Need halp with what should be simple network...

[daba]

My skills haven't encompassed this to make me confident, hoping for some expert guidance.

Scenario...

I have recently put a wireless router into my ControlLogix rig (a D-Link G604).

I can connect wirelessly with my training laptops, no problems, it works excellently.

When I'm working at home, and when I'm helping others on this forum, I use my home desktop PC. I currently connect via ethernet cable from the PC to a port on the D-Link router, and it works fine.

The home desktop PC has a wireless router, a Huawei EchoLife HG532 provided by my ISP.

I'd like to link the desktop PC, via the wireless, to the D-Link so that I can free-up the cable and port on the routers.

1. I assume they have to be on the same RF channel. Do I have to force this, or can the 2 routers be set so that they can discover each other ?

2. Someone advised me they have to have the same SSID to be conjoined to the same network, is this correct ?

3. What settings do I have to make in the routers to allow this bridged connection.

There's so many ideas been thrown at me by people who think they know how to set this up, I'm now confused.

Would really appreciate help to get this working....

TIA
daba

 

[jrwb4gbm]

Here's a link to Bridging. Might be enough info to help you get started.
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater_Bridge

Just a thought, could you just use a USB wireless adapter on your home desktop to set up a new connection, then, connect directly to the ControlLogix router?

 

[surferb]

daba - it should be simple, but you've mentioned many things. I'm not trying to confuse you, but I can help once we figure out a few things.

1. A diagram would be helpful. Do you want everything to be able to talk to everything and the Internet? Are you trying to isolate the ControlLogix network from the desktop network? A "router behind a router" probably isn't doing what you want.
2. You can get a wireless adapter (USB is easiest) for your desktop. I wouldn't recommend it if a wired connection is already in place.
2a. You can add ports by plugging an inexpensive network switch into a LAN port on your router. You used to need a "crossover cable" that switched the send/receive pins, but now any switch you get supports "Auto-MDIX", which will make it "just work". You could likely use either your D-Link or EchoLife for this purpose.
2b. You will save yourself a lot of headache by only using the wireless capability on one wireless router. There are other ways of expanding coverage such as signal boosters or additional access points if you need that. On that note, you probably only want to use one of the 2 devices as a router - the other possibly as a switch for ports. In this configuration, everything local communicates directly, and Internet communication all goes through one router.

Once we figure out what you want I can help you configure it.

 

[surferb]

A few more:
1. Is your Control Logix rig mobile?
2. What are the IP addresses on your Logix rig and home network?

 

[daba]

Ok, to answer your queries....

Desktop PC's router (Huawei EchoLife HG532) only has 3 remaining ethernet ports, one of them is taken up by a link to the modem (I'm on fibre).

Port 2 : my PC
Port 3 : printer
Port 4 : to my son's PC

So, as I said I have added the guts of a DLink DSL G606T wireless router into the ControlLogix Rig.

My training laptops can connect wirelessly to the DLink no problem.

But in order to use my desktop, I have to get out my 8-port switch, power supply, and a couple of cables so I can link the Huawei through to the DLink (I have to move one of the existing cables from the Huawei into the switch, and link the switch to the Huawei). And yes the training rig is portable, and could be situated anywhere in the room. It's all very messy, and I just want to use the desktop as and when I want to without all the hassle of wiring it up, perhaps moving things around etc.

First of all I'm not sure the DLink will work in this mode. I'm still reading through the manual, and trying to make sense of all the different protocols, settings, modes etc.

Secondly, I think the USB wireless adapter idea is the easiest way to achieve this, and I ordered one last Friday, should be here in a day or two.

So now the pressure is off to get the two routers "bridged" (if that is the correct term), but it would sure be nice to know if it possible, and how.

Thanks for the offer of assistance, but I think I'll pursue this at my leisure. Who knows, I may get it working in a few months, lol.



PS. Having said all of the above, another reason it would be great to get working, is then the laptops can get onto the internet more easily. At present I have to switch the connection from the DLink to the Huawei. Only a couple of seconds, but I keep forgetting....

You wanted IP adresses....

Huawei Router 192.168.1.1
Wired connections to the Huawei
My PC : DHCP (pool xx.xx.xx.2 to 49
Son's PC : DHCP
Printer : 192.168.1.252
Wireless connections : various, laptops, iPhones, Friends phones, PS3, Wii, all DHCP

DLink Router 192.168.1.100
Wired Connections to the DLink
ENBT #1 : 192.168.1.101
ENBT #2 : 192.168.1.102
Wireless connections : laptops, iPhone (have you tried SCADAMobile?), all DHCP

The DLink addresses have only just been moved up to the 100+ range in order to try the wirless bridge

 

[surferb]

Manual here:
ftp://ftp.dlink.co.uk/dsl_routers_modems/dsl-g604t/dsl-g604t_man_v1.pdf

Bridging is easy. Just plug a cable between a port on one of the 4 and a port of the other.

Connecting to the D-Link wirelessly should be fine in addition to the wired connection with your PC. I assume that the wired network and wireless are probably on separate IP ranges and can't communicate directly.

You can disable the wireless on your D-Link in the wireless by unchecking "enable AP" in the wireless section. If your switches are bridged, it should be easy talk with the whole network from a wired or wireless connection. Only enable DHCP in one place - that's the service that provides IP addresses. Confusing things will happen if both devices are doing that.

Ok, to answer your queries....

Desktop PC's router (Huawei EchoLife HG532) only has 3 remaining ethernet ports, one of them is taken up by a link to the modem (I'm on fibre).

Port 2 : my PC
Port 3 : printer
Port 4 : to my son's PC

So, as I said I have added the guts of a DLink DSL G606T wireless router into the ControlLogix Rig.

My training laptops can connect wirelessly to the DLink no problem.

But in order to use my desktop, I have to get out my 8-port switch, power supply, and a couple of cables so I can link the Huawei through to the DLink (I have to move one of the existing cables from the Huawei into the switch, and link the switch to the Huawei). And yes the training rig is portable, and could be situated anywhere in the room. It's all very messy, and I just want to use the desktop as and when I want to without all the hassle of wiring it up, perhaps moving things around etc.

First of all I'm not sure the DLink will work in this mode. I'm still reading through the manual, and trying to make sense of all the different protocols, settings, modes etc.

Secondly, I think the USB wireless adapter idea is the easiest way to achieve this, and I ordered one last Friday, should be here in a day or two.

So now the pressure is off to get the two routers "bridged" (if that is the correct term), but it would sure be nice to know if it possible, and how.

Thanks for the offer of assistance, but I think I'll pursue this at my leisure. Who knows, I may get it working in a few months, lol.

 

[daba]

It's the wired connection from the PC's router to the training rig that I want to make wireless.

Ultimate goals :

1. Dispense with the switch, connect from the PC's router to the rig wirelessly.

2. no switching of wireless connections on the laptops to use the rig or the internet

These 2 pics should help, the second pic is how i have to add a switch to let the PC talk to the training rig....

 

[daba]

Perhaps the USB dongle will be the simplest solution to dispensing with the use of the switch, (which I only need because there aren't enough free ports on the internet router), but I'll still be left with the laptops having to switch connections to access the internet.

 

[The Plc Kid]

daba

It sounds like you want to connect 2 home routers by wireless and not use the hard connection any longer?

If I am correct you can't really do that at least not with the equipment you have. Home routers are made for simplicity and in that lack some of the features necessary to do things like this.

One option would be to install DD-WRT if your dlink is compatible. Using DD_WRT you could change the dlink from router mode to bridge mode easily but getting DD-WRT working can be a challenge if you have never done it. I got schooled on tomato so DD-WRT was not too bad. Main thing is to vrify that your equipment is 100% compatible.Brinking a router with DD-WRT is easy to do.

Also there is a difference between bridging 2 routers together and running routers in bridge mode just to avoid confusion.

The easy thing to do is to add a wifi client card to your pc for the clogix rig. This can be by pci slot type,usb,express card,etc then set the dlink up to be a dhcp server and connect to it over wireless. Your home network will still have highest priority so ping and things like that will not work without setting up some routing but linx and logiix will because linx is designed to be a multihomed comms package.

 

[The Plc Kid]

Daba

A wireless bridge like in this link http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4501860&CatId=1594

Would be a good option also. Once this is setup it would just replace your cable to the clogix rig so to speak and you would not need to crack your case open or do any routing and all services would work .

The rig would just be another device on your home network. This way you would not be using the wireless portion of the dlink on the rig when you are at home. it should not cause any RF issues but if it does you could tun it off when at home.

If it were me I would have a 4-5 por switch on the rig with a connection tio the dlink for work and a connection to aa bridge like the link above for home and just keep the dlink powered off at home so you do not have to turn wireless on/off and you do not have to enable/ disable DHCP on the dlink.

 

[daba]

I didn't want to spend any $$ on this. If what I've got won't work, then I can live with it.

Just thought it might to be a go-er.

I read in the manual that the DLink supports RIP-1 and RIP-2 which sounded like what I might be needing - but as usual the manual doesn't take it any further, and I'm stretching my own understanding of what these TLA's actually allow you to do.. (TLA = Three-Letter Acronym).

Anyway, my training rig now has wireless connectivity, meaning I can have less cable-clutter, less set-up time, less pack-up time, etc. The issue with the home desktop PC needing a cable and switch, I can live with.

TY

 

[The Plc Kid]

I read in the manual that the DLink supports RIP-1 and RIP-2 which sounded like what I might be needing - but as usual the manual doesn't take it any further, and I'm stretching my own understanding of what these TLA's actually allow you to do.

In a nutshell RIP Allows Roters to "Talk" to each other to share routing information and determine the shortest path between 2 points using algorithms that employ distance vectors to campare routes to destination addresses.

 

[daba]

In a nutshell RIP Allows Roters to "Talk" to each other to share routing information and determine the shortest path between 2 points using algorithms that employ distance vectors to campare routes to destination addresses.

So does RIP-1 or RIP-2 allow me to "conjoin" my two routers, via the WLAN, so that they work on the same logical network?