- Feb 17, 2012
- 6
- 0
- 10,510
Converting dlink router to an access point
- Thread starter revronfrancey
- Start date
Solution
Dark Lord of Tech
Retired Moderator
- Aug 18, 2009
- 128,614
- 1,778
- 159,590
- Feb 17, 2012
- 6
- 0
- 10,510
can the access point be connected to the router wirelessly?
also, should the access point have an ip w/i the range of the dhp or outside it. iow, if the range is 2-200, should the ap be inside that range or outside it?
also, should the access point have an ip w/i the range of the dhp or outside it. iow, if the range is 2-200, should the ap be inside that range or outside it?
ngrego
Distinguished
- Jan 25, 2012
- 1,119
- 0
- 19,660
No that's a extender you're looking for. A wireless router can be used as an access point if it is connected via cable (unless it has extender capability).
As a rule of thumb there should only be 1 DHCP server in your network!
Also asign static IPs to all your networking hardware so you can find it later!
Start your DHCP pool from 10 - 200, use the first 10 addresses for NW hardware and the rest for users to connect.
As a rule of thumb there should only be 1 DHCP server in your network!
Also asign static IPs to all your networking hardware so you can find it later!
Start your DHCP pool from 10 - 200, use the first 10 addresses for NW hardware and the rest for users to connect.
Routersforhumans
Distinguished
- Feb 1, 2012
- 126
- 0
- 18,690
Hi revronfrancey,
Check this out. Be patient while reading and following the given steps...........
Step 1: Connect a computer that is set to obtain its IP address information automatically to a LAN port on the wireless router that you want to convert to an AP. If you don't know how to do this, Figure 1 shows the applicable Windows XP screens. (Get to the Network Connections window by Start > Settings > Network Connections.)
Figure 1: Checking for "Obtain an IP address automatically"
Log into the admin page of the wireless router that you want to convert to an access point. From here on, I'll call this the "AP".
Step 2: For simple, one segment LANs, there must be only one DHCP server. Your LAN's router has a DHCP server and you don't want the two to conflict. So turn off the DHCP server on the AP. In Figure 2, you can see that the DHCP server in the WRT54G AP has been disabled.
Figure 2: Shut off the DHCP server; change the IP
Step 3: Find your LAN Router's DHCP server range. Figure 3 shows the Basic Network Settings page of the D-Link DGL-4300 that is my LAN's router. This is where the DHCP server controls happen to be. Different routers might have the DHCP server controls on a separate page, so you may have to poke around a little.
Figure 3: LAN router settings
The 4300 normally has its Router IP Address set to 192.168.0.1 by default. But you can see in Figure 3, I changed it to 10.168.3.254. This shifted the DHCP server to the 10.168.3.X subnet instead of the 192.168.0.X. I also could have used 10.168.3.1 or any address as long as it wasn't between 10.168.3.100 and 10.168.3.249, which is the DHCP server's range.
The bottom line is that the my LAN router's DHCP server range is 10.168.3.100 to 10.168.3.249.
Step 4: Change the address of the AP to an unused LAN IP address. This will ensure that you can reach the admin pages of the AP to change settings when needed. Referring back to Figure 2, you can see that I set the AP to 10.168.3.250. Again, this could be any IP from 10.168.3.1 to 10.168.3.99 or 10.168.3.250 to 10.168.3.254, which are all outside the LAN DHCP server range.
Step 5: Connect the AP to the LAN. Unplug the computer you used to configure the AP and plug it back into one of your LAN router's switch ports. Now take an Ethernet cable, plug one end into another unused router switch port and the other end into one of the AP's LAN ports. Be sure to use a LAN port and not the WAN port. Figure 4 shows the proper connection for the WRT54G.
Figure 4: AP connection detail
Step 6: Check the AP LAN connection. You should now be able to use any of your LAN's computers to reach the AP. So open a browser, enter the address that you set for the AP in Step 4(which is at 10.168.3.250 in this example) and you should get the login prompt.
If you don't get the prompt, recheck that you have the Ethernet cable running from LAN port to LAN port on your router's switch and the AP. The respective port lights on the router and AP should be lit.
Step 7: Check the AP wireless connection. Fire up a wireless notebook or other client and check that it properly associates and pulls an IP address from your LAN router's DHCP server. Congratulations! You now have a new Access Point......................
Check this out. Be patient while reading and following the given steps...........
Step 1: Connect a computer that is set to obtain its IP address information automatically to a LAN port on the wireless router that you want to convert to an AP. If you don't know how to do this, Figure 1 shows the applicable Windows XP screens. (Get to the Network Connections window by Start > Settings > Network Connections.)
Figure 1: Checking for "Obtain an IP address automatically"
Log into the admin page of the wireless router that you want to convert to an access point. From here on, I'll call this the "AP".
Step 2: For simple, one segment LANs, there must be only one DHCP server. Your LAN's router has a DHCP server and you don't want the two to conflict. So turn off the DHCP server on the AP. In Figure 2, you can see that the DHCP server in the WRT54G AP has been disabled.
Figure 2: Shut off the DHCP server; change the IP
Step 3: Find your LAN Router's DHCP server range. Figure 3 shows the Basic Network Settings page of the D-Link DGL-4300 that is my LAN's router. This is where the DHCP server controls happen to be. Different routers might have the DHCP server controls on a separate page, so you may have to poke around a little.
Figure 3: LAN router settings
The 4300 normally has its Router IP Address set to 192.168.0.1 by default. But you can see in Figure 3, I changed it to 10.168.3.254. This shifted the DHCP server to the 10.168.3.X subnet instead of the 192.168.0.X. I also could have used 10.168.3.1 or any address as long as it wasn't between 10.168.3.100 and 10.168.3.249, which is the DHCP server's range.
The bottom line is that the my LAN router's DHCP server range is 10.168.3.100 to 10.168.3.249.
Step 4: Change the address of the AP to an unused LAN IP address. This will ensure that you can reach the admin pages of the AP to change settings when needed. Referring back to Figure 2, you can see that I set the AP to 10.168.3.250. Again, this could be any IP from 10.168.3.1 to 10.168.3.99 or 10.168.3.250 to 10.168.3.254, which are all outside the LAN DHCP server range.
Step 5: Connect the AP to the LAN. Unplug the computer you used to configure the AP and plug it back into one of your LAN router's switch ports. Now take an Ethernet cable, plug one end into another unused router switch port and the other end into one of the AP's LAN ports. Be sure to use a LAN port and not the WAN port. Figure 4 shows the proper connection for the WRT54G.
Figure 4: AP connection detail
Step 6: Check the AP LAN connection. You should now be able to use any of your LAN's computers to reach the AP. So open a browser, enter the address that you set for the AP in Step 4(which is at 10.168.3.250 in this example) and you should get the login prompt.
If you don't get the prompt, recheck that you have the Ethernet cable running from LAN port to LAN port on your router's switch and the AP. The respective port lights on the router and AP should be lit.
Step 7: Check the AP wireless connection. Fire up a wireless notebook or other client and check that it properly associates and pulls an IP address from your LAN router's DHCP server. Congratulations! You now have a new Access Point......................
- Feb 17, 2012
- 6
- 0
- 10,510
thanks for your responses!
routersforhumans: my most recent attempt at converting the router to an access point was per the model you also suggested. i went through the same steps ending up with a new ap that had a static ip address outside the dhcp range and having the ap wired to a lan port on the router.
i then added lan cables from my tv, sattellite box to lan ports on the ap. i also removed my vonage lan cable from my clear wifi and inserted it on the lan cable of the ap. (as my clear wifi modem/router has only one lan port, this step happened first.)
i then picked up my vonage phone (connected to the ap) and checked that i still had a dial tone. i did. so, i placed a call to my cellphone and it wrang.
i then went to my laptop (wirelessly connected to clear wifi) and went to network to see if my tv and sattellite were visible on network connections. no.
we went out for a few hours and upon coming back, my and my wife's laptops were no longer connected to the clear wifi.
so, i unplugged the ap from the clear wifi, turned off the ap power, plugged vonage back into the clear wife and got back to the net and was able to use my phone.
a little history: for the past few years, we were using att dsl and an att phone line for local calls. after several bumbling attempts by att to repair our phone line (constant static issues), dropping dsl lines, phone calls where you could not hear the other end and so forth, i decided to rid our house of att completely.
one of the nice things about my old dlink router and att dsl setup was that i was able to run slideshows on my tv controlled by my laptop. we travel just over half the year each year since retirement and have lots of really nice pictures which we love to see posted on our tv.
ok, now enter clear wifi which is a modem w/wifi router (with only one *useable* lan port.) enter vonage which eats up the one lan port.
what to do, what to do?
so, since i have the old unused dlink router, how can i use its resources (four lan ports) such that i have use of my vonnage phone, tv, blueray player, satellite and can stream pictures and so forth?
if i could connect the dlink wirelessly (i thought as an ap) then i would use up the four lan ports of the ap.
now, though, your note(s) state that i must be connected to the clear wifi via an ethernet cable from the ap to the clear wifi (losing one of the four ports.)
perhaps i need to find out the diff between an ap and an extender.
it is so much more fun to be working on issues like this than in the more sobering work of working to solve the world's problems.
again, thank you for your comments/advice.
ron
routersforhumans: my most recent attempt at converting the router to an access point was per the model you also suggested. i went through the same steps ending up with a new ap that had a static ip address outside the dhcp range and having the ap wired to a lan port on the router.
i then added lan cables from my tv, sattellite box to lan ports on the ap. i also removed my vonage lan cable from my clear wifi and inserted it on the lan cable of the ap. (as my clear wifi modem/router has only one lan port, this step happened first.)
i then picked up my vonage phone (connected to the ap) and checked that i still had a dial tone. i did. so, i placed a call to my cellphone and it wrang.
i then went to my laptop (wirelessly connected to clear wifi) and went to network to see if my tv and sattellite were visible on network connections. no.
we went out for a few hours and upon coming back, my and my wife's laptops were no longer connected to the clear wifi.
so, i unplugged the ap from the clear wifi, turned off the ap power, plugged vonage back into the clear wife and got back to the net and was able to use my phone.
a little history: for the past few years, we were using att dsl and an att phone line for local calls. after several bumbling attempts by att to repair our phone line (constant static issues), dropping dsl lines, phone calls where you could not hear the other end and so forth, i decided to rid our house of att completely.
one of the nice things about my old dlink router and att dsl setup was that i was able to run slideshows on my tv controlled by my laptop. we travel just over half the year each year since retirement and have lots of really nice pictures which we love to see posted on our tv.
ok, now enter clear wifi which is a modem w/wifi router (with only one *useable* lan port.) enter vonage which eats up the one lan port.
what to do, what to do?
so, since i have the old unused dlink router, how can i use its resources (four lan ports) such that i have use of my vonnage phone, tv, blueray player, satellite and can stream pictures and so forth?
if i could connect the dlink wirelessly (i thought as an ap) then i would use up the four lan ports of the ap.
now, though, your note(s) state that i must be connected to the clear wifi via an ethernet cable from the ap to the clear wifi (losing one of the four ports.)
perhaps i need to find out the diff between an ap and an extender.
it is so much more fun to be working on issues like this than in the more sobering work of working to solve the world's problems.
again, thank you for your comments/advice.
ron
ngrego
Distinguished
- Jan 25, 2012
- 1,119
- 0
- 19,660
Hi Ron,
The difference between an AP and Extender is that the Extender has the ability to connect to a Wifi network (it can select a Wifi network and enter a password). An AP can only transmit an existing network it is connected to (via cable).
A DHCP server issues IP addresses to all devices connected to it's network, issuing 1 address from its address pool to each device when it connects, assuming that the device does not have a static IP address (manually assigned). It is also not certain that a device will be assigned the same address each time. For this reason your routers or APs should be assigned a static IP address so you can access them when needed. There MUST only be one in the network!
Your Modem Router is your "Gateway" and "DNS Server" for all devices connected so don't forget to add this information in the network setup of devices with static IPs.
If you assign static addresses to devices in your network you should start the DHCP address pool a few (5-10) addresses after the address of your first address.
example:
modemrouter: 192.168.1.1 SN:255.255.255.0
wifi router/AP1: 192.168.1.2 SN:255.255.255.0 GW/DNS:192.168.1.1
wifi router/AP1: 192.168.1.3 SN:255.255.255.0 GW/DNS:192.168.1.1
DHCP pool: 192.168.1.10-192.168.1.30
Also if using more than one Wifi device, use the EXACT same SSID and password.
Keeping this logic in mind give it another try and let us know how it goes!
The difference between an AP and Extender is that the Extender has the ability to connect to a Wifi network (it can select a Wifi network and enter a password). An AP can only transmit an existing network it is connected to (via cable).
A DHCP server issues IP addresses to all devices connected to it's network, issuing 1 address from its address pool to each device when it connects, assuming that the device does not have a static IP address (manually assigned). It is also not certain that a device will be assigned the same address each time. For this reason your routers or APs should be assigned a static IP address so you can access them when needed. There MUST only be one in the network!
Your Modem Router is your "Gateway" and "DNS Server" for all devices connected so don't forget to add this information in the network setup of devices with static IPs.
If you assign static addresses to devices in your network you should start the DHCP address pool a few (5-10) addresses after the address of your first address.
example:
modemrouter: 192.168.1.1 SN:255.255.255.0
wifi router/AP1: 192.168.1.2 SN:255.255.255.0 GW/DNS:192.168.1.1
wifi router/AP1: 192.168.1.3 SN:255.255.255.0 GW/DNS:192.168.1.1
DHCP pool: 192.168.1.10-192.168.1.30
Also if using more than one Wifi device, use the EXACT same SSID and password.
Keeping this logic in mind give it another try and let us know how it goes!
- Feb 17, 2012
- 6
- 0
- 10,510
off-topic: thank you for your suggestions/examples which i will use when back home. today is day two heading back to bedford, ma for my 50th hs reunion. we're taking our time driving there and just arrived in lake of the ozarks tonight for a week. reuinion is 3/16-3/18 and then we trek home very slowly arriving back home sometime between mid- april to end of april.
will let you know how your suggestions work.
ps: we brought our clear wifi with us but alas, no reception in our location in the middle of lake of the ozarks.
will let you know how your suggestions work.
ps: we brought our clear wifi with us but alas, no reception in our location in the middle of lake of the ozarks.
- Feb 17, 2012
- 6
- 0
- 10,510
also, it seems that what i am heading toward is an extender rather than an ap. then my four lan ports will still be available: three for my media devices, the fourth for my vonage voip.
if so, then it seems i need to select the extender to be in the range of the dhcp pool, correct???
if so, then it seems i need to select the extender to be in the range of the dhcp pool, correct???
- Feb 17, 2012
- 6
- 0
- 10,510
Hi, I used your method and it works. I have a D-LINK DIR-628. I want to use the NTP client on the AP to connect to a NTP server so I can have an accurate time in the AP. I need an accurate so I can make use of the time to disable the wireless after 11PM so my son will not stay up all night chatting on the internet from his laptop.
The NTP client will not connect to an NTP server through the lan port. Looks like it needs to use the WAN port.
Any ideas on how I can accomplish this?
The NTP client will not connect to an NTP server through the lan port. Looks like it needs to use the WAN port.
Any ideas on how I can accomplish this?
TRENDING THREADS
-
Question Using cloning software for a dying HDD which shows only 10% health ?- Started by Mashuumatics
- Replies: 1
-
Question Wifi card speed fluctuating on my Lenovo Ideapad pro 5 16APH8- Started by sirdariush
- Replies: 6
-
News Windows 11 will reportedly display a watermark if your PC does not support AI requirements- Started by Admin
- Replies: 23
-
Question Recovering an old version of a Notepad file in Windows 10 ?- Started by MC72
- Replies: 2
-
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram