Help Required: Wireless Bridging ?

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paradox

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Hullo networkers :)

Two different Wi-Fi networks on two different subnets/private IP ranges:

1) Beetel ADSL 450TC1 - connecting most of the devices at home (phones, laptops, desktop) to the Net.

2) ASUS Printer Server WL-520GU - connecting said devices to a laser printer (quite far away from the first, CAT cabling to be avoided, printer needs a 15A point which isn't anywhere near the desktop/ADSL router).

I've read that Wireless bridging is possible between two devices so that the ASUS can use the Beetel's internet connectivity (without cables). I found an option to bridge on the ASUS' admin interface, entering the other device's MAC address, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Assuming I'm going about this completely wrong, and would like to proceed with stock firmware on both, any ideas ?

-paradox
 
vivek.krishnan said:
I believe they need to be on the same subnet.
Click to expand...

Tried that :) but no dice. Pings to computers/the routers themselves (of course, I set them up with different IPs), give me no response. Firewalls on the routers are disabled. Thanks for the thought though... anything about wireless bridging that could bring this about ?
 
Try flashing the ASUS to DD WRT and try. Also, is it supported by the Beetel?

Anyways, here is some more info :

Bridging can be via WDS (Wireless Distribution System) which creates a transparent Level 2 wireless bridge between two or more points. Alternately the bridge can be set up as an access point – client relationship which requires the wireless devices used for the bridge to be set to the same service set identifier (SSID) and radio channel.
Click to expand...

from Wireless bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
What security are you using? If the server allows you to keep it dumb (accept IP from the router) it should work fine.

Can you please list the router DHCP settings and the IP assignment list for all connected devices, indicating which devices get their IP from the router? Maybe there is a clue there.

Usually a dumb repeater will allow you to either re-transmit on the same network (AP mode) or create a totally new one. For obvious reasons, the former is preferred when you move around between the locations, and the latter for every other situation.

Ideally, all devices should have fixed IPs on the same subnet, except those that move in and out of range. I use a similar setup, but have set the repeater to create a new network, it just is more reliable that way. All devices use the master network, and devices that have difficulties finding it are set to the repeater's network.

And yes, they need to be on the same subnet. You can create a new network on the repeater with a different subnet, but not sure if devices on the primary network will be able to see it.

So this is what I would do:

Router: Own IP xxx.xxx.1.1, DHCP enabled, starting IP 192.168.1.110

Server: Own IP xxx.xxx.1.2, DHCP disabled (you may need to enter SSID/Password to access the host network, and add its MAC address to the MAC filter on the router if you've enabled MAC filtering)

Printer: Own IP xxx.xxx.1.109 (if network printer, else it should be visible if connected over USB)

All devices needing fixed IPs should be set in the range from xxx.xxx.1.100 - 108.
 
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Hullo, thank you for your responses ! apologies for my delay in response ... the last few days have been occupyingly eventful from a wrk standpoint :(

@vivek.krishnan: I'm hoping to do this with the stock firmware, but thanks for the tip ! I was curious about the Beetel's ability as well. I've tried to change the SSIDs to the same (WPA-PSK Personal) scheme with the same key, same encryption, added either's MAC into the other, but no luck.

@cranky: thanks for the detailed thoughts...I've tried but haven't located an option on the print server to accept an IP wirelessly (I could with a LAN interface, but the ASUS is too far for cabling). They are both on the same subnet (255.255.255.0) and the ASUS (printer server) is 192.168.1.50 while the Beetel (ADSL router) is 192.168.1.1. MAC filtering is disabled. The printer is not a network printer - it's interface with the printer server is USB. I've tried WPS settings on both, explicitly adding each other's MAC, but I'm only able to ping the DHCP-enabled Beetel, not the DHCP-disabled ASUS

-paradox
 
Hmm, this is a little complex.

Would suggest not using WPS. it tends to not work well with fixed IP.

Can you do the following.

1. Enable MAC filtering on the Beetel. You may need to add all device MACs. This is the safest way to connect anyway.

2. Set DHCP to enabled. Set a limited range of the DHCP. Say for 10 devices, xxx.xxx.1.100 to 1.115, this should be enough.

3. Set the SSID to xxx.

4. Reset Asus to default settings (usually by cold booting with some switch pressed, or using the hardware reset button if provided).

5. Bring the Asus to a PC terminal and connect with a LAN cable. Program the authentication (SSID/Passcode) into the server.

6. Set the Asus IP outside the DHCP range of the Beetel, but in the same subnet. 1.50 is a decent starting point. 1.2 would work as well. At this point, disconnect the LAN cable and move it to its location.

7. Add the Asus MAC address to the 'allow' list of the router (if not done in step 1).

8. Power on the Asus, wait till it finds the network, and ping it.

Pl report back if the ping works. At this point, it should. We'll get to the printer connections in a bit.
 
@cranky: <tongue-in-cheek> I'm guessing I get to report in even if it doesn't wrk :)

WPS duly disabled on both :)

all steps followed, at step 5 I tried with the same SSID/passkey and different SSID/passkey

[Note to self: once DHCP is disabled on the ASUS, you won't get any fresh leases so make your changes then disable] :P

at Step 8, I am unable to ping 192.168.1.2 (ASUS) :(

Interestingly, with the same SSID set up on both, I'm guessing the dynamics of signal strength meant that when I was close to the ASUS, I got an IP lease from the Beetel, but wasn't able to ping 192.168.1.1 (Beetel) and had no Internet access, but I was able to ping 192.168.1.2 (ASUS)

When I was close to the Beetel and reconnected to the same SSID, I was able to ping 192.168.1.1 and access the Net again.

thanks for the instructions ! no go, though. Any ideas on how to proceed ?

-paradox
 
Now I'm looking at the product link and the Asus is actually a router, with a built-in print server.

Which means you need to turn it into a dumb terminal. On default settings it will want to be a router.

What I can see from the firmware on the site, there is no actual provision to turn it into a server and disable the router function.

Can you show me a shot of the 'Advanced settings' page on the Asus?
 
cranky said:
Now I'm looking at the product link and the Asus is actually a router, with a built-in print server.

Which means you need to turn it into a dumb terminal. On default settings it will want to be a router.

What I can see from the firmware on the site, there is no actual provision to turn it into a server and disable the router function.

Can you show me a shot of the 'Advanced settings' page on the Asus?
Click to expand...
Well, yes, it is a router. There are options under Administration to convert it to pure AP or 'Home Gateway' - pasting those details from that screen here -

Home Gateway: "In Home Gateway mode, the WL-520GU connects to the Internet via ADSL or cable modem, and clients in your network share the same IP to ISP. In this mode, NAT is enabled and WAN connection is allowed using PPPoE, DHCP, or static IP. It also support UPnP and DDNS features that are useful for home users. "

Router: "In Router mode, we suppose you use WL-520GU to connect to LAN in your company. So, you can set up routing protocol to meet your requirement in office. Explaining with technical terms, router mode is, NAT is disabled, static routing protocol are allowed to set."

Access Point: "In Access Point mode, four LAN ports in the WL-520GU and other wireless devices are set up in the same local area network. The WAN related functions are not supported in this mode. In this mode, NAT is disabled and four LAN ports in the WL-520GU and other wireless devices are bridged together."

Sorry, I'm not familiar with uploading pictures, but I've given it a shot for the 'advanced' page.
If it helps (vs screenshots), here's the link to the manual online: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Networks- ASUS WL-520gU

-paradox

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

:( I guess the upload didn't wrk, I don't see the screenshot anywhere on my post
 
Well the link doesn't work for me on MacOS.

You have to convert it into AP, so it will play dump and not assign IPs, and instead accept whatever the router chooses to assign to it.

Basically as a gateway you need a cable connection from the modem/ADSL router (some BSNL connections use this kind of a device to translate their service into something a PC can access). As a router you have to directly connect it to a LAN cable from the service provider on your WAN port.

As a wireless AP the WAN port is disabled and the device acts as a dumb terminal. Once you set this mode it may not be possible to separately ping the device. Not sure. Please try it and see if it works for you. I'm also not 100% sure of how the USB port will behave in AP mode.
 
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