Multi Router Network - Configure

How to Set Up a Network Using 2 (or more) Routers​

   Note

Before attempting this tutorial, please be familiar with the following terms:

   Note

DCHP, LAN, NAT, Switch, Gateway.​

Also please be familiar with how to configure your router(s) Every router is different so I can't provide a "one-shot" solution. I would only recommend this if you have at least a basic knowledge of networking.​

For the above reasons I haven't included screenshots. There really is no point. Screenshots on my router's will probably not help you at all. Sorry.​

(VERY IMPORTANT) Configure everything I am telling you to do here via Ethernet NOT wireless, the last thing we want is for your wireless to drop at the wrong moment and screw the settings over​

(VERY IMPORTANT 2)! Keep both routers disconnected from each other until I tell you to connect them! Otherwise they screw each other over and give you no network access. Also don't connect other machines except the one your configuring the router with. The reason for this is we are messing with settings, so any rules which apply now won't apply once you have done it. Hence no network access.​

(VERY IMPORTANT 3) BACKUP YOUR ROUTER SETTINGS If you follow this guide then I see no reason why it shouldn't work. I have done this on several routers now. However! there is always that one time it doesn't work. Therefore either, write down the settings before you start fiddling, for both routers. or if your routers have the option, back them up (My router has this option under the "Maintenance" section)​

​

Section 1 - Placing The Network's Infrastructure​

Lets Get Started

1) Decide which router is the gateway (which will bind the network together), I chose it to be the one connected to the Internet, I would recommend you do the same.

2) Login to your new gateway and give it an IP address of 192.168.1.1 and set the subnet 255.255.255.0

3) Enable DCHP and the NAT firewall and change the DCHP pool to assign addresses from 192.168.1.2 through to 192.168.1.252 (there is a very good reason why we don't use all the addresses as you will see in a minute)

4) logout of the router and disconnect. Then reconnect and check everything is working (IE you can get on the internet etc.) then disconnect again.

5) Connect to the 2nd router (from this point on I will call it "the switch" as that is really what it is now, we don't want it to act like a router any more)

6) Log in to the switch, give it an IP address of 192.168.1.253 and a subnet of 255.255.255.0 (see why we didn't use all the addresses now?) It is very important that you give it a IP address which is OUTSIDE the DCHP pool of the gateway.

7) Disable the NAT firewall, you don't need it, thats what the gateway is for. and it will cause you problems down the line.

8) Turn off DCHP in the switch. Now it is entirely possible at this point that you will lose connection to the switch. Don't worry, that is normal. hence why I told you to set everything up before hand. The reason is that the switch is no longer handing out IP addresses, this will all be handled by the gateway in our final setup. If you want to test that it is working then give yourself a static IP address: PortForward.com - Free Help Setting up Your Router or Firewall and reconnect. (Incidentally, that is also a guide on how to change the default gateway which may be needed later on)

9) Disconnect from the switch (Pull the cable)

10) REMOVE your static IP address if you used one in the last step. (change it back to "Auto")

11) Connect the Gateway to the Switch via Ethernet. Depending on the router's you may have to use Crossover Cable for this. In my experience though, most modern routers come with what is known as "Auto Uplink Sensing" which means it will not need Crossover Cable. Otherwise you will I'm afraid. You can test whether you need Crossover Cable in the next step.

12) Connect via Ethernet to the Switch. Now with a little bit of luck, everything should work and the Gateway will report itself to Windows and assign you an IP address. If it doesn't then one of two things have gone wrong:
a) The Gateway isn't reporting itself properly, in which case you need to change the Default Gateway (thats in the Static IP address guide above) If this is the case, then you will need to reconnect to the Gateway directly and change the DCHP pool so that you have a Static IP which is outside the Pool.

b) You need Crossover Cable (as detailed above)

   Note

A note about networks with more than 2 routers. There must be at any time only ONE gateway. Therefore any additional routers introduced to the network must be configured like the Switch

Section 2 - "Look Mum No Wires" - Making the Network Wireless​

Setting up the wireless is probably the easiest part of this tutorial. If you have followed me so far, then this last little bit will be very easy. In this section, our ultimate goal is to have a network where you can log into any access point with the same credentials, and your PC will see it as the same network.​

Lets Get Started​

If you already have the Infrastructure set up, then you can do this by plugging into either router. Just remember, the gateway is at 192.168.1.1 and the switch is 192.168.1.253 the following options need to be changed in BOTH routers:​

1) the SSID (Wireless name) needs to be Identical in both cases (including Capitalisation)​

2) Any Security (WPA, MAC Filtering etc.) needs to also be Identical, including passphrases. otherwise your PC will not be able to log in to any router.​

3) Set the Channel to Auto. There is so much conflicting information out there on this one, some say set it to different channels, some say make them the same channel. I say set it to Auto and let the router decide. It's never failed me.​

Now, if you have done this right. After the first time you log into the network, you PC should automatically log into the closest router. Hence always giving you the best Wireless signal.​

   Note

If you are in the habit of moving about, your PC will NOT automatically "jump" routers if another one has a stronger signal, you will need to disconnect and reconnect manually

   Information

This tutorial is the intellectual property of (c)2009 Martin Joy a.k.a severedsolo and is only authorised to be hosted on sevenforums.com This tutorial is not to be copied without my explicit consent and when consent is granted the original author must be credited along with a link to this tutorial

​

 

[EternalRZ]

Excellent! I've been trying to figure out how to work something like this for ages! Thank you!

 

[onaiz]

Nice tutorial

Nice tutorial.... by the way I'm working in Qatar as a HR, my accomodation is behind the office and the warehouse before I knew this method I was having internet in my room through the telephone cable (RJ11) connected to the wall jacket.. for this I have to disconnect the office router to connect my accomodation cable ofcause there is another router in my room.... now with this method in the tutorial I don't have to worry about disconnecting the office line and connect the accomodation line....

I ran a cat5e cable to my accomodation to the office and connected to a switch where the gateway is connected....

I will try and post the result.....

thank you again for the tutorial.

 

[onaiz]

I did it...

Thank you very much...

 

[severedsolo]

I assume it all went as planned then? Your welcome

 

[onaiz]

Exactly as in the tutorial...

Exactly as in the tutorial...

 

[andyroc]

Thank you for the extremely well written instructions for connecting two routers on a network. They are the most clearly written I've seen. My problem is now solved thanks to you.
Thank again!

 

[Zinic]

Doesn't work for me. Impossible to disable NAT firewall and whenever I change ip of switch router, it doesn't work at all.

 

[severedsolo]

Doesn't work for me. Impossible to disable NAT firewall and whenever I change ip of switch router, it doesn't work at all.

I have never heard of a router where it was impossible to disable the NAT firewall Can I ask what model it is? Is it both router's that you can't disable the firewall on? or just one?

The problem you describe with the changing of the switch IP normally means that the new IP is inside the DCHP pool. Have you changed the DCHP pool as I suggested?

It could also be linked to the fact that the NAT is still switched on.

 

[Zinic]

Doesn't work for me. Impossible to disable NAT firewall and whenever I change ip of switch router, it doesn't work at all.

I have never heard of a router where it was impossible to disable the NAT firewall Can I ask what model it is? Is it both router's that you can't disable the firewall on? or just one?

The problem you describe with the changing of the switch IP normally means that the new IP is inside the DCHP pool. Have you changed the DCHP pool as I suggested?

It could also be linked to the fact that the NAT is still switched on.

Ok. I have been struggling over setting my two routers for hours a few days ago. I have 2 routers, one a Belkin F6D4230-4 v2 (default IP address: 192.168.2.1) and the other D-Link DIR-655 (default IP address: 192.168.0.1). I get my internet through a SB5101SURFboard Cable Modem.

So I began to follow your tutorial without a problem till #6. I started having issues trying to get the internet to work. I had to unplug the router and modem (I can't remember if that part is true, but whenever I switched routers or internet stopped working, I had to unplug everything). The real problem came from #7 because I don't know how to disable NAT on the D-Link. Click Here.

I disabled SPI, set both to Endpoint Independent, and even Enabled DMZ and put my gateway router (Belkin) in it.

Anyway, I kept on with the tutorial and it would just not work. I thought I read somewhere online saying that it's impossible to disable NAT firewall on D-Link. I think I read that on D-Link's website, but I can't find it anymore.


Now look at these:
This talks about NAT on my Belkin router.
I saw this when making this post. Would the 2nd Pic work? Would it disable NAT?

Here are a few things I want to do:
1) I want the faster router of the two to be my gateway (I think that's my D-Link, but I don't know).
2) I want to have the SSID to have different names if possible. This way I know which router I am connected to.

Thank you for your help, and if you have any questions, please ask.

 

[Koyfo]

Excellent tutorial. Below I am providing an example connection between

Airlive ARM-104 v3 (WAN + LAN + NAT + Firewall)
and
DSL Modems & Gateways - - Technicolor TG585v7 (Internet zone) (WLAN + LAN)

In brackets there are the services that each router is enabled to provide.
I connected the routers together because the airlive doesn't support WLAN.

As described abode you will need an (in most of the cases crossover cable)



Connect the 2 routers together



Configure the 2 routers as below



And you are ready 2 go!

 

[severedsolo]

@Zinic.

First of all, your big problem there is that you have your two IP's in different subnet ranges. The first 3 blocks of numbers should be the same. Only the last set should be different.

So, for instance: my gateway has an IP of 192.168.1.1 this means that all devices connected to it, MUST have an IP of 192.168.1.xxx if I were to set it to 192.168.2.xxx then it would be outside the subnet and fail.

To answer your second question,yes I forgot to mention that on some routers, it is simply called "Firewall". If you turn that off that will disable NAT.

Looking at the screen of your Dlink router, I'm a little confused. I was going to say that it should be possible to disable NAT. However, on your screenshot, on my Dlink routers, that is exactly where my NAT settings are. a quick google on SPI suggests that is a Firewall, but not NAT. However as said above, turning "Firewall" off on the Belkin will disable NAT, so use that one s your switch.

On the subject of the SSID's. It is quite possible to give them different SSID's and it will work fine. The reason that I personally recommend using the same SSID's is because that way, I only have one password, and it doesn't matter where I am, I will connect fine.

What you may find if you set different SSID's is whichever router has "preference" in your wireless settings may connect automatically, whether it has the strongest signal or not.

I hope this helps If not, let me know and I'll try to help further.

 

[Zinic]

@Zinic.

First of all, your big problem there is that you have your two IP's in different subnet ranges. The first 3 blocks of numbers should be the same. Only the last set should be different.

So, for instance: my gateway has an IP of 192.168.1.1 this means that all devices connected to it, MUST have an IP of 192.168.1.xxx if I were to set it to 192.168.2.xxx then it would be outside the subnet and fail.

To answer your second question,yes I forgot to mention that on some routers, it is simply called "Firewall". If you turn that off that will disable NAT.

Looking at the screen of your Dlink router, I'm a little confused. I was going to say that it should be possible to disable NAT. However, on your screenshot, on my Dlink routers, that is exactly where my NAT settings are. a quick google on SPI suggests that is a Firewall, but not NAT. However as said above, turning "Firewall" off on the Belkin will disable NAT, so use that one s your switch.

On the subject of the SSID's. It is quite possible to give them different SSID's and it will work fine. The reason that I personally recommend using the same SSID's is because that way, I only have one password, and it doesn't matter where I am, I will connect fine.

What you may find if you set different SSID's is whichever router has "preference" in your wireless settings may connect automatically, whether it has the strongest signal or not.

I hope this helps If not, let me know and I'll try to help further.

Alright. I will give this a try again, and when I was setting my routers ip, I did make them both 192.168.1.xxx. I will try using my Belkin as switch, and it might work. Thanks again, and if any problems arise, I will post them.

 

[Zinic]

Alright. It seems I got everything to work. I just had to unplug the modem a lot, as well as reset the belkin router a lot, cause for some reason, it wasn't resetting. Thanks for the help.

 

[hjd]

Hi Martin,

I wanted to connect a wifi Telkom (South Africa) router to the gateway, a Dlink router without wifi, to provide wifi to the rest of the house. Having successfully accomplished that via your tutorial makes acknowledgement thereof essential. Thanks for that, especially for those who are not very techsavvy.

The tutorial worked, though I found a few hitches.

1. I could not connect, and could not figure out why, however I read somewhere about the MAC address filter having to be disabled.
2. It is not clearly stated, for the two left-handed among us that the profile name should be a word such as Home, while the network name is provided for.
3. It was quite a challange to find the disable point for the NAT, which I am sure will differ from router to router, thus indicating where to find it would not be helpful for those using other routers.

Having done this, connection was flawless.


Thanks again for the tutorial,

hjd

 

[Pangaea]

I know this is very late, but I have no idea hwow to change the range of DCHP adresses... Can anyone tell me how?

 

[Koyfo]

I know this is very late, but I have no idea hwow to change the range of DCHP adresses... Can anyone tell me how?

Via the router you have selected to be the dhcp server. The other router must have disabled the dhcp server, as there will be conflicts.

 

[puddleglum]

Nice tut Martin. May I ask, what is the purpose of a multi-router setup?

Hi Johnathan, I just signed up with Charter as my ISP and they do not install wireless routers anymore (at least for now). So I directed their router into an old D-Link DI-724GU wireless office router. So there is another reason for two routers?

 

[Koyfo]

So there is another reason for two routers?

To balance the load between routers. For example router 1 trains the adsl line and offers dhcp and nat services and router 2 offers wireless.

 

[Maco88]

Very nice tutorial Martin
Do you know if there is a way to connect the router to the switch wirelessly, like a repeater would? I don't think they can "talk" that way, can they?

Wally;

For a home network, not all switches or access points can function as a repeater. For those that can, as I understand, you give up half your bandwidth because a wireless repeater must now receive the original signal, then rebroadcast the signal to the computer. Then from the computer, it must again receive the signal, then rebroadcast it to the 'gateway' and the Internet Connection. A 'wired bridge' to a wireless access point avoids this bandwidth limitation.

Of course there is the more expensive 'commercial' equipment but for most home users the cost is just to much.

Cheers!
Robert

Hi all,

It seems that a wired connection between the 2 routers makes very good sense, and has been asked by someone else here, that this process isn't always the most convenient and that a wireless connection between the 2 routers would be alot easier.
However as explained it would (if possible) not yield the best results.

My question here is.. is it possible to setup both routers say in a multi-level house, Modem Router A (main router used with a wired PC and wireless) on the ground floor, and Router B setup upstairs.

Both modem/routers to be setup with the same settings, but only one modem/router to be active at any given time.

For example I stay downstairs most of the day and use my computer/laptop here. At night I go to my bedroom, I switch "off" the Modem/router A (downstairs), and switch "on" modem/router B (upstairs) to get signal in my bedroom?

In theory could this work ????

Cheers

 

[rugo32]

thankyou!