Advise on how best to setup this network

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stevovo

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Hello.
[SUP][/SUP]

I've just bought some new switches / routers for my home network. The biggest difference is that this time I've decided to separate my main router and adsl router (in the past they were one in the same but due to lightning strikes it's cheaper this way).

First off, here is a rough sketch of the network:

home_network.png

Since my previous adsl router was also the main wifi router it was used as a dhcp, but this time I want to take as much work and dependence away from the adsl router as possible (so if the adsl reboots there is still connectivity between the computers etc.). So I would like to make the wifi router the dhcp and let it handle all the traffic between the computers but still want to set it up to route any traffic to the internet when necessary.

I know I need to assign the adsl and wifi routers each their own ip address but what should I be looking for on the wifi router to direct internet traffic to the adsl?

Or am I just over complicating things and should just make the adsl router the dhcp and gateway etc?
 
Just use the Wifi router as a switch, don't plug anything into the WAN port, or does it not have a WAN port? (Give it an IP, and setup DHCP, but then add the IP of your ADSL modem as the gateway and DNS that will be assigned to clients.
 
The simplest way to achieve your goal of having the ADSL router doing as little as possible would be to configure it as a bridge, connect it to the WAN port on the WiFi router, and do the PPPoE and DHCP on the WiFi router. You could use a cheap ADSL router with a single Ethernet port and no WiFi costing R200-300.
 
Lightning surge can still travel over ethernet wire... happened to me years ago...

Best is to have ADSL router with wifi... then setup a gateway / router to connect to it... and connect the rest of your network to that... surges cant jump wifi + the wifi link will be faster than your internet link so there will never be bottleneck...
 
I'm confused as to whether my wifi router has a wan port :confused:

It's a Dlink DAP1522

According to amazon's page: http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DAP-1522-Extreme-Dual-Band-Wireless-N/dp/B001769K3O

Specifications

Standards: IEEE 802.11n, Selectable 2.4/5GHz, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u
Interface Type: 4 Gigabit LAN Ports, 1 Gigabit WAN Port, Push Button (for Wi-Fi Protected Setup), Three-way Switch (to select operating mode)
Antenna Type: Internal
Security: WPA & WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
Click to expand...

But upon looking at the back of the device: dlink-DAP-1522-rear-lg.jpg I only see the 4 lan ports and power :confused:

Unless it uses one of those ports as a wan port somehow?


drs said:
The simplest way to achieve your goal of having the ADSL router doing as little as possible would be to configure it as a bridge, connect it to the WAN port on the WiFi router, and do the PPPoE and DHCP on the WiFi router. You could use a cheap ADSL router with a single Ethernet port and no WiFi costing R200-300.
Click to expand...

That seems like the route I should take :D pun intented

stricken said:
Lightning surge can still travel over ethernet wire... happened to me years ago...

Best is to have ADSL router with wifi... then setup a gateway / router to connect to it... and connect the rest of your network to that... surges cant jump wifi + the wifi link will be faster than your internet link so there will never be bottleneck...
Click to expand...

That's actually a pretty cool idea, a pity I already bought everything otherwise I would have done that
 
Last edited:
Think that model is a access point and 4 port switch only, so just do what I said above... plug the adsl modem/router into one of the 4 ports and setup DHCP on the AP, for gateway and DNS IP specify ADSL modem/router IP
 
The DAP1522 appears to be an access point + switch, not a router at all. You'll have to do the PPPoE and DHCP on the ADSL router, then connect it to one of the LAN ports on the AP.

Or buy a router with an Ethernet WAN port.
 
ShawnStar said:
Think that model is a access point and 4 port switch only, so just do what I said above... plug the adsl modem/router into one of the 4 ports and setup DHCP on the AP, for gateway and DNS IP specify ADSL modem/router IP
Click to expand...

So I need to put the DNS and gateway into each computer manually? Or should there be an option on the wifi ap to apply it automatically via dhcp?
 
No, if you setup DHCP on the AP you should be able to specify the IP range, the DNS server and the gateway the clients should use... so then just set clients to dhcp and they will get their IP from the AP and use the ADSL modem/router to route internet traffic over...

So set range, then the DNS and gateway IP must be your ADSL modem/router IP
 
ShawnStar said:
No, if you setup DHCP on the AP you should be able to specify the IP range, the DNS server and the gateway the clients should use... so then just set clients to dhcp and they will get their IP from the AP and use the ADSL modem/router to route internet traffic over...

So set range, then the DNS and gateway IP must be your ADSL modem/router IP
Click to expand...

Cool thanks.
 
drs said:
The simplest way to achieve your goal of having the ADSL router doing as little as possible would be to configure it as a bridge, connect it to the WAN port on the WiFi router, and do the PPPoE and DHCP on the WiFi router. You could use a cheap ADSL router with a single Ethernet port and no WiFi costing R200-300.
Click to expand...

^ this
 
Saajid said:
It depends on the AP he has. Some AP's don't allow you to specify these settings, most notably Netgear devices.
Click to expand...

Yes, but all AP's do have these settings as they are not routers, he has a switch AP, not a router/AP/switch
 
stricken said:
Lightning surge can still travel over ethernet wire... happened to me years ago...
Click to expand...

This just happened to me, took out my modem and everything physically attached to the modem (switch, voip unit and seperate wireless AP). I'm looking at now getting the cheapest possible adsl router with wifi in it, and then creating a bridge from that device via wireless to my network.
 
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So I got everything up and running last night. The DHCP on the wifi AP works perfectly assigning the dns and gateway of the adsl router to each PC.

Then I realized, to my horror, that my cabling seems to be unfit for gigabit :(

The only cable that works with gigabit (shows a green light on the switch instead of orange) is one of the pre-made cables that came with the switch.

I looked at the existing cables I'm using and I can't find any markings whatsoever so I don't know whether it's cat5 or 6 or?

Where's the cheapest place I can get cat5e or cat6 cables and RJ45's
 
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