Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 20:46 Post subject: NETGEAR R8000 Client Bridge Mode w/r39960M Kong Build
Ok, so I've looked through a gazillion posts, and cannot seem to find any definitive info on this question...
I have a NETGEAR R8000. I'm running Kongs build DD-WRT v3.0-r39960M from 06/08/2019.
Reset to factory defaults, Configure, and attempting to bridge the 2nd WiFi to my LAN for Client Bridge mode. The idea being to use the 2nd 5GHz radio as the connection to my main network in lieu of Ethernet, and then run the R8000 as a client bridge/AP.
I currently have several NETGEAR routers doing similar work as APs, with the backhaul being Ethernet. In this case, I want to have the R8000 use the 2nd radio in lieu of Ethernet. I have the R8000 configured as previously working for AP mode, but with the 2nd radio configured as Client Bridge. In this case, the R8000 is supposed to use the DHCP forwarder, and so any clients connecting (Ethernet or WiFi) are supposed to be able to pull their DHCP information thru the R8000 from the main network. For the R8000, this simply will not work trying to use Client Bridge for the 2nd (or 1st) 5GHz radio. But as soon as I plug in an ethernet cable from the main network to the R8000 it works exactly as expected. So it seems "Client Bridge" configuration for the 5GHz radios is not working? How can I get one of the 5GHz radios to bridge like the Ethernet ports. Functionally, that is all I want to do???
Any ideas?
Sorry if I'm missing something, but it seems there should be no reason why my use-case can't work. I've triple-checked the Wi-Fi configuration, and am 100% certain that the passcode and other settings are correct for the R8000 to connect as a client to my Wi-Fi network. It just seems that the actual "bridging" function is not being implemented, even though I have it configured as "client bridge". Like I say, if I plug an ethernet cable between my network and the R8000, the R8000 behaves as expected, and works well as a switch/AP. I just can't seem to figure out how to get the R8000 to use one of the 5GHz radios as the bridge to my main LAN network.
Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 14246 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 1:06 Post subject:
You're *supposed* to be able to use either radio for client or client bridge modes, but apparently not. Someone had a similar issue using 5GHz band for client mode and it wouldn't work, but the 2.4 band did. I don't know what broke that functionality, and I have not tested it locally on one of my spare bench test units. Only thing I can say is try swapping to 2.4 as client bridge, and if it works out of the box, then this is a bona-fide issue and needs to be further addressed.
You're *supposed* to be able to use either radio for client or client bridge modes, but apparently not. Someone had a similar issue using 5GHz band for client mode and it wouldn't work, but the 2.4 band did. I don't know what broke that functionality, and I have not tested it locally on one of my spare bench test units. Only thing I can say is try swapping to 2.4 as client bridge, and if it works out of the box, then this is a bona-fide issue and needs to be further addressed.
I'll try configuring to use the 2.4GHz radio as the Client bridge and see if that works. I agree that if it works, it's definitely a bug of some kind that 2.4GHz works but 5GHz doesn't. Seems kind of like primary use-case for client bridge on a tri-band device to use one of the duplicate frequency radios for the bridge...
Thanks for the feedback and help. Much appreciated! I'll post back here once I have a chance to test...
I don't have an R8000 but I once had a D-Link DIR-890L which is also AC3200 and used the same R8000 firmware file from Kong. I was able to configure the lower 5GHz band in client-bridge mode and use the 2.4GHz and upper 5GHz band as APs. I used an older build 35550M. _________________
Netgear R7800 kongpro 19.07 20190919 || Netgear R7000 36070M kongac (Client Bridge=5GHz, AP=2.4GHz with bridged VAP)
Linksys WRT32X davidc502 OpenWrt || Linksys WRT1200ACv1 Gargoyle 1.11.x
Linksys WRT1900ACSv2 dd-wrt 39956
I think DHCP should be off in client bridged mode, do not use DHCP forwarder (there is no place for DHCP forwarder in SOHO networks), although I see no mention of this in the Wiki.
Edit: I used the same router: R6400v2, with the same build: 40459, Set the 5Ghz at client bridged mode, DHCP off, SPI off, Local DNS set same as gateway (I think that is advisable)
I had no trouble connecting
I still have this running in Administraton/Startup:
You're *supposed* to be able to use either radio for client or client bridge modes, but apparently not. Someone had a similar issue using 5GHz band for client mode and it wouldn't work, but the 2.4 band did. I don't know what broke that functionality, and I have not tested it locally on one of my spare bench test units. Only thing I can say is try swapping to 2.4 as client bridge, and if it works out of the box, then this is a bona-fide issue and needs to be further addressed.
I'll try configuring to use the 2.4GHz radio as the Client bridge and see if that works. I agree that if it works, it's definitely a bug of some kind that 2.4GHz works but 5GHz doesn't. Seems kind of like primary use-case for client bridge on a tri-band device to use one of the duplicate frequency radios for the bridge...
Thanks for the feedback and help. Much appreciated! I'll post back here once I have a chance to test...
I was able to make it work using 2.4GHz radio as the backhaul. But 5GHz radios (each tested as separate configuration instances) will not forward traffic. The best I could see using 5GHz for backhaul was one instance where it allowed for my wired client to get it's DHCP information from the main router...but even in that case that was it, and no other traffic seems to have been forwarded. 2.4GHz client bridge configuration on the other hand worked as expected for client bridge.
Since the whole point of my experiment was to be able to use the redundant 5GHz radio for backhaul, 2.4GHz backhaul is not useful for my application (for a tri-band device). I can use any dual-band router to accomplish the task, which makes the R8000 tri-band radios moot for this application. In fact, AFAICT, I don't see a point to tri-band outside of this application (client bridge for one 5GHz radio)....unless installing in a gazillion 5GHz client scenario where you need to split up and manage the 5GHz client band-width...not sure I see that needed in a "home"/"consumer" scenario.
So AFAICT, the 2nd 5GHz radio on an R8000 is pretty much useless...
I think DHCP should be off in client bridged mode, do not use DHCP forwarder (there is no place for DHCP forwarder in SOHO networks), although I see no mention of this in the Wiki.
Edit: I used the same router: R6400v2, with the same build: 40459, Set the 5Ghz at client bridged mode, DHCP off, SPI off, Local DNS set same as gateway (I think that is advisable)
I had no trouble connecting
I still have this running in Administraton/Startup:
Note: client or repeater bridge is a workaround and should be avoided if possible.
Use Client or Repeater (not bridged) or use a cable or powerline adapters.
I know from the wiki & here in the forums that it seems to be consensus that client-bridge or repeater-bridge are "hacks" or "work-arounds", but I do not understand why folks believe that is the case. Functionally, the Wi-Fi should be just another interface, and it should be a simple thing to assign that interface MAC as required. From a software architecture implementation perspective, why is the Wi-Fi considered differently from WAN or Ethernet interfaces to the extent that it cannot be configured similarly and any attempt to do so is considered a hack?