Configuring N900 as access point and still use features?

WD Legacy Products My Net Networking Devices
1

Background:

Uverse TV/internet

3 wired devices (non Uverse) on 100Mb switch attached to Uverse gateway

multiple wireless devices

poor coverage on patio

Want:

wireless N connections

Better signal on deck

USB connected drive on network

parental controls

Time of Day filtering

Guest account

gigbit connections between computers

I have a new N900 in the box ready to install, but wanted some feedback first. If I set it as an acess point by

  1. Turn off DHCP on your router.

  2. Change the link between the 2Wire router and your router to use the LAN ports on both ends.  (In other words, plug the cable from one of the LAN ports of the 2Wire to one of the LAN ports of your router.  Leave your router’s WAN port empty).

  3. Change the LAN IP address of your router to a static IP on the same subnet as the UVerse 2Wire router.  For example, if the 2Wire router is using 192.168.1.x, and the DHCP range is 192.168.1.64 - 192.168.1.253, set your router to 192.168.1.10.

  4. If necessary, configure the wireless parameters on your router, such as SSID, encryption, pre-shared key, and MAC filtering.

Will I be able to use the features listed above? I would rather be able to see my Uverse boxes on the same subnet so they can stream pictures from the PC, but can live without that if I have to. Then I would have to do a router behind router config which can get a lot more complicated quickly. The Uverse box must be there to connect the TVs, internet, and phone, so that can’t be removed. I can disable the wireless portion and run everything through the N900.

The instructions for router behind router are as follows…

  1. Set your router’s WAN interface to get an IP address via DHCP.  This is required at first so that the 2Wire recognizes your router.

  2. Plug your router’s WAN interface to one of the 2Wire’s LAN interfaces.

  3. Restart your router, let it get an IP address via DHCP.

  4. Log into the 2Wire router’s interface.  Go to Settings → Firewall → Applications, Pinholes, and DMZ

  5. Select your router under section (1).

  6. Click the DMZPlus button under section (2).

  7. Click the Save button.

  8. Restart your router, when it gets an address via DHCP again, it will be the public outside IP address.  At this point, you can leave your router in DHCP mode (make sure the firewall on your router allows the DHCP renewal packets, which will occur every 10 minutes), or you can change your router’s IP address assignment on the WAN interface to static, and use the same settings it received via DHCP.

  9. On the 2Wire router, go to Settings → Firewall → Advanced Configuration

  10. Uncheck the following: Stealth Mode, Block Ping, Strict UDP Session Control.

  11. Check everything under Outbound Protocol Control except NetBIOS.

  12. Uncheck NetBIOS under Inbound Protocol Control.

  13. Uncheck all the Attack Detection checkboxes (7 of them).

  14. Click Save.

Has anyone done the Uverse thing with this router? What configuration do you you recommend to still use the USB and guest accounts?

Thanks,

Dennis_H

2

N900 options are pretty limited when using in access point mode.  I’m currently using it as an AP too.  No guest network, parental controls.  I do see the media share menu available in AP mode, but I have not tried connecting any usb media devices.  Setting up this router as AP is extremely simple in comparison with other routers.  Once you toggle the device mode to AP mode in advanced settings, you will see a bunch of menus go away.  No need to turn off DHCP, its taken care.  Just make sure to assign a static IP to the router to access its admin page in future.  In AP mode, the wan port also becomes a switch.

I’m not a uverse user so can’t give you any suggestions regarding your setup.  But if you are trying to use router behind router configuration, try to setup static IP on your N900 for the WAN interface and setup a static route in your main router for the subnet you are using in the N900’s LAN interface.  That will make both your subnets talk to each other.

For e.g.:

Main Router:

WAN IP Address = Assigned by DHCP from service provider

LAN IP Address = 192.168.1.1  /  subnet = 192.168.1.* / 255.255.255.0

Static Route Configuration in Main Router:

Destination Subnet: 192.168.2.* / 255.255.255.0    Gateway = 192.168.1.100

N900:

WAN IP Address = 192.168.1.100

Default Gateway = 192.168.1.1

LAN IP Address = 192.168.2.1   /   subnet = 192.168.2.* / 255.255.255.0

 

There may be some difficulties in getting NetBIOS and others working across both subnets but addressing it via IP addresses instead of machine names/domain would solve it.

 

Hope this helps.

3

Thanks for the information. Guess I’ll have to go router behind router config to use what I want. The Uverse gateway/router box doesn’t really have the options for static route tables. It is very limited in setup, but I can get it to kind of behave like a modem only using the DMZ, etc. If I find any way of doing that, I’ll update this thread for others.

Looks like the parental controls has a problem looking at all the messages on the forum, so I’ll keep it on the PCs only.

Thanks again,

Dennis_H