Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 8:55 Post subject: Netgear WNDR3300, repeater function
Hi guys, im new to this forum and to flashing routers
so sorry if i'm not posting in the right sub-forum
My question is the following, i bought two netgear wndr3300 (its a dual band router) and i intend to set them up as a base station and a repeater.
I tried with the original firmware without success, and the netgear doesn't seems to care... anyway I installed dd-wrt on the router i want to use as a repeater,
i went to: Wireless>Basic Settings and I have two Physical Interfaces wl0 and wl1; I guess one for N one for G.
I selected repeater in the wireless mode for both, entered the wireless network name for each one and set the router in a place where i have some signal (around half)
i dont hace any mac address access list or encryption key (firs i want it to work and then i will worry about security)
am i doing everything ok? should i install dd-wrt in the other router?
i tried installing back the original netgear firmware but it wont let me....how do i erase dd-wrt and install back the original firmware? (i don't intend to, just in case)
it's easiest for you to keep the original firmware on it
there is a REPEATER function in the original firmware
I tested it and the throughput is fine. It uses the N-5ghz to repeat,
then you can connect to the router using the G-2.4Ghz
This way you don't loose any throughput when connecting to the repeater bridge
If you want to use DD-WRT then you first have to tell me
A. are you connecting wirelessly to the repeater
B. are you connecting w/LAN (cable) to the repeater
Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 12:39 Post subject: Re: Netgear WNDR3300, repeater function
t4ggs wrote:
Hi guys, im new to this forum and to flashing routers
so sorry if i'm not posting in the right sub-forum
My question is the following, i bought two netgear wndr3300 (its a dual band router) and i intend to set them up as a base station and a repeater.
I tried with the original firmware without success, and the netgear doesn't seems to care... anyway I installed dd-wrt on the router i want to use as a repeater,
i went to: Wireless>Basic Settings and I have two Physical Interfaces wl0 and wl1; I guess one for N one for G.
I selected repeater in the wireless mode for both, entered the wireless network name for each one and set the router in a place where i have some signal (around half)
i dont hace any mac address access list or encryption key (firs i want it to work and then i will worry about security)
am i doing everything ok? should i install dd-wrt in the other router?
i tried installing back the original netgear firmware but it wont let me....how do i erase dd-wrt and install back the original firmware? (i don't intend to, just in case)
thanks in advance to all of you.
If all you want to do is set it up in repeater, both router do not have to be running DD-WRT. Only 1 of the 3300's has to be running dd-wrt, also for setting this up, i would turn off wl1 and just use wl0 to do this with, having both of them on to do this can become confusing. Then just follow the guide in the dd-wrt wiki: linking routers
Also reversion back to original firmware is somewhat difficult now, if you are on a 1.3 CFE then you can use the reversion guide in the wiki pretty safely. If you have a 1.5 CFE which most newer units do now, you could end up getting stuck in tftp mode and have to get a serial connection to flash with. Yes i know, complicated, please direct your anger at netgear for putting a faulty CFE on us. _________________ Wireless N Config | Linking Routers | DD-WRT Wiki | DD-WRT Builds | Peacock - Broadcom FAQ
Wow, thanks about the quick reply
u guys r amazing
Let me see if I understand, the difference between a repeater and a bridge repeater is that in a bridge repeater, I can also see the other computers in the network? in that casa, i want to, so i guess i have to make a repeater bridge
and what band do u recommend i use, N or G? wl1 is what?
Yes all of this is much to intake, read slowly and carefully, follow the guides as it says and you will be fine.
Repeater Bridge links your routers wireless instead of wired. So in your case if you are doing it with a cable you will most likely want the guide above.
Joined: 04 Jan 2007 Posts: 11564 Location: Wherever the wind blows- North America
Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 15:52 Post subject:
Repeater modes cause a 50% bandwidth loss of your WAN....so with a dual radio like the 3300 to make it a true repeater without bandwidth loss....setup one radio as a Client Bridge (no bandwidth loss) to talk to the host radio...then setup the second radio on the 3300 as an Access Point.
I've been running this setup for about a year and it works great.
redhawk _________________ The only stupid question....is the unasked one.
Joined: 05 Jan 2010 Posts: 571 Location: Orlando, FL
Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 15:58 Post subject: Re: Netgear WNDR3300, repeater function
buddee wrote:
If all you want to do is set it up in repeater, both router do not have to be running DD-WRT. Only 1 of the 3300's has to be running dd-wrt, also for setting this up, i would turn off wl1 and just use wl0 to do this with, having both of them on to do this can become confusing. Then just follow the guide in the dd-wrt wiki: linking routers
I disagree here, the dual radio on this unit is what makes it such a great choice for an inexpensive G repeater. You set wl0 to repeater mode (wiki guide works fine here) and wl1 to a normal AP. The wiki says to add a VAP for the clients to connect to but you don't want to do this, you use wl1 with a different SSID for client access instead. This way the bandwidth through the repeater isn't cut in half! _________________ Linksys 610Nv2 DD-WRT v24-sp2 (03/24/10) mega - build 14144
Guys really im very thankful for your help but the truth is I wont understand, since each one of you is telling me different things (at least thats how it seems to me hehehe)
I'll try to explain better what I have right and what i want to do.
Rigth now im connected to the internet through a wired router called Edimax. this router along with the modem is in a room in the second floor.
Then there is a Netgear WNDR3300 dual band router connected to the edimax, this router is ubicated in the second floor in the corridor between the rooms...(i cant connect it directly to the internet, i have to leave the edimax router, because i need its connections to other wired computers)
Now i have a second Netgear WNDR3300 refurbished that i want to set on the first floor as a repeater, because there are places in the first floor where i cant get enough signal or almost none.
Im attaching some pictures with the configurations of my routers.
Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 17:43 Post subject: Re: Netgear WNDR3300, repeater function
steveg1701 wrote:
I disagree here, the dual radio on this unit is what makes it such a great choice for an inexpensive G repeater. You set wl0 to repeater mode (wiki guide works fine here) and wl1 to a normal AP. The wiki says to add a VAP for the clients to connect to but you don't want to do this, you use wl1 with a different SSID for client access instead. This way the bandwidth through the repeater isn't cut in half!
Would not the bandwidth already be as you say "cut in half" from wl0 repeating the main AP signal? So if you connect to wl1 even with different SSID, the signal you are getting is already cut from the first repeat, also you are now just limited to a G radio without a VAP on wl0. _________________ Wireless N Config | Linking Routers | DD-WRT Wiki | DD-WRT Builds | Peacock - Broadcom FAQ
Joined: 05 Jan 2010 Posts: 571 Location: Orlando, FL
Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 17:49 Post subject:
t4ggs wrote:
Guys really im very thankful for your help but the truth is I wont understand, since each one of you is telling me different things (at least thats how it seems to me hehehe)
I'll try to explain better what I have right and what i want to do.
Rigth now im connected to the internet through a wired router called Edimax. this router along with the modem is in a room in the second floor.
Then there is a Netgear WNDR3300 dual band router connected to the edimax, this router is ubicated in the second floor in the corridor between the rooms...(i cant connect it directly to the internet, i have to leave the edimax router, because i need its connections to other wired computers)
Now i have a second Netgear WNDR3300 refurbished that i want to set on the first floor as a repeater, because there are places in the first floor where i cant get enough signal or almost none.
Im attaching some pictures with the configurations of my routers.
Thanks for your help.
Actually, if you toss some of the information that people posted here before we had a really good idea of what you are trying to do then most of us are saying pretty much the same thing! A bit more on your configuration though, how are you connecting the second floor Netgear to the Edimax? I know you said with a cable but is it connected to the LAN side or the WAN side or the Netgear? Also, I'm still not sure why you can't just get rid of the Edimax and plug the wired devices into the LAN ports of the Netgear. This would be preferred because it will remove 1 level of complexity when you are following the wiki guide.
The consensus here is that this is the way you should set things up, though most of us feel that a small modification on that guide should be made so you can take full advantage of the capabilities of your Netgear! _________________ Linksys 610Nv2 DD-WRT v24-sp2 (03/24/10) mega - build 14144
Joined: 04 Jan 2007 Posts: 11564 Location: Wherever the wind blows- North America
Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 18:09 Post subject: Re: Netgear WNDR3300, repeater function
buddee wrote:
Would not the bandwidth already be as you say "cut in half" from wl0 repeating the main AP signal? So if you connect to wl1 even with different SSID, the signal you are getting is already cut from the first repeat, also you are now just limited to a G radio without a VAP on wl0.
No...A repeater uses the same radio to Tx and Rx and has two hops to do it (one to the host AP...the other to the wireless client). It can only Tx or Rx at any given time.
In a two radio setup...both radios can Tx/Rx at the same time...so connecting wirelessly to the wl1 interface can still communcate through the wl0 radio at the same time...no BW loss.
redhawk _________________ The only stupid question....is the unasked one.
Im connecting the Netgear directly to the Edimax, I mean, one end of the cable is connected to the LAN in the Edimax and to a WLAN on the Netgear.
I cant get rid of the Edimax because I cant rearrange all the other cables to go through the wall to the Netgear in the corridor.
So what exactly should I do, cause i did what the WIKI said, excluding the part of giving an ip address to the repeater and MASK and gateway and Local DNS
Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 18:22 Post subject: Re: Netgear WNDR3300, repeater function
buddee wrote:
Also reversion back to original firmware is somewhat difficult now, if you are on a 1.3 CFE then you can use the reversion guide in the wiki pretty safely. If you have a 1.5 CFE which most newer units do now, you could end up getting stuck in tftp mode and have to get a serial connection to flash with. Yes i know, complicated, please direct your anger at netgear for putting a faulty CFE on us.
how do i know what cfe do i have? and pardon my ignorance, but what is cfe?
but is it connected to the LAN side or the WAN side or the Netgear? Also, I'm still not sure why you can't just get rid of the Edimax and plug the wired devices into the LAN ports of the Netgear. This would be preferred because it will remove 1 level of complexity when you are following the wiki guide.