OpenWRT but I am also unsure if this process is reversable.

that's great news, so if you anyone can post a more detailed description (or a HowTo) I will be glad to try this enhanced client mode.

 

[daniel29]

that's great news, so if you anyone can post a more detailed description (or a HowTo) I will be glad to try this enhanced client mode.

It seems, bridged client mode and WPA is not possible with the binary drivers provided by linksys. I reckon, one has to use the userland tool "wpa_supplicant".

I am still investigating into this subject. More posting when events warrant.

 

[madtomic]

hi user1234,

does this works with WRT54G - Wireless-G Broadband Router v1.0?

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: madtomic
hi user1234,

does this works with WRT54G - Wireless-G Broadband Router v1.0?

if the alchemy firmware is compatible with it then yes it will work. Or if there is another sveasoft firmware version which is similar to alchemy. Try flashing to alchemy first, and if you can't (the flash will fail if it's not comaptible) then try the other firmwares.

 

[Davegod75]

I'm wondering if this can be done with the gigafast wf711-APR i just got.. It sounded like from the description that you could but I cannot figure it out


any clue?

 

[rangerman]

Anybody figure out how to save that proxy_arp setting? It is really annoying to have to set it after the router resets for whatever reason. (Echoing 1 to it in /proc does not survive reboots. I don't see an NVRAM parameter to set either. )

I am using the Sveasoft pre7a f/w.

Anybody?

 

[sombranox]

My apologies for my stupidity when it comes to networking, but I'm new to this and this has been the best thread I've seen thus far regarding this.

I have an Actiontec DSL modem/Wireless gateway which I got from Qwest. It is in another room too far to run an ethernet from it to my desktops. I bought a Linksys WRT54G yesterday and I've followed the instructions at the top of this thread. However, my Linksys isn't connecting to the Actiontec's WAN for some reason.

The WAN IP is set as 192.168.0.1 with mask of 255.255.255.0. It broadcasts mixed on channel 9 by default and uses 64 bit WEP. I have the Linksys router set to client mode, the Wireless name and WEP info set correctly as far as I can figure out, and the linksys is just never getting an IP assigned in the Status page, though in the wireless status, it shows the Actiontec on the survey and shows it having throughput of 11 Mps.

So any clue at all why my Linksys isn't getting an IP when I can plug a wireless adapter into any of the computers and have them online directly? I'm really hoping to be able to do this so I can put my three desktops online through the router rather than using adapters for each.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know

 

[sombranox]

Scratch that. I'm a dumbass. I was using my first key as my passphrase. It all works now. Thanks very greatly for this

 

[g4814]

So, I have read all the forum, I was wondering if this firmware will work with wrt54gc? I have tried flashing the firmware but i get an error that says failed due to internet traffic or something very similar. Can you tell me what the message is when the firmware fails. I want to check to see if it is this message.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: rangerman
Anybody figure out how to save that proxy_arp setting? It is really annoying to have to set it after the router resets for whatever reason. (Echoing 1 to it in /proc does not survive reboots. I don't see an NVRAM parameter to set either. )

I am using the Sveasoft pre7a f/w.

Anybody?

yeah, it's annoying but I don't know of any way to save it. Anyway, how often do reboot the router ? for me, it's only after a power outage.

 

[datapak]

I thought I had hit the mother lode when I found your detailed WRT54 to wireless eithernet bridge, but I have the Talisman Basic firmware and it is not the same for item 5
No operating mode Gateway to setup.

Any idea how I reproduce this option.
Will the 6rc5 firmware work on the WRT54gV3?

Thanks for any help.

datapak

 

[msdmoney]

I was going through your walkthrough and got to step 4f. After I saved the settings and rebooted I can no longer connect to the router typing 192.168.1.1, not sure what I did wrong. I am pretty new to this, so there might be a basic step or thing that I am missing.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: msdmoney
I was going through your walkthrough and got to step 4f. After I saved the settings and rebooted I can no longer connect to the router typing 192.168.1.1, not sure what I did wrong. I am pretty new to this, so there might be a basic step or thing that I am missing.

Didn't you notice that in step 4b the local IP was changed from 192.168.1.1 (or whatever it used to be before) to 192.168.0.129 ?

You need to use this new IP to connect to the router from now on ! DUH !

I also put a note in the instructions for other people to whom this may not be so obvious.

 

[msdmoney]

Thanks I got it working, sorry for the dumb question, I am pretty new at the networking stuff. I actually figured it out and was trying to connect to the right IP address(192.168.0.129) for a while with no luck, so I reset the router and went throught the steps again, and everything worked perfectly. Maybe I made a mistake the first time.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: datapak
I thought I had hit the mother lode when I found your detailed WRT54 to wireless eithernet bridge, but I have the Talisman Basic firmware and it is not the same for item 5
No operating mode Gateway to setup.

Any idea how I reproduce this option.
Will the 6rc5 firmware work on the WRT54gV3?

Thanks for any help.

datapak

You can always try to flash to the Alchemy firmware and see if that works - if it's not compatible it will not flash. It should be compatible as long as they didn't change the CPU in the new revision. Otherwise, you can try to make it work with your firmware by trying to find similar settings, but there might be some trial and error involved in that (which is what this guide is supposed to help with).

 

[semsoid]

Following your advice user1234, I switched from separate networks to single. My main Dlink box is 192.168.1.1, 255.255.255.0, my Linksys is using 192.168.1.129, 255.255.255.128

The Linksys gets a IP via DHCP and it is currently 192.168.1.50 (as its Internet IP). I cannot ping 1.50. I have double checked the settings on Linksys and neither firewall is on, nor block anonymous requests. Similarly, one of my boxes is connected to Linksys, has an IP 192.168.1.202,255.255.255.128 and I cannot ping it either.

Also, when setting up a port forwarding, do I still need to set it as double or just point to the whatever IP (in our case 1.202) directly on Dlink?

TIA

Sems

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: semsoid
Following your advice user1234, I switched from separate networks to single. My main Dlink box is 192.168.1.1, 255.255.255.0, my Linksys is using 192.168.1.129, 255.255.255.128

The Linksys gets a IP via DHCP and it is currently 192.168.1.50 (as its Internet IP). I cannot ping 1.50. I have double checked the settings on Linksys and neither firewall is on, nor block anonymous requests. Similarly, one of my boxes is connected to Linksys, has an IP 192.168.1.202,255.255.255.128 and I cannot ping it either.

Also, when setting up a port forwarding, do I still need to set it as double or just point to the whatever IP (in our case 1.202) directly on Dlink?

TIA

Sems

You should be able to ping the WRT54G client router from a PC attached to it using the address 192.168.1.129. You may need to reboot the WRT54G and the PC attached to it for the all the settings to be used. If you still can't even ping it from the attached PC using this address then you must have set something wrong, and need to start again (be doing a hard reset to clear all the setting from the non-volatile ram).

After you're able to ping the WRT54G from an attached PC, the next step is to try to ping it from PC attached to the main router, using the its external address 192.168.1.50.

Btw, I believe that you would only need to do the forwarding once with this overlapping network address setup.

 

[semsoid]

Yes. after a reboot, I can ping the Linksys, via both 1.50 and 1.129. Strange, I wonder why I cannot ping 1.202 (my Location Free TV base), I was able to ping it when I used 2.x class. Also i cannot telnet to a port on it as well, even though the base can go out, as I can browse web with its client

Weird

 

[semsoid]

Found it. Somehow, the proxy_arp was lost. After trying to setup the port forwarding, it rebooted the Linksys, which in turn helped ping work.

Then when I applied "echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/proxy_arp", 1.202 became pingable and telnetable

And to confirm, yes single forward suffice. So all is good