This is a work in progress. I tested this in a lab environment between a wrt54g and a wrt54gs with multiple custom and stock firmwares. I’m unsure of the purpose of some settings, however how they are currently laid out results in a working network as described. I am, in fact, writing this article as a wired client to a wireless client router. Please suggest improvements and explain the settings that are confusing me if you know them.The Linksys WRT54G was outed shortly after its release as running the Linux Operating System internally. Because the Linux kernel and a number of the accompanying utilities that made the router work were licensed under the GNU GPL Linksys was obligated to release the full source code to the router’s firmware. Since then, a number of projects have started up to modify the stock firmware for special purposes that the stock firmware does not support.
These projects include, but are not limited to:
Sveasoft - Modifications branched off an early version of the linksys firmware to support everything in one easy to use package. Sveasoft’s firmware is generally buggy but supports the most features along with DD-WRT and OpenWRT. They are also attempting to violate the GPL by charging for access to their firmware and falsely claiming that the firmware is not covered under the GPL.
DD-WRT - A branch of an early Sveasoft firmware. The DD-WRT is fairly polished, has community support, and supports a larger number of features than Sveasoft. DD-WRT can also grab packages from OpenWRT’s ipkg repository. We will be using DD-WRT for our client router.
OpenWRT - a fully configurable linux distribution for the WRT line of Linksys routers. It is distributed as source to be cross-compiled on a linux desktop and then uploaded. OpenWRT does not have a web interface for configuration. All configuration is done through serial, telnet, or SSH.
Ewrt - A branch of the 3.01.3 Linksys firmware to create an easy to use hotspot.
HyperWRT - A branch of the 3.03.6 Linksys firmware to support a few additional features. If you are overwhelmed by choices, this may be your best bet as it adds the least over the stock firmware.
Freifunk - A preconfigured OpenWRT with a web interface to support mesh-routing out of the box. I might just have to try this one time. If someone out there uses this, please drop me a line.
WDS is a system to allow two wireless routers to connect over wireless and bridge their clients together. Although it is a standard, it is a hack, and not many routers support it. The Linksys WRT line is one of the lucky few with its many customized firmwares. An easier and more compatable method of connecting two routers over wireless, for example to extend the range of ones network, is to set up one router as a normal client of the other with a separate NAT for its own clients.
Let’s assume that our first router, the one plugged into the upstream internet, is configured as many routers are on broadband connections:
Router#1
WAN IP: from DHCP
LAN IP: 192.168.1.1
LAN Subnet: 255.255.255.0Local DHCP Server: Enabled
Starting IP Address: 192.168.1.100
Max DHCP Users: 50SSID: ssid_name
Channel: 11
Wireless Network Mode: Mixed (B & G)
64-bit WEP
To connect a WRT to Router#1 as a client and create its own NAT we first need to get support for Wireless Client Mode. You can do this by flashing the firmware on a WRT with the DD-WRT firmware linked to above. Plug a laptop into your newly flashed WRT, enter the admin panel, and configure it as follows, relative to Router#1.
Router#2
WAN IP: From DHCP
OR
WAN IP: Static
IP: 192.168.1.36 //within the range of addresses given out by Router#1
Subnet: 255.255.255.0 //same as Router#1
Gateway: 192.168.1.1 //address of Router#1
DNS #1: 192.168.1.1 //send all DNS queries to Router#1
DNS #2: blank
DNS #3: blankLAN IP: 192.168.2.1 //the local address of Router#2 in its own network
LAN Subnet: 255.255.255.0 //the subnet of addresses it can give out, 192.168.2.1-255
Gateway: 192.168.2.1 //***Router#2’s address is used as the gateway for local clients
Local DNS: 0.0.0.0 //***No idea, just leave itLocal DHCP Server: Enabled //to allow clients of Router#2 to get addresses
Starting IP Address: 192.168.2.100
Max DHCP Users: 50Wireless Mode: Client //This option only appears after flashing with DD-WRT
SSID: ssid_name //the same as Router#1’s ssid
channel: 11 //the same as Router#1’s channel
Wireless Network Mode: Mixed (B & G) //the same as Router#1’s mode
64-bit WEP Key //the same key(s) as Router#1
***I am not sure of what these two parameters do, however configuring them as described results in a functioning client network.
After setting up Router#2, you can check if it connected to Router#1 over wireless by going to the Status->Wireless page and seeing if Router#1’s MAC address is listed along with Signal and Noise statistics and if Router#2 got an address from the DHCP in Status->Router (if you set it to use a DHCP for the WAN). If you are unsuccessful your network settings may be slightly different if you have a non-Linksys router for Router#1. Router#2 may also be out of range. Use a laptop running NetStumbler or Kismet to measure the signal levels at the intended location for Router#2.
Clients on Router#2 WILL NOT be able to see OR interact with clients on Router#1’s LAN. You need to set Static Route’s for that and it’s not anything I feel like doing right now. The guides linked to below describes those steps.
Router#2 is effectively the same as a laptop or any other wireless client connected to Router#1. The devices connected to Router#2 are isolated on their own sub-network.
A good amount of this data was taken from: http://forum.bsr-clan.de/ftopic694.html and http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=36…..
