Client Mode

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Revision as of 03:45, 24 October 2006

Client mode wireless is generally used to "retrieve" an Internet connection (using the Wireless portion of the router) from another router, and then share it out to the LAN (wired switch ports).

Contents

Description

If you have a wireless router connected to the Internet in one location and would like to connect wired clients in a remote location to allow shared Internet, one solution is to use Client Mode Wireless. This will not require the host router to be running DD-WRT firmware. The WRT running DD-WRT firmware and configured to run in Client Mode will connect to the host router as though it were any other wireless client, and will share the wireless connection out the the LAN (wired switch ports) as though the host router were connected directly to its WAN port. This means that the host router and the Client Mode router will be on seperate subnets. NAT will be used between the routers, so when port forwarding is needed, it will need to be configured at both routers, not just the host router. Devices connected to the Client Mode router will not be able to use the DHCP server from the host router. Also, a device connected to the Client Mode router should use the Client Mode router as it's gateway and DNS server.

A router in Client Mode Wireless will not be visible as an access point. It will not accept any wireless connections from client devices. If you'd like to wirelessly "daisy-chain" routers to extend your range, you'll need to use repeater mode. See WDS Linked router network

For those who want all computers to be on the same subnet, try running the WRT as a Wireless Bridge.

More explanation of wireless modes is available at Wireless Modes.

Copy of post for comments

Found this on linksysinfo.org and all credits goes to the poster of this guide. I don´t want to name names because James might exclude him if he has a subsciption. I modified it a weee bit for better understanding.

Brainslayers v21 firmware or alchemy-6.0.rc6a should work fine. Also if any of you experts out there has improvements to these settings PLEASE do contribute to improve it. Routing could be improved a little because I experience lost packets during pings. My wireless connection works fine though.

Assumptions

  1. ROUTER refers to a linksys wrt54g with stock/original firmware. Any other should work as well.
  2. ROUTER internal ip = 192.168.1.1
  3. ROUTER subnet mask = 255.255.255.0
  4. ROUTER DNS Server 1 = aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd (replace by actual ip)
  5. ROUTER DNS Server 2 = aaa.bbb.ccc.eee (replace by actual ip)
  6. ROUTER has wireless enabled with SSID = SUBSTITUTE_YOUR_ROUTER_SSID
  7. ROUTER as security enabled using 64 bit WEP encryption with key = SUBSTITUTE_YOUR_ROUTER_WEP_KEY
  8. CLIENT refers to a linksys wrt54g with latest satori or alchemy firmware.
  9. X > Y = Click on first level menu on the top labelled X and then click on submenu or tab labelled Y
  10. A.B = Value of a field labelled B in the section labelled A on a page. Section names appear vertically on the left of the page with black background.

Preparation

  1. Validate or obtain the above information about the ROUTER. As long as you have access to it one way or another it shouldn't be an issue, e.g. on windows, you can run a ipconfig /all command in the command prompt to obtain the info above. Whatever the values, please use those values instead of the above.
  2. Also figure out an ip address on the ROUTER that is outside the dynamic ip address assignment range. Most routers come pre-configured with dynamic ip assignments starting from *.*.*.100 or *.*.*.50 onwards. So a low ip like 192.168.1.2 should work in our scenario. This will be used to assign the ROUTER facing ip to the CLIENT later on.
  3. These steps assume that you are starting with a clean slate. So if you have messed around with the settings, undo it by restoring the defaults. Any settings not outlined in the steps are to remain at the default values!

Configure Router and Client

Router

If you are not able to ping the ROUTER from a computer connected to the CLIENT, then you may have MAC address filtering enabled on the ROUTER and your security settings may be incorrect. For the former problem, make sure that you add the MAC address of the CLIENT as well as the MAC address of the computer connected to the CLIENT to the MAC filter list. In fact, the best thing to do right now is to temporarily turn off MAC address filtering.

Also, at this stage since the CLIENT and all devices/computers hooked up to it are on the 192.168.2.* subnet while your ROUTER is on the 192.168.1.* subnet, you will most likely not be able to ping the CLIENT or any computer connected to the CLIENT. In order to fix that, you need to setup a static route to the 192.168.2.* network so your ROUTER knows how to forward traffic to that network.

  1. Connect to the ROUTER's admin app, 192.168.1.1 typically
  2. Select Setup > Advanced Routing
  3. Set Advanced Routing.Operating Mode = Gateway
  4. Set Advanced Routing.Select Set Number = 1
  5. Set Advanced Routing.Enter Route Name = BRIDGE (or any name you fancy)
  6. Set Advanced Routing.Destination LAN IP = 192.168.2.0 (the last octet must be 0 and the third octet must be the same as your CLIENT's local IP's third octet)
  7. Set Advanced Routing.Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0
  8. Set Advanced Routing.Default Gateway = 192.168.1.2 (same as your CLIENT's ROUTER facing IP, i.e. Client setup Step 3, #3 above)
  9. Set Advanced Routing.Interface = LAN & WIRELESS
  10. Click Save Settings button
  11. Click on Show Routig Table button and it should look something like:
Destination LAN IP, Subnet Mask,     Gateway,     Interface 
YOUR_EXT_IP,        255.255.255.255, 0.0.0.0,     WAN (Internet) 
192.168.2.0,        255.255.255.0,   192.168.1.2, LAN & Wireless 
192.168.1.0,        255.255.255.0,   0.0.0.0,     LAN & Wireless 
0.0.0.0,            0.0.0.0,         YOUR_EXT_IP, WAN (Internet) 

Client

Step 1

  1. Select Wireless > Basic Settings tab
  2. Set Wireless Network.Wireless Mode = Client
  3. Set Wireless Network.Wireless Network Mode = Mixed (or if all your cards and ROUTER support G, then set it to G-Only)
  4. Set Wireless Network.Wireless Network Name (SSID) = SUBSTITUTE_YOUR_ROUTER_SSID
  5. Click Save Setting button

Step 2

The settings in this tab will vary depending on what security settings are configured on the ROUTER. Basically it is the same as you enter when connecting a laptop or any other wireless device with the ROUTER. I will use the example of WEP based encryption with a 64 bit hex key. If your ROUTER doesn't have any security settings, then this step can be skipped.

  1. Select Wireless > Security tab
  2. Set Wireless Security.Security Mode = WEP
  3. Set Wireless Security.Default Transmit Key = 1 (or which ever your ROUTER is configured to use)
  4. Set Wireless Security.WEP Encryption = 64 bits 10 hex digits
  5. Set Wireless Security.Passphrase = Leave blank if you manually entered your key when setting up router otherwise enter the passphrase and click generate
  6. Set Wireless Security.Key 1 = SUBSTITUTE_YOUR_ROUTER_WEP_KEY assuming you didnt enter a passphrase and hit generate in the previous step
  7. Repeat #6 for the rest of the keys to set them to what ever was configured on the ROUTER.
  8. Click Save Setting button

Step 3

  1. Select Setup > Basic Setup tab
  2. Set Wireless Setup.Internet Connection Type = Static IP
  3. Set Wireless Setup.Internet IP Address = 192.168.1.2 (or whatever ip address you identified in step 2 of preperation)
  4. Set Wireless Setup.Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0 (same as assumption #3)
  5. Set Wireless Setup.Gateway = 192.168.1.1 (Same as assumption #2)
  6. Set Wireless Setup.Static DNS 1 = 192.168.1.1 (Same as assumption #2)
  7. Set Wireless Setup.Static DNS 2 = aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd (Same as assumption #4)
  8. Set Wireless Setup.Static DNS 3 = aaa.bbb.ccc.eee (Same as assumption #5)
  9. Set Wireless Setup.Router Name = BRIDGE (doesn't matter what you name it)
  10. Set Wireless Setup.Host Name = BRIDGE (doesn't matter what you name it)
  11. Set Wireless Setup.Domain Name = Blank (unless you have a reason to enter it)
  12. Set Wireless Setup.MTU = Auto
  13. Set Network Setup.Local IP Address = 192.168.2.2 (increment the 3rd octet of the Wireless Setup.Internet IP Address field by 1, e.g 192.168.1+1.2. So now 192.168.1.2 is your ROUTER facing IP and 192.168.2.2 is your CLIENT network facing IP.
  14. Set Network Setup.Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0 (Same as assumption #3)
  15. Set Network Setup.Gateway = 192.168.2.2 (Same as #13 above)
  16. Set Network Setup.Local DNS = 192.168.1.1 (Same as #6 above)
  17. Set Network Setup.DHCP Server = Enabled (To let the CLIENT issue dynamic IPs to the devices hooked up to it)
  18. Set Network Setup.Starting IP Address = 192.168.2.100 (You may have to click on Save Settings button before you see 192.168.2 written in this field. If you do, make sure you connect back to the CLIENT using the ip address is #13 above)
  19. Set Network Setup.WINS = 0.0.0.0
  20. Click on Save Settings button. Notice that after this configuration, your CLIENT bridge/router has a different IP address for administration. So if you are not automatically redirected to the new IP, you may have to connect to the administration web page by typing 192.168.2.2 yourself. Also note that at this stage, you may not be able to connect to the new IP unless you are using a computer hooked up to one of the LAN ports of the CLIENT itself. And you may need to temporarily setup your computer's TCP/IP config to use a static IP in the 192.168.2.* subnet.

Step 4

These steps are temporary so that you don't run into any issues during setup. Once you have everything working, you can undo these settings one by one as long as your setup keeps working. Theoratically speaking, you shouldn't need to because your internal network is protected by the firewall of your ROUTER from the internet anyway. But if you are security conscious then you may want to undo these.

  1. Select Security > Firewall
  2. Set Firewall.Firewall Protection = Disabled
  3. Set Firewall.Block Anonymous Internet Requests = unchecked
  4. Click Save Settings button

At this point, you should be able to Click on Status > Wireless tab and see that you are connected to the ROUTER. You should also be able to hook up a device or computer to one of the four LAN ports of the CLIENT and notice that it obtains a dynamic IP like 192.168.2.100 or some number greater than 100. You should also be able to ping your ROUTER, i.e. ping 192.168.1.1. You should also be able to ping the internet, e.g. ping www.yahoo.com. If you are not successful, then retry after restarting the device/computer connected to the CLIENT. You may want to reboot the CLIENT and ROUTER as well.

Troubleshooting

If you are moving from a previously configured WDS setting to Client Mode Wireless, it is Extremely Important to note that if the MAC address of CLIENT was in the WDS configuration for ROUTER, and is marked as "disabled", it will fail, regardless of how well you set up CLIENT.

Also, make sure the WDS settings are completely clear in CLIENT as well.

As an example, if ROUTER and CLIENT were both WDS nodes, and their MAC addresses were in the WDS settings for each other, this setup will FAIL unless you remove the MAC address of CLIENT from ROUTER's WDS configuration. Just disabling it will not be enough.

If you still can't connect wirelessly to your wireless access point router in CLIENT MODE and your access point has an early firmware version more than 1 year old, you may have to upgrade the accesss point's firmware.

Links

http://forum.bsr-clan.de/ftopic694.html
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3639271 Graphical Tutorial