[lug] Bridging netwroks with wireless

[Ken MacFerrin]

Michael Hirsch wrote:
> My house has a wireless router (netgear 802.11g) in one room, but it
> doesn't reach every where.  A lot of the rest of the house is wire for
> ethernet, but not the room with the router (which is where the cable
> modem comes in).  I'd like to Have another wireless box in anonther
> room which would bridge between the wired netwrok in the rest of the
> house and the netgear router.
> 
> How do I do this--this must be a standard thing?  Is this something
> that all wireless routers do automatically?  What feature do I have to
> look for?
> 

I have to second David's opinion of using WDS.  I currently use a 
similar setup and have two Linksys WRT54G's running the Sveasoft 
distibution.  WDS will allow you to attach one router to your cable 
modem and create a wireless bridge to another WRT that you can then use 
to connect another wired LAN segment.  Additionally, the second WRT will 
also act as a wireless repeater for other wireless clients.  To pull 
this off you'll need two WRT54G (~$60/unit) and I'd recommend 
subscribing to www.sveasoft.com ($20) so you can use the development 
(Alchemy/Talisman) firmware as well as access the forums.  From here 
just read through the "WDS as a Transparent Wireless Bridge" how-to I 
wrote in the WRT54G/GS forum and you should be set.  I've been using 
this setup for months without issues or lockups.

-Ken