HOWTO: Use Linksys WRT54G as a wireless ethernet bridge

[Net]

This sounds cool. But why would I want to do this? What can I do with this?

 

[semsoid]

Many things, put one into your entertainment unit and provide connection/s to your devices, such as PS2, Xbox, Media Center, DVD player an internet connection without running wires all around the house.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: facemask
just out of curiosity....how long has linksys had their code open source? who had the first 3rd party firmware available for this? just wondering how far behind in the times i am

is sveasoft the first and/or only 3rd party firmware for this? is using the router as a bridge/client not possible any other way?

no there are lots of modded firmwares around, and I think some recent ones are even better. I believe it's possible to do this bridging with many of the modded firmwares, but when I got my WRT54G I couldn't find any clear and simple step by step instructions on how to do it. So I went googling around the internet and found various bits and pieces of information and finally after a lot of trial and error I was able to get it working. So I thought I should write this guide so other people can benefit from my experience and not have to go thru the same process (which most people will probably not even want to attempt, or give up after a while).

A good start about available firmwares is this thread (especially the first post)

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1343138&enterthread=y

 

[wiltonh]

Over the last few weeks I have spent my spare time working with the Wrt54g and many of the different firmware versions that are available. My goal was to get a simple client mode running. I actually was trying many of the things mentioned in this thread over a month ago but could not get it to work. About a week ago, I found this thread and thought my troubles were over. NOT SO

I setup my wrt54g just as shown and the router would not get a DHCP address. I tried every thing I could think of and nothing would work. This included several versions of firmware plus starting over several times from scratch. I bricked the router a few times in the process.

I can now do this setup by memory.

My break came today when I read every article in this thread. I found another user who had some very bitter things to say about the Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless router. This router has a checkered past. Just Google it if you really want to know the history. I puchased it because my Company recommended it as the router they wanted us to use for VPN.

Tonight I decided to shut off the wireless on the BEFW11S4 and try a very old WAP11 that I had sitting around. I plugged it in and configured it as an AP. The Wrt54g associated with it and connected just fine. I am sending this post over that setup.

I have other cards that can connect to the BEFW11S4 just fine. These include Netgear MA111, WG111, and Dell Trumobile 1150. We have connected Centreno Laptops, Dell Laptops and Toshiba tablets. In general the wireless has worked okay but it will not connect to the wrt54g.

The current setup does not work on the BEFW11S4 but does work on the WAP11. The only thing that is different is the SSID. The WAP11 has a different SSID than the BEFW11S4.

If anyone else has connected with BEFW11S4 wireless router to a Wrt54g, I would like to hear from you.

 

[user1234]

wiltonh, welocme to the forums !!!!!!! yes, I remember someone complaining about the BEFW11S4 not being able to connect with the wrt54g, but since this person only posted a single time I do not know if he was able to get it to work. In theory, the wrt54g should be able to act as a client of any wireless routers (especially linksys routers), but of course in reality there might be some bugs and other snags which might prevent that. In fact, most people that experienced problems and posted about them here, were able to solve them and get a working setup.
In your case, I understand you probably tried almost everything, therefore there is a good chance it really is because of some underlying incompatiblity. But just to make sure, you can check two major sources of problems: one is WEP (i recommend to turn it off to rule it out as the source of the problem), and second is the MAC filtering feature on your main router which only allows specific clients to connect. I understand you can connect to your BEFW11S4 main router using other wireless clients, so I guess you must know how to set up the WEP and mac filtering correctly, but it's always better to double check.

 

[wiltonh]

I do understand WEP and Mac filtering.

>one is WEP (i recommend to turn it off to rule it out as the source of the problem),

Wep was shut off on both the WRT54g and the BEFW11S4.

>and second is the MAC filtering feature on your main router which only allows specific >clients to connect.

When I started, I found the WRT54G listing of MAC addresses to be really confusing. The wireless page shows a MAC address but it is not the MAC address of the wireless. I mentioned this in another forum and was told by BrainSlayer (DD-WRT coder) that it is a routed wireless so you really need to put in the MAC address for the router. I covered my bases and put in all three MAC addresses but it did no good. I then just disabled MAC address filtering all to gether and it still did not work.

I created your exact setup using fixed IP address for everything and that did not work either. The radio connected just fne but the WRT54g would not send data across the link on a consistent basis. There were a few times when a ping or two would work but it would then stop again. I did see the NMTP server update the time correctly once. So it was not a 100% failure. It was about a 99.99% failure.

There may be a later version of software for the BEFW11S4 and I will probably check into that but the software that is on the box is about 6 months old. When I got BEFW11S4 the thing would crash about every day or so, but when I went to the current version of software it now runs fine with no crashes. VPN works well and I thought things were all happy until I spent about 20+ hours trying to get client mode running.

 

[user1234]

yep, I noticed that BEFW11S4 has a large number of frustrated user reports, so maybe it's time to get a 54g router...and don't worry about VPN, it now works with almost every router

 

[hak0r 5t4tus]

user1234 thanks for the info. It works perfectly

Now this is the problem I am having. There are 2 printers on the network and when i try to ping the IP addresses of the priters sometimes i get the standard reply

Reply from 192.168.1.249...

And sometimes it looks like this

Reply from 192.168.1.249.....
Reply from 192.168.1.110 destinaltion host unreachable

and the damn printers arent working half the time. Now the .110 IP address is the one assigned to the Router that I set up as a wireless bridge (wrt54g #2) and its getting it from my main routher which is one of the linksys hard wired routher w/ VPN. It doesnt make any sense to me why traffic would sometimes be directed to the WRT54G thats setup as just a client

So my setup look like this

linksys hardwired--------WRT54G(ap mode with alchemy fw)~~~~~~~WRT54G(client mode)

Whats your thoughts on that?

 

[user1234]

Did you perform step 10 (set up proxy arp) ? note that this setting is NOT saved in the non volatile memory of the client router (unlike all the other settings), so if you reboot it or disconnect it, then this setting is lost, and need to be restored manually by repeating step 10.
The "host unreachable" message seems like it's saying that the client router (.110) is not able to connect to the printer (.249) which I assume is wired to it, right ? Are you seeing this problem when you ping the printer from a PC attached to the first WRT54G or from a PC attached to the client WRT54G ?

 

[hak0r 5t4tus]

I did perform step 10. And the printers and hard wired machines all go into a switch the goes into the BEFVP41. The first WRT54G is plugged into the BEFVP41 as well. So if i ping from wireless or hardwired clients i still get the same problem

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: hak0r 5t4tus
I did perform step 10. And the printers and hard wired machines all go into a switch the goes into the BEFVP41. The first WRT54G is plugged into the BEFVP41 as well. So if i ping from wireless or hardwired clients i still get the same problem

Oh, I see..... the problem is of overlapping addresses - your printer address (.249) is in the range 128-255 which is supposed to only be used by the client router and its attached PCs, so assigning this address to the printer causes ambiguity and conflicts.

Did you see the note preceding step 4 ?

"Note: We will use addresses that end in 128-255 for the wrt54g router and it's attached PCs. To make sure there is no overlap in the addresses assigned by the two routers, we have to make sure that your main router doesn't assign addresses to its own clients in that range. For example, if your main router address is 192.168.0.1, its DHCP address range could be 192.168.0.50 - 192.168.0.120."

So the solution is to change the IP assigned to your printers and any other PC attached to your main router to NOT use the range 128-255. You should be able to do it by modifying the DHCP settings on the main router (if you're using DHCP), or if you're using static addresses for the printers, you'll have to change those on each of them.

 

[hak0r 5t4tus]

I never even thought of that. Ill give that a try today and post the results. Thanks for the advice

 

[wiltonh]

Last night I checked on the firmware version of my BEFW11S4 and it was not the latest version. The file that lists things fixed in the new version, showed a wireless compatibilty problem fixed, so I had high hopes. I downloaded it and updated my firmware. The existing network seems to still work correctly but it did not help my client mode problem.

I setup the wrt54g to connect as a client and I did see it partially connect. It picked up the correct DNS server but by the time I got ping running it would no longer connect.

At this point I do not believe the Wrt54g and the BEFW11S4 are compatible for wireless connections. They will associate but not communicate.

In the long run I do not plan to use this wrt54g connected to this system. It will be used as one end of a long distance link for a home that is located where there is no cable or DSL access and never will be any. Here is a link to the antenna which will be connected to one end:

http://windsurf.mediaforte.com/dish_can.jpg

The other end of the link will be another antenna and a second wrt54g. The distance will be around a mile so we could use a much smaller antenna.

The irony of this situation is that there is fiber running across the end of the property. I checked, and the telephone company would only connect me if I was willing to pay for a DS3 connection. A couple of Wrt54g routers and antenna seemed like a lot cheaper way to go.

 

[hak0r 5t4tus]

Ok the IP range for inside is 192.168.1.100-192.168.1.149 and outside with the clients connected to the WRT54G the IP range is 192.168.1.150 (device IP) and the scope is 192.168.1.155-192.168.1.205. I put the printer which previously was .249 to .145 and i am still having the ping say:

reply from 192.168.1.110 destination host unreachable...

and that is from any client that is connected to the first WRT54G that is setup as the office AP

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: hak0r 5t4tus
Ok the IP range for inside is 192.168.1.100-192.168.1.149 and outside with the clients connected to the WRT54G the IP range is 192.168.1.150 (device IP) and the scope is 192.168.1.155-192.168.1.205. I put the printer which previously was .249 to .145 and i am still having the ping say:

reply from 192.168.1.110 destination host unreachable...

and that is from any client that is connected to the first WRT54G that is setup as the office AP

no it has to be below 128 !!!!!!! otherwise the client wrt54g will think it's meant for its own subnet, and will initiate a proxy arp reply.

 

[Tom33]

I have a WRT54G that looks to be a Version 3 (CDF8), still in the package, for now.

1. Do I need a firmware upgrade to get the unit into Client mode ?
2. If so, is there a proven safe firmware for a v3 unit ?

Thanks

 

[Tom33]

Well to answer my own question.....Talisman Basic 1.0.3.1 Firmware will install on a V3 router. Router works as a router fine after the upgrade. I will head out tomorrow to pick up another router, to move the project further along.

 

[facemask]

im back. so far i have had great success with this setup. got my PS2 and XBOX hooked up to a WRT54G which is the client router.

I just got my ReplayTV this week and hooked that up and was up and running with that as well without any problems.

However, now I want to try and transfer photos from my PC on the main router to my ReplayTV (RTV) box on the client router. I ran the command "echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/proxy_arp" on the client router, but I am unable to establish a connection with the RTV box.

After running the proxy_arp command on the client router, I could not ping the RTV and the software that looks for an RTV on the network did not find it either.

any suggestions?

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: facemask
im back. so far i have had great success with this setup. got my PS2 and XBOX hooked up to a WRT54G which is the client router.

I just got my ReplayTV this week and hooked that up and was up and running with that as well without any problems.

However, now I want to try and transfer photos from my PC on the main router to my ReplayTV (RTV) box on the client router. I ran the command "echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/proxy_arp" on the client router, but I am unable to establish a connection with the RTV box.

After running the proxy_arp command on the client router, I could not ping the RTV and the software that looks for an RTV on the network did not find it either.

any suggestions?

try: ping the RTV from the client router (after telneting into the router), then try to ping it from a PC attached to the client router, and then from PC attached to the main router. Which one fails ? if the first one fails then maybe the RTV is not responding to pings....
Do you succeed in pinging the XBOX and other devices attached to the client WRT54G from a PC attached to the main router ?

 

[facemask]

the ping to the RTV from the client router is successful. i dont have a PC hooked up to the client, but if you think it will help debug the prob, i can hook one up.

i typed in the cmd "echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/proxy_arp" in quotes exactly. if thats correct, im not sure where to go from here.

on a side note...what exactly does having proxy_arp with "1" in the file do?

 

[user1234]

hmmm.. so you can ping it from the client router but not from a PC attached to the main router ? is this he same for the other devices attached to the client router (e.g. can ping them from the client router but not from a PC attached to the main router) ? if so, then maybe the proxy_arp is not working. Verify the setup by typing this command and check that it prints out "1":

cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/proxy_arp

If it's only the RTV then that doesn't respond to pings from a remote PC, then try using a different physical port on the wrt54g

 

[facemask]

Originally posted by: user1234
hmmm.. so you can ping it from the client router but not from a PC attached to the main router ? is this he same for the other devices attached to the client router (e.g. can ping them from the client router but not from a PC attached to the main router) ? if so, then maybe the proxy_arp is not working. Verify the setup by typing this command and check that it prints out "1":

cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/proxy_arp

If it's only the RTV then that doesn't respond to pings from a remote PC, then try using a different physical port on the wrt54g

i tried that last night, and cat did display "1". i will have to turn turn on the consoles when i get home and try the pings then. thanks.

 

[jeremycobert]

user1234, many thanks for the tips.

here are some tips for replaytv users.i did get mine running with IVS and dvarchive and poopli updater all working wirelessly.

i had been using the old satori firmware just because it allowed me to easily bridge my wrt54's . so i read user1234 first post in this topic and upgraded the firmware on both routers.

i didnt get it to work right away but after about 12 hours i did finally get it up and running. now i have 4 ports on the client instead of just 1. i had trouble when i was not using the x.x.x.129 address on the client, but it became pingable and then fully working after assigning it the 129 then with echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/proxy_arp on the client, made it pingable to all spots within the network


my setup looks like this
cable modem-->wrt54g#1---wirelessly----wrt54g#2--->replaytv

#1s ip is 192.168.1.1 and #2 is 192.168.1.2, but the subnet on#2 starts on 192.168.1.129
the tricky part for me was getting port forwarding to the RTV, i had to forward my sharing port # from #1 into #2's ip address not the routers subnet address. so after i got RTV's sharing feature up and working i then had problems with DVarchive from my laptop(wrt#1) connecting to RTV, but i did a port forward of port 80 on wrt#2 to forward it to RTV. and now its all back and running.the only thing left is that when dvarchive (laptop)is listening for RTV on the network associated with my laptops ip, it never seems to find it, so i still have to manually tell dvarchive where it is. no big deal, i will get it!!!

 

[facemask]

Originally posted by: jeremycobert
user1234, many thanks for the tips.

here are some tips for replaytv users.i did get mine running with IVS and dvarchive and poopli updater all working wirelessly.

i had been using the old satori firmware just because it allowed me to easily bridge my wrt54's . so i read user1234 first post in this topic and upgraded the firmware on both routers.

i didnt get it to work right away but after about 12 hours i did finally get it up and running. now i have 4 ports on the client instead of just 1. i had trouble when i was not using the x.x.x.129 address on the client, but it became pingable and then fully working after assigning it the 129 then with echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/proxy_arp on the client, made it pingable to all spots within the network


my setup looks like this
cable modem-->wrt54g#1---wirelessly----wrt54g#2--->replaytv

#1s ip is 192.168.1.1 and #2 is 192.168.1.2, but the subnet on#2 starts on 192.168.1.129
the tricky part for me was getting port forwarding to the RTV, i had to forward my sharing port # from #1 into #2's ip address not the routers subnet address. so after i got RTV's sharing feature up and working i then had problems with DVarchive from my laptop(wrt#1) connecting to RTV, but i did a port forward of port 80 on wrt#2 to forward it to RTV. and now its all back and running.the only thing left is that when dvarchive (laptop)is listening for RTV on the network associated with my laptops ip, it never seems to find it, so i still have to manually tell dvarchive where it is. no big deal, i will get it!!!

hey man...if you could put together a step by step procedure for each router and all the port forwarding, i would greatly appreciate it!! im still kinda a newbie with networking, so if you could break it all down, that would be awesome!

i have the setup user1234 posted and it works fine. but even with the proxy_arp, i cant ping devices on the client router. i'd like to be able to use PCs on the main router for all the ReplayTV tools you mentioned.

 

[user1234]

facemask, I think your proxy_arp is not working. Are you using a slightly different version of the firmware then what I described in the guide ? the thing is that different versions of the firmware use different device designations for each port, so you may need to set up the proxy_arp a little differently. To find out the device name to use for proxy arp (e.g. eth0 or eth1 ir eth2, etc) telnet to the wrt54g and type the command "ifconfig". You should see a list of devices like "br0", "eth1", "vlan0" etc, and next to each one is some information. Look for the device which has an IP address that looks like 192.168.x.y where y is BELOW 128. There should only be one device with such an address. Now you just need to use this device name ito set up the proxy arp. For example, if the device is eth0, then use this command to set up proxy arp:

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth0/proxy_arp

Now you can try to ping from the remote PC. btw, after you set up the proxy_arp (hopefully it will finally work), you can do port forwarding very easily by just setting it on the main router (designating the port to forward and the machine to forward it to). There is no need to set up the port forwarding on the client router, as the proxy arp will seamlessly forward anything that is addressed to a device attached to the client router.