I need to setup 2 x D-Link DSL-2750U routers with shared internet

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Jackie Paper

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Hi guys

I have minimal networking skills, but I assume that I need to configure gateway or DNS here. Let me give you the setup:

1. First D-Link router is in office #1. It receives internet connectivity via land line ADSL. There are 2 notebooks in that office that get internet wirelessly from that router. I have a CAT5 cable that runs from port 1 in that router to my second D-Link router (same model) in office #2.
2. This router connects to my PC via port 1 and connects to the router in office #1 through port 2. At first it works fine and the net is active in office #2. But eventually after 10 min or so, it drops.

What gateway, dns, settings to I need to check or configure to get it running smoothly? Appreciate any input.
 
Doesn't sound like you need router #2 at all. You are just using it as a layer 2 switch.

You can plug the cat 5 cable from Router #1 port 1 directly into your pc for the same effect. If you need more than 1 cat 5 ports in your second office, maybe replace router # 2 with a simple network switch.
 
No, I have a few notebooks in office #2 that need wireless connectivity too. My PC has to connect with the cat 5 cable.
 
Jackie Paper said:
No, I have a few notebooks in office #2 that need wireless connectivity too. My PC has to connect with the cat 5 cable.
Click to expand...

It would be good to test with the cat 5 direct into router #1 anyway and router #2 disconnected. If that works OK then your setup with router #1 should be fine.

You can use router #2 as a wireless access point and switch but you just don't want it trying to do any actual routing so check your config on that router. Check that no more than one router is configured as a DHCP server (I'm assuming that all your PC's are on the same local address range here.)
 
InvisibleJim said:
It would be good to test with the cat 5 direct into router #1 anyway and router #2 disconnected. If that works OK then your setup with router #1 should be fine.

You can use router #2 as a wireless access point and switch but you just don't want it trying to do any actual routing so check your config on that router. Check that no more than one router is configured as a DHCP server (I'm assuming that all your PC's are on the same local address range here.)
Click to expand...

Yeah I think that is where I am getting lost. How do I setup router#2 as only an access point? Can I turn off the DHCP (if that even makes sense)?
 
Jackie Paper said:
Yeah I think that is where I am getting lost. How do I setup router#2 as only an access point? Can I turn off the DHCP (if that even makes sense)?
Click to expand...

You usually configure this type of device by logging on to the router via your internet browser. You need to type the IP address for the router into your browser and you will need to know the username and password to log on.

There will be a setting for turning DHCP on and off. You can also configure your PC's to use a static IP address in your OS (Windows or other?) instead of getting it automatically.

Try disconnecting andbypassing router 2 first and see if that helps. I'll check back later when I can give you more full attention.
 
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ok I have disables the DHCP, and all is running smoothly - but this is usual. I will keep you posted as to whether it stays connected. Thanks InvisibleJim
 
The problem is that routers by default has DHCP, log into the routers and make sure that the first one has the ADSL username password, the second one MUST NOT have anything inserted into that division, if that is right you should not have any problems.

The reason why it keeps disconnecting is that the first router logs and verifies on the DSLAN, and then the DSLAN (exchange) receives a second authentication that is exact to the one that has authenticated already and thus BOOM it detects multiple connections


InvisibleJim said:
You usually configure this type of device by logging on to the router via your internet browser. You need to type the IP address for the router into your browser and you will need to know the username and password to log on.

There will be a setting for turning DHCP on and off. You can also configure your PC's to use a static IP address in your OS (Windows or other?) instead of getting it automatically.

Try disconnecting andbypassing router 2 first and see if that helps. I'll check back later when I can give you more full attention.
Click to expand...
 
Xander8807 said:
The problem is that routers by default has DHCP, log into the routers and make sure that the first one has the ADSL username password, the second one MUST NOT have anything inserted into that division, if that is right you should not have any problems.

The reason why it keeps disconnecting is that the first router logs and verifies on the DSLAN, and then the DSLAN (exchange) receives a second authentication that is exact to the one that has authenticated already and thus BOOM it detects multiple connections
Click to expand...

Thanks Xander! Seems like that was the problem all along :)
 
I note that you don't say that the second router is connected to a phone line anywhere, so I doubt that Xander8807's assessment was correct. The main thing is that you had multiple DHCP servers on the same network, which is a recipe for disaster.

By turning one DHCP server off, you have prevented them from handing out conflicting IP addresses, and causing the issues that you were seeing. The intermittent problems would be caused by the computers renewing their DHCP leases, with the second router giving the wrong gateway to the clients.
 
Ok, so a new problem arose. I turned off DHCP, this worked for a good 3 hours. I couldn't get into router #2 in the second office again after switching it off, but it still worked fine. Then 3 hours later, the 2 notebooks in office #1 lost connectivity, and could not get it back again until I unplugged the cat5 cable leding to office #2 and restarted the notebooks. My PC and the wireless here in office 2 where still functioning fine even though the notebooks in office 1 connecting to router #1 did not.
 
Did you manage to disable DHCP on Router #2? Ideally you want DHCP on with Router #1 and Router #2configured only as a switch and wireless access point.

The reason that your notebooks disconnected may be because they had Ip addresses allocated from router #2 which they kept for 3 hours and then had a problem renewing the address. If you have DHCP disabled on 1 router and enabled on the other and provided the problem doesn't repeat, you're probably OK.

You can also check the default gateway for the network connections on your PC's which should be the IP for Router #1. You can also try giving all your network devices static addresses provided you don't have too many of them.
 
Jackie Paper said:
Ok, so a new problem arose. I turned off DHCP, this worked for a good 3 hours. I couldn't get into router #2 in the second office again after switching it off, but it still worked fine. /QUOTE]

Router #2 may have got a new IP address via DHCP if you can't log on to it via an IP address that worked previously.

If you log onto router #1 and look under status >> DHCP Clients, you should see a list of IP addresses allocated by the router. Try these in your browser until you get the log on screen for router #2 then you can log on and set a static IP for router #2
Click to expand...
 
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What's the IP of router 1 and router 2 if I may ask?

It would be strange if router no 2 is getting it's IP from router 1's DHCP server, unless you enabled the DHCP client on router 2 when you switched off the DHCP server on it?
New routers out of the box usually have static IP's, and you have the same 2 routers meaning their default static IP's will be the same, so I take it you changed one of the router's static IP's to something else on initial setup?
 
Hi There,
My understanding is that you need to put the first router that is connected to the ADSL line into bridge mode. with DHCP set. Disable DHCP on the second modem and make sure that the wireless is using different channels but the same SSID.
I put a post up on it here if you are interested

Regards

Tim
 
I think the WiFi is not part of the 'hub/switch' on the D-Link.

Save your self some trouble - get a proper access point.
 
Tim the Techxpert said:
Hi There,
My understanding is that you need to put the first router that is connected to the ADSL line into bridge mode. with DHCP set. Disable DHCP on the second modem and make sure that the wireless is using different channels but the same SSID.
I put a post up on it here if you are interested

Regards

Tim
Click to expand...

Bridge mode is related to the modem functionality and PPPoE sessions and has nothing to do with the routing and DHCP on the local network.
 
Tim the Techxpert said:
Hi There,
My understanding is that you need to put the first router that is connected to the ADSL line into bridge mode. with DHCP set. Disable DHCP on the second modem and make sure that the wireless is using different channels but the same SSID.
I put a post up on it here if you are interested

Regards

Tim
Click to expand...

Ok I will give this a try today, and let you know, thanks :)
 
Don't waste your time with that, someone already pointed out it's got zero to do with bridging as that is to do with something completely different

Any chance you can reply to my question on page 1?
 
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