Setting up WDS with the WRT54G and the WR850G

Recenly, I got my Motorola WR850G wireless router fixed after being bricked for quite some time. I wanted to use it to extend my existing wireless network to areas in the house where my wireless laptop could not detect. Here is how I got my Motorola WR850G v2 wireless router to wirelessly bridge to my Linksys WRT54G v2 wireless router.

What is a Wireless Distribution System?

1. You will need to flash your routers’ firmware to versions that support WDS. The official router firmwares have limitations when trying to set up WDS. For the WR850G you will need DD-WRT for the Motorola WR850G and for the WRT54G you will need Sveasoft Alchemy v1 (public). Download them and extract the .BIN files to a location on your hard drive. Flash the firmware of the respective routers through their web interfaces. You may also want to backup your settings and any other router information like firewall ports, etc. so you can restore them later. Take caution when doing this!

2. Enter the Administration pages on each router’s web interface and “Set to Factory Defaults”. Allow the routers to reset and power-cycle for about 5 minutes or until the reset is complete.

3. In my case the WRT54G was directly connected to my modem and acting as the main router with access point. The WR850G will be acting only as an access point.

CONFIGURE THE WRT54G

a. In ‘Setup > Basic Setup’ use ‘Internet Connection Type’ of ‘Auto Config DHCP’. Name your router and assign the IPs as follows:

Local IP: 192.168.1.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Local DNS: 0.0.0.0
DHCP Server: ENABLE
Starting IP: 192.168.1.100
Maximum Number of DHCP Users: 50
Client Lease Time: 0 minutes (1 day)
DNS Info: your own as provided by ISP (can be left blank)

b. In ‘Wireless > Basic Settings’ use the following info:

Wireless mode: AP
Wireless Network Mode: Mixed
Wireless SSID: HomeNET (Or whatever name you like.)
Wireless channel: 11 (or 1 if in USA region; other if in other region as regulations specify)
Wireless SSID Broadcast: Enable

c. In ‘Wireless > MAC Filter’ use the following info:

Wireless MAC Filter: Enable
Permit Only: Selected
Edit MAC Filter list: enter MAC addresses of all wireless PCs to be used on network; include WR850G MAC

d. In ‘Wireless > WDS’ use the following info:
LAN: Enter the MAC Address of the WR850G (to obtain MAC log into WR850G and enter same interface page; Wireless MAC address is at top of page)

*Ensure that you apply the settings after each modification.

CONFIGURE THE WR850G

a. In ‘Setup > Basic Setup’ use ‘Internet Connection Type’ of ‘Disabled’. Name your router and assign the IPs as follows:

Local IP: 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Local DNS: 192.168.1.1
DHCP Type: DHCP Serer
DHCP Server: DISABLE
Starting IP: 192.168.100
Maximum Number of DHCP Users: 50
Client Lease Time: 0 minutes (1 day)
DNS Info: your own as provided by ISP (can be left blank)

b. In ‘Wireless > Basic Settings’ use the following info:

Wireless mode: AP
Wireless Network Mode: Mixed
Wireless SSID: HomeNET (Or whatever name you used in the WRT54G setup)
Wireless channel: 11 (or the same channel that you used in the WRT54G setup)
Wireless SSID Broadcast: Enable

c. In ‘Wireless > MAC Filter’ use the following info:

Wireless MAC Filter: Enable
Permit Only: Selected
Edit MAC Filter list: enter MAC addresses of all wireless PCs to be used on network; include WRT54G MAC

d. In ‘Wireless > WDS’ use the following info:
LAN: Enter the MAC Address of the WRT54G (to obtain MAC log into WRT54G and enter same interface page; Wireless MAC address is at top of page)

*Ensure that you apply the settings after each modification.

4. Reboot all your routers and make sure that the WRT54G starts first, then the WR850G.

5. You can assign static IPs to your wired/wireless PCs so they connect faster. If you are going to use static IPs you should follow this example for each wireless adapter’s settings:

IP Address: 192.168.1.3 (each PC must have a different IP; the last digit of each IP should be different and between 3 and 99.)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Preferred DNS: 192.168.1.1

6. Take your wireless PC within range of the WR850G (so it can connect to it) and launch a web browser to see if any pages load. If they do then you’re good to go!

Some things to note
i. Depending on which access point is in range your wireless PC will connect to the one with the strongest signal without need to edit IP info. Remember, both your routers are access points in this setup.

ii. You can have wireless laptops “Obtain an IP address automatically” without need to assign static IPs. They won’t conflict with your existing static IP PCs because all your static IP PCs must have IPs between 192.168.1.3 and 192.168.1.100. PCs that obtain IPs automatically will take IPs from 192.168.1.101 and up. However, you will have to permit their MAC addresses in the MAC address filters on all routers in order for them to connect. You can only have 50 connections at a time which you can change if you wish.

iii. When setting up the WR850G (second access point) you should assign a temporary static IP to the wired/wireless PC from which you are editting settings. Use the following information:

IP Address: 192.168.1.4
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.2
Primary DNS: 192.168.1.1

If you don’t use static IPs during setup you won’t be able to continue editting because DHCP will be disabled on this access point. After you have configured the WR850G correctly you can change the gateway to 192.168.1.1.

iv. If you find that your wireless PCs take long to connect enter your PCs’ wireless manager and add your network’s SSID as a trusted access point.

That’s it! You’re finished!

+Falcon1986