Extending a Wireless Network

[Cayuse]

I had a Smartbridge Airbridge go out on me so can no longer bounce my wireless signal from the cabin off the mountain across the lake for internet connectivity.

The neighbor has satellite and a wireless network that I can use, and am using it as I sit on the deck posting this but we can't get a signal in either the main cabin or the guest cabin.

I've got a Linksys WRT54G that is providing my local network and that covers both cabins just fine.

Can I put a range extender out for the neighbor's network, plug it into the WAN on my Linksys and still provide my local network while using his network for the internet?

Nearest town is about 30 minutes each way and they may or may not have anything so I'm trying to make sure I have all the pices in place for the next time I'm up here.

 

[BirdOPrey5]

Assuming his network is setup for DHCP, yes, it will work- just make sure the IP addresses you pick for your Linksys are different then the ones his is giving out DHCP-
Example- if his network is giving out IP's that star with 192.168.1.x you need to make yours use 192.168.2.x (or any other valid IP scheme)

But it's not a Range Extender you're looking for, you need a Wireless Bridge...

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Sate...nksys/Common/VisitorWrapper&cid=1134692497433

 

[Cayuse]

But if I use a wireless bridge won't his network need to be configured for bridging mode as well?

 

[BirdOPrey5]

I've never had to set anything special on the wireless router end when using a wireless bridge- I just configure the wireless bridge to be the same SSID (and WEP if used) as the network I'm attaching it to.

A range extender doesn't usually have a network port- it has a USB port for configuration... Range Extenders listen for wireless signals and repeat them again for increased range.

I think you're thinking of a Wireless Access Point- that's where you run an ethernet cable to it, attach a WAP, and now have wireless... It requires an ethernet cable - it turns the ethernet signal into wifi - but it doesn't have a DHCP server or any firewall type rules as part of it... The opposite of a WAP is is brige- it takes the wireless and makes it back to wired.