Can Netgear DG834G be used as access point to extend range?

[Ian R]

Hi

Ive read that some routers can be configured specifically as an access point
to extended the range of an existing wireless network.

I'm not sure if a DG834G can be used in this way.

I'd be very grateful if someone could confirm this.

Thanks a lot.

Ian

[Roger Mills (aka Tiscali Tim)]

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

Post by Ian R
Hi
Ive read that some routers can be configured specifically as an
access point to extended the range of an existing wireless network.
I'm not sure if a DG834G can be used in this way.
I'd be very grateful if someone could confirm this.
Thanks a lot.
Ian

I don't see why not! I've done something similar in the past. In my case, I
had a non-wireless modem/router connected to the internet, with a wired
connection to a 3Com (not Netgear, but it should work the same)
modem/wireless/router which was acting purely as a wireless connection
point.

I've never tried it with *two* wireless routers, but it should work the
same. Presumably you would would have a *wired* link between them? Remember
that you can only have one DHCP server in the whole network, and the gateway
address of *all* the PCs must be the address of the router which is
connected to the internet. Far safer to disable DHCP, and use fixed
addressing, and set it all up manually. You'll presumably need to use a
different wireless channel in each router - with some PCs talking to one and
some to the other.

["Kraftee" ']

Post by Ian R
Hi
Ive read that some routers can be configured specifically as an
access point to extended the range of an existing wireless network.
I'm not sure if a DG834G can be used in this way.
I'd be very grateful if someone could confirm this.
Thanks a lot.

Very Much doubt it, what you need is a wireless access point which can
be configured as a repeater(such as the WPN802)

[Anthony R. Gold]

Post by Ian R
Ive read that some routers can be configured specifically as an access point
to extended the range of an existing wireless network.
I'm not sure if a DG834G can be used in this way.

If you wish to run a LAN cable to it and ask it to be an additional access
point on your existing network, then it should work fine. Just turn off
its DHCP server and set its LAN ip address to a spare one on your existing
LAN in order to reach its configuration page and use the same netmask as
the rest of the LAN. Then run a LAN cable from some other part of your
LAN to one of its four LAN ports. It's not using much of the equipment
(just the LAN hub and wireless but not ADSL modem, router and DHCP
server), but I see no technical issue to prevent that from working fine.

However, if you want the DG834G to sit powered but uncabled and then be
able to receive and repeat signals from another access point, then no.

Tony

[Sparks]

Post by Ian R
Hi
Ive read that some routers can be configured specifically as an access
point to extended the range of an existing wireless network.
I'm not sure if a DG834G can be used in this way.

I expect any wireless router can be configured to just be an access point,
you just don't connect anything to the WAN port.

It probably wont work as a repeater (repeaters connect to another wireless
access point, wirelessly as a client (like a PC does) and then accept
connections from other clients, so all they need is power to function)

So you will need to run a cable from your existing router, give the DG834G
an IP address in the same range as your existing network (but make sure it
is not in the range of the DHCP server your existing router assigns - I
usually tell my DHCP server to assign 192.168.0.20 -> 192.168.0.99, then use
192.168.0.100 and above for fixed things like printers and servers, and
192.168.0.1 -> 192.168.0.19 for network equipment like routers)

You MUST switch off the DHCP server on the DG834G.

You need to set the wireless SSID the same as your existing router and the
encryption keys must be the same (type and value) - and please set
encryption!!

The channels needs to be different - I use channels 1, 6 and 11 in that
order, then hopefully when I install another wireless access point, channel
1 again (hopefully it is far enough away from the first one!)

I recommend you download net stumbler to check if the neighbours have got
any wireless kit, then adjust your channels to suit)

With this setup you should be able to roam between access points without
interruption - so if you wander around your house with a laptop, it will
just switch between the access points automatically (I have 4, all different
makes and speeds, all of them are routers, 2 ADSL and 2 cable, one ADSL
router is connected to my telephone line downstairs (this is the DHCP
server) providing access to my ADSL account, the other ADSL router is just
connected to the network (in the garage at the top of the garden!)
There is a cable router connected to my NTL cable modem in the loft (this
connection is just for VOIP, so I just set my asterisk server's default
gateway to this routers IP address so it uses this connection) then the
other cable router is connected to the network in my workshop.
The channel of the loft router and the garage router are the same, as the
are the furthest apart.

It all works well!

Sparks...