How To Use A Linksys Router As A Repeater Bridge

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Linksys Router Setup
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Table of Contents
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1-1 Firmware + Files
1-2 Hard Reset of Router
2-1 Setting Up Linksys Router as a Repeater Bridge
3-1 Final Setup
#REF References


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1-1 Firmware + Files
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The following are the firmware files for the Linksys router. To install
them, from the router's setup page, locate Administration -> Firmware
and update it.

dd-wrt.v24-12548_NEWD_mini.bin
dd-wrt firmware update for Linksys router

WRT150NV11_1.01.9_US_code.bin
Default Linksys firmware.

Latest versions of the firmware can be found at:
1) www.linksys.com
2) www.dd-wrt.com

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1-2 Hard Reset of Router
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A hard reset can be done by perfomring a 30-30-30 reset. What this
means for Linksys routers is to:
- With the router ON, hold the reset button down for 30 seconds
- Remove the power cable from the router, while still holding down
the reset button on the router and continue holding for 30 seconds
- Plug the power back in and continue holding the reset button down
for 30 seconds.
* NOTE: The reset button should be pressed once and held down for
all those steps. The power button should flash and the
router should restore itself to default settings. Firmware
will remain the same.

It is advised to perform a hard reset before and after every firmware
update.

Upon Hard Reset, the router's IP Address is 192.168.1.1, Login name is
blank, password is 'admin'.


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2-1 Setting Up Linksys Router as a Repeater Bridge
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Background

A wireless bridge connects two LAN segments with a wireless link. The
two segments are in the same subnet and look like two ethernet switches
connected by a cable to all computers on the subnet. Since the
computers are on the same subnet, broadcasts reach all machines. DHCP
clients in one segment can get their addresses from a DHCP server in
the other segment.

Use a wireless bridge to transparently connect computers in one room
to computers in a different room when you cannot—or don't want to—run
an ethernet cable between the two rooms.

A standard wireless bridge (client bridge) connects wired clients to a
secondary router as if they were connected to your main router with a
cable. Secondary clients share the bandwidth of a wireless connection
back to your main router. Of course, you can still connect clients to
your main router using either a cable connection or a wireless
connection.

The limitation with standard bridging is that it only allows wired
clients to connect to your secondary router. Wireless clients cannot
connect to your secondary router configured as a standard bridge.

New in DD-WRT v24 is Repeater Bridge mode. This extends your primary LAN
via secondary router (bridge router) and also allows wireless clients to
connect to your secondary router. This extends the range of your wireless
network while simultaneously allowing wired clients to connect to your
secondary router.


Instructions

Given that the first router with Internet connection is already setup
and works perfectly, this guide shows how to setup other routers with
the dd-wrt firmware installed on it to be set to run in Repeater Bridge
Mode to duplicate the first router and allow Internet access to any
device attached to the second router.


1.Restore Factory Defaults on Secondary (DD-WRT) Router

2.Do a proper HARD 30-30-30 Reset on the router.

3.Set your computer to a static IP of 192.168.1.9

4.Connect to the secondary router via wired or wireless client keeping
in mind the dd-wrt default settings for dhcp pool and ssid

5.Open the Wireless -> Basic Settings tab
Physical Interface Section
Wireless Mode : Repeater Bridge
Wireless Network Mode : Must Match Primary Router
Wireless Network Name(SSID) : Must Match Primary Router - Make
sure you spell this correctly
Wireless Channel : Must Match Primary Router (This will
disappear once you put it in RB mode, and
isn't needed)
Wireless SSID Broadcast : Enable
Network Configuration : Bridged
Save

Virtual Interfaces Section
Add
Wireless Network Name(SSID) : Different from Primary Router
[NOTE] - You CAN try using the same SSID but many have had
random disconnects and/or no connection if the SSID's are
the same. If using the same ssid doesn't work for you, use
a different ssid from the primary router
Wireless SSID Broadcast : Enable
AP Isolation : Disable
Network Configuration : Bridged
Save

6.Open the Wireless -> Wireless Security tab
Physical Interface Section
Security Mode : Must Match Primary Router
WPA Algorithms : Must Match Primary Router
WPA Shared Key : Must Match Primary Router
Key Renewal Interval (in seconds) : Leave default

Virtual Interfaces Section (note if you don't see this section
your firmware should be atleast v24-sp1)
Security Mode : Must Match Physical Interface
WPA Algorithms : Must Match Physical Interface
WPA Shared Key : Must Match Physical Interface
Key Renewal Interval (in seconds) : Leave default
Save

7.Open the Setup -> Basic Setup tab
Connection Type will be: Disabled
Set STP for Disabled (Enabled sometimes can cause connection
problems) redhawk
IP Address : 192.168.1.2 (Assuming Primary Router IP is
192.168.1.1)
* In my case the Bell router's IP was 192.168.2.1, so I set
this router to be 192.168.2.*, where * is any unused IP
address in that subnet.
Mask : 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1 (again assuming Primary Router IP is
192.168.1.1)
* In my case it was 192.168.2.1 (Bell router's IP Address)
DHCP Server: Disable
Local DNS: 192.168.1.1 (if IP of Primary Router is 192.168.1.1)
* In my case it was 192.168.2.1 (Bell router's IP Address)
Assign WAN Port to Switch : Optionally enable this to use the WAN
port as another LAN port.
Save

8.Open Setup -> Advanced Routing tab
Set Operating mode to "Router"
Save

9.Open Services
Disable Dnsmasq
Save

10.Open the Security -> Firewall tab
Uncheck all boxes...except Filter Multicast
Disable SPI firewall
APPLY Settings

11.Reboot the router.

12.Once you have it working, go to the wireless security tab, and set
the same type of security AND key for both the primary and the
repeater ssids and hit apply.

13.SET YOUR COMPUTER BACK TO AUTO IP AND AUTO DNS.

For more information see:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater_Bridge#Linksys

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3-1 Final Setup
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In the end I have:

Router 1: Bell Router

SSID: dredre
IP Address: 192.168.2.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Security: WPA1 + WPA2 Personal
Key: **********


Router 2: Linksys Router (Repeater Bridge)

SSID1: dredre
SSID2: dredre2 (broadcasts itself as dredre2)
IP Address: 192.168.2.51
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.2.1
Local DNS: 192.168.2.1
Security: WPA2 Personal
Key: ********** (same as Router 1's)

All connected devices should be set to assign IP address manually.
Router 1 will assign all IP addresses, so there should not be any
conflict. Static IP's should be set by Router 1's software. Router 2's
IP should never be used by any other device, otherwise these steps
will have to be redone with Router 2's new IP Address.


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#REF References
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[1] Guide taken from:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater_Bridge#Linksys