SMC Barricade N router Questions...

[Comsat]

Is anyone familiar with the SMCWBR14-N2? I purchased in hope of setting it up as a bridge and I find nothing in the documentation to make that possible. There is an ON/OFF switch for the WLAN and in the network settings it has a Bridge Mode option for the WAN Port Mode but none of this is covered in their documentation and a google search hasn't turned anything up.

Barring the ability to figure that out has anyone tried to set up DD-WRT on this model? It isn't listed as compatible or incompatible hardware...

 

[eibgrad]

The only wireless bridging option appears to be WDS. But WDS requires you connect to another WDS-compatible device. And since WDS is not a wifi certified protocol, it's not uncommon to find incompatibilities across manufacturers. Many times it won't even work w/ the SAME manufacturer across product lines! So unless you're attempting to bridge another SMC device that supports WDS, I don't see much hope (you can always try, sometimes you get lucky, but it's a half court shot w/ your eyes closed).

That’s why before buying any product you need to confirm it’s wireless bridging capabilities. Many low-end consumer grade routers don’t support wireless bridging at all. And of those that do, WDS (w/ all its problems) is often all that’s available. Occasionally you’ll run across a router that supports wireless client bridging (aka WISP, e.g., ZyXEL NBG419N), or wireless Ethernet bridge (e.g., ZyXEL P330W), but most times your best bet is a dd-wrt compatible router. Now you have access to numerous forms of wireless bridging, including AP w/ WDS, wireless client, and wireless repeater.

 

[Comsat]

This is what I was afraid of. Maybe I'll just put it up for sale on Craigslist or ebay. Thanks for the reply.