Connecting one router to another via cable

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alexT
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:15 pm

Connecting one router to another via cable

Post by alexT »

Hello, I've been using Gargoyle's Wireless Bridge/Repeater function in order rebroadcast the wifi from the building next door. Both routers are linksys wrt1900ac. https://nimbus-screenshots.s3.amazonaws ... 7a983b.png. The highest speed I ever got was about 18mbps.

Now I have setup an underground Ethernet cable connecting the two routers, pulling in 500mbps. The second router is connected to one of the 4 ports of the 1st router (which is connected to the modem).
My question: so now I no longer need the Wireless Bridge/Repeater function, correct? I changed the mode to Gateway and this is the setup: https://nimbus-screenshots.s3.amazonaws ... 25d5e2.png
However, the router is simply not broadcasting. I should see NSA3 but it's not being broadcast. Can you tell from my setup what I'm doing wrong?
I apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge. I love Gargoyle. But networking definitely not my forte.

Lantis
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Re: Connecting one router to another via cable

Post by Lantis »

The AP side of things looks fine. No reason it would not be broadcasting that I can tell.
I would disable the guest networking and retest.

As for the connection settings at the top, to get everything on the same network (as it was when you used wireless bridge) you should set this to disabled, and connect the wire from the upstream router to a LAN port rather than WAN.
You should then also disable DHCP.

In your next reply can you also let us know what version you are running?
http://lantisproject.com/downloads/gargoyle_ispyisail.php for the latest releases
Please be respectful when posting. I do this in my free time on a volunteer basis.

alexT
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:15 pm

Re: Connecting one router to another via cable

Post by alexT »

Hi Lantis, I followed you instructions:
1. I CONNECT VIA under INTERNET /WAN to DISABLED.
2. disabled DHCP > LAN DHCP ENABLED
3. Connected cable coming from upstream router to a LAN port of the downstream router (instead of its WAN port).

So now NSA3 (the downstream router) is broadcasting.

But two odd things happening:
1. Instead of getting 500mbps that I'm getting on Ethernet, wifi is only about 85mbps. The router is right next to the laptop. Is that normal? Linksys claims 600mbps wifi for this Linksys WRT1900AC.

2. I lost access to the administration of the downstream router, which I used to reach at 192.168.2.1 I assume that happened because now everything is the same network. I can still reach upstream router at 192.168.1.1 But how do I reach the downstream router now?

Current Gargoyle Version: 1.12.0

Lantis
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Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:33 am
Location: Australia

Re: Connecting one router to another via cable

Post by Lantis »

The downstream router will have received an IP address from the main one. It will be in the range 192.168.1.x
You may need to use the upstream router's DHCP lease list to try and identify the device. Once you have found it again, it may be a good idea to assign it a static address so you can find it quickly next time.

Is the 85mbps on 2.4 or 5GHz? I assume 2.4 given you keep referencing "NSA3"?
If so, at 20MHz width with 802.11n mode, 85mbps sounds about right for a 2x spatial stream link (removing overheads).
The advertised rate of 600mbps is only available on the factory firmware as it uses a proprietary method called "turboQAM" to effectively increase the bitrate. There are some hacks and patches available to make this work on OpenWrt (and Gargoyle) but it's not really worth the trouble.
5GHz performance should be much higher. At 80MHz you should be seeing ~600mbps throughput.
http://lantisproject.com/downloads/gargoyle_ispyisail.php for the latest releases
Please be respectful when posting. I do this in my free time on a volunteer basis.

alexT
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:15 pm

Re: Connecting one router to another via cable

Post by alexT »

Hi Lantis, thanks so much for the education about the speed I should expect at 2.4ghz.
Regarding finding my downstream router - yes, as soon as I find it, I will assign static IP.
But it's uncanny, I went through every unknown ip address in the Connected Hosts page of the upstream router but no luck.
Several ip addresses simply didn't respond, gave me ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED error.
But the downstream router should respond with Gargoyle's login page, no?
Here's the list: https://nimbus-screenshots.s3.amazonaws ... 450c0e.png

By the way, I think I left the IP address of downstream router I had still left it at 192.168.2.1. But that would not work if this is now one giant network, correct?

Another question: notice I blurred the mac addresses, thinking someone could hack me just by using the mac address. Is that true?

Lantis
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Location: Australia

Re: Connecting one router to another via cable

Post by Lantis »

If you left the address as 192.168.2.1 then chances are it's still set to that.
To access it you'll need to assign a device a static address in the 192.168.2.x range and then plug into the LAN of the device and attempt to access it.

Not much risk posting your MAC addresses.
The only risk is if someone could identify where you live and then use that list to try and impersonate a legitimate device and gain access to the network.
That person would either need physical access to the network, or break your wifi password.
So low risk, hide or don't your call :)
http://lantisproject.com/downloads/gargoyle_ispyisail.php for the latest releases
Please be respectful when posting. I do this in my free time on a volunteer basis.

alexT
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:15 pm

Re: Connecting one router to another via cable

Post by alexT »

If you left the address as 192.168.2.1 then chances are it's still set to that.
To access it you'll need to assign a device a static address in the 192.168.2.x range and then plug into the LAN of the device and attempt to access it.
So, for example, set a laptop's IP address to the static IP of, say, 192.168.2.2, then plug it into the LAN of the router and try to browse to 192.168.2.1. Is this what you mean?
I'm just confused why the router is functioning within the network if the upstream router's IP range is 192.168.1.100 to .249. How could a router with IP of 192.168.2.1 function within such a network?

Lantis
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Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:33 am
Location: Australia

Re: Connecting one router to another via cable

Post by Lantis »

You can use whatever IP you like, it just may not be reachable by the rest of the network.
In your setup it is a "dumb extension" to the main network, and those parts don't rely on the IP address being correct, so they function as is.
The only benefit to fixing the IP is being able to administer the device. If it was a set and forget arrangement you could ignore it
http://lantisproject.com/downloads/gargoyle_ispyisail.php for the latest releases
Please be respectful when posting. I do this in my free time on a volunteer basis.

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