How to Setup 2 routers on the same Network?

[GeneraznXz]

Hi All,

Let me try my best to explain what I am trying to do here. This is what I read and sound like exactly what I am trying to do at home. This information was provided by someone from the Tomhardware site. This information below was not stating to my question. It was an answer to a similar/same question another person asked.

Original Thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/33719-42-router-setup-single-subnet

eibgrad said:
Not a very complicated scenario here. All you need to do is connect the two routers LAN to LAN (do NOT use the WAN port of the wireless G router). Now all devices share the same ethernet network, and a single subnet. Just disable the DHCP server on the wireless G router and assign it a static IP in the same subnet as the primary router (e.g., if the wireless N router is 192.168.1.1, then perhaps make the wireless G router 192.168.1.2).

That's really all there is to it. All you're doing is ignoring the routing features of the wireless G router and treating it as a simple WAP (wireless access point) + switch. Very simple.

So my primary router is a ASUS RT-AC66R and second router is Netgear WNDR3700v4. I pull a ethernet cable from the Asus to the Netgear into the WAN and the internet works perfectly fine and the wireless using an different SSID. The above is saying I should plug it into LAN to LAN, disable the DHCP Server and set your router IP to 192.168.1.2 as if your primary is already 192.168.1.1.

This is where I went on Netgear router to set up the above: http://puu.sh/gm1AY/47ae5fbeb4.jpg

I am wondering if there are more to what I need to do so I can have everything on the same network. Does the Netgear router have to have the same SSID as the primary? Are there more information I can read about this or someone can guide me through getting this setup?

Any information is appreciated. Looking forward to hear from you. Thank you in advance.

 

[beers]

eibgrad said: (do NOT use the WAN port of the wireless G router).

I pull a ethernet cable from the Asus to the Netgear into the WAN

Am I reading this correctly? Y u no follow instructions?

You need to avoid the WAN port in order to have everything in the same broadcast domain. The Internet "will work" when using the WAN port but you'll have a double-NAT situation and effectively two LAN networks.

Edit:
You can have the same SSID between the two units but you'd want to change the channel on the secondary so they don't interfere with each other (use 1,6 or 11 for 2.4 Ghz and nothing in between).

 

[CorruptHawkeyez]

While plugging it into the WAN "will" work, you are not getting your full speeds and will have lag issues. I just set my house up with 2 routers and did the same thing you did. Plugged into the WAN port and it worked for about a week or so but the kids were saying it was laggy. So I checked online and sure enough the 2 routers communicate to each other through the LAN ports, with DHCP disabled on the 2nd router. You also have to manually set the 2nd routers IP address so as not to match the 1st and have issues. With the routers communicating through the LAN ports I have not had any complaints from the kids about lag.

 

[GeneraznXz]

Am I reading this correctly? Y u no follow instructions?

You need to avoid the WAN port in order to have everything in the same broadcast domain. The Internet "will work" when using the WAN port but you'll have a double-NAT situation and effectively two LAN networks.

Edit:
You can have the same SSID between the two units but you'd want to change the channel on the secondary so they don't interfere with each other (use 1,6 or 11 for 2.4 Ghz and nothing in between).

lol, I guess I forgot to type a small portion in between that part of the text.

So my primary router is a ASUS RT-AC66R and second router is Netgear WNDR3700v4. I pull a ethernet cable from the Asus to the Netgear into the WAN and the internet works perfectly fine and the wireless using an different SSID. The above is saying I should plug it into LAN to LAN, disable the DHCP Server and set your router IP to 192.168.1.2 as if your primary is already 192.168.1.1. I forgot to mention I did LAN to LAN then disabled DHCP Server and enter LAN IP as 192.168.1.2 as the picture below. It did not work for me.

 

[GeneraznXz]

After I made this post I was messing around with it some more. I changed the LAN IP to 192.168.1.2 and disabled DHCP and LAN to LAN. I pull the cable and plugged it back in, It was working BUT i think the router IP is mirrored to my primary and I can't get back into the Netgear router setting itself. I guess I have to either reset it or find out what it is set to?

If i leave the SSID different from the primary, Do I still need to change the channel?

 

[johnb35]

I have set up my network with 3 routers using the Lan ports. Each router has a separate ip address with the second and third routers dhcp disabled. I can access any router from my pc by using the corresponding IP address.

 

[beers]

Usually that's all you need, there aren't a huge amount of dependencies. It should end up looking something like:

Router 1
---------------
Internet to WAN port
IP: 192.168.1.1
Netmask: 255.255.255.0
DHCP Enabled
SSID: kittens
Channel: 1

Router 2
---------------
Router 1 to LAN port
IP: 192.168.1.2
Netmask: 255.255.255.0
DHCP Disabled
SSID kittens
Channel: 11


Then you should get a reply from either router depending on which address you ping against, and the DHCP default gateway reference will correctly be .1 as it is originating from the primary device.

If i leave the SSID different from the primary, Do I still need to change the channel?

Yes. Having different SSIDs may be more of a PITA since you would have to have a complete outage on one before it failed over to the other.

 

[GeneraznXz]

Thank you for everyone's information.

I am going to give it a shot again tonight when I get home. If I run into any issues, I will post it on this thread. You all been a great help answering my question!!

 

[GeneraznXz]

Hello again,

I didn't get a chance to mess around with it until last night. I did as what others say, the 2nd router is running on the same network, detects the wireless printer and the NAS drive on the network but as soon as I change the LAN IP to 192.168.1.2, it wouldn't let me get into my router 2's router settings. I would need to factory reset it to get back into the settings.

I would need to configure everything I want on it as for wireless and password, channels and etc before I change LAN IP. I try to map in with 192.168.1.2 but it didn't work.

If anyone can give me more tips on what I could be doing wrong, that would be awesome! If I am already doing everything correctly then I guess I will deal with what I have now and just factory reset when I need to change anything.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Geoff]

Hello again,

I didn't get a chance to mess around with it until last night. I did as what others say, the 2nd router is running on the same network, detects the wireless printer and the NAS drive on the network but as soon as I change the LAN IP to 192.168.1.2, it wouldn't let me get into my router 2's router settings. I would need to factory reset it to get back into the settings.

I would need to configure everything I want on it as for wireless and password, channels and etc before I change LAN IP. I try to map in with 192.168.1.2 but it didn't work.

If anyone can give me more tips on what I could be doing wrong, that would be awesome! If I am already doing everything correctly then I guess I will deal with what I have now and just factory reset when I need to change anything.

Thank you in advance!

What is the IP of your main router? My guess is you have an IP conflict, with another device using 192.168.1.2. With router 2 disconnected, if you ping 192.168.1.2 do you get a response?

 

[GeneraznXz]

The IP on my main router is 192.168.1.1. With router 2 disconnected, 192.168.1.2 is destination host unreachable. Does that mean it is available or does that mean a device is attached to that IP?

I used Angry IP Scanner to check which IP's are taken up but devices. Any other suggestions?

Oh I also tried 192.168.1.3. Same issue.

 

[Geoff]

The IP on my main router is 192.168.1.1. With router 2 disconnected, 192.168.1.2 is destination host unreachable. Does that mean it is available or does that mean a device is attached to that IP?

I used Angry IP Scanner to check which IP's are taken up but devices. Any other suggestions?

Oh I also tried 192.168.1.3. Same issue.

That's interesting. So after you change router 2 to 192.168.1.2, you can't access it by going to 192.168.1.2 in your browser? I'm wondering if you're forgetting to change the URL in your browser after changing the IP.

 

[GeneraznXz]

When laptop is connected to router 2, while router is set to 192.168.1.2, I change the URL to 192.168.1.2 and I tried .3 but doesn't work. I also try .1 and it redirects me to router 1. Is there something I need to configure on router 1?

 

[johnb35]

Ok, try this. Try changing the mode to access point on the netgear router. If router 1 ip address is 192.168.1.1 then set netgear router to 192.168.1.2 and turn dhcp off. Just make sure you run ethernet cable from lan port on router 1 to lan port on router 2. You may need to reboot both routers. turn off both routers... Turn on router 1 and let it sync up, then turn on router 2 and let it sync up. Plug computer into router 2 and you should have internet access. Entering 192.168.1.1 in the web address bar should give you access to router 1 and entering 192.168.1.2 should give you access to router 2.

 

[beers]

Make sure you put the default gateway for router 2 as 192.168.1.1

It shouldn't matter since you're on the same subnet but if the firmware was written like garbage it might make a difference.

 

[GeneraznXz]

Okay. I will give it a try changing mode later tonight when everyone is asleep.

Also default gateway, it doesn't give me the option to put that information in. under lan setup this is all I see

 

[beers]

Ah, sounds good then.

 

[CorruptHawkeyez]

I have a 2 router setup and can't access router 2 config page unless I am connected through wifi on the 2nd router. This is the only way to access the 2nd routers config page, that I know of.

 

[beers]

I have a 2 router setup and can't access router 2 config page unless I am connected through wifi on the 2nd router. This is the only way to access the 2nd routers config page, that I know of.

Sounds like you used the WAN port which segregates your setup into two disparate networks.

 

[Geoff]

I have a 2 router setup and can't access router 2 config page unless I am connected through wifi on the 2nd router. This is the only way to access the 2nd routers config page, that I know of.

Sounds like double NAT, where your first router is connected to the WAN port of your second router. When this happens you have two separate networks with no way communicating between the two.