Belkin wireless bridging

[bizzybody]

I have a Belkin F5D8230-4 version 1002 (MIMO 3 antenna wireless N) and a Belkin F5D7230-4 version 6002. I want to connect one to my DSL modem and create a wireless bridge or extension from my house to a wired LAN in my office.

In the house I'll only be using laptops and an HTPC with wireless. In the office I have a LAN with two PCs and three HP printers, plus any computer I may be working on. All that is setup with a D-Link DSS-5+ switch, which I'll likely have to connect to whichever of the Belkins will be in the office, since the Belkins only have four LAN ports.

I bought the two Belkins and a D-Link DI-524 revision A3 for $7 each. Upgraded all three to latest firmware. I also have a D-Link DI-604 revision E3 router.

I can't change the DSL modem, which is a POS Zyxel that hasn't seen a firmware update since 2005 and has wireless so awful I turned it off. (It will not assign IPs to Dell laptops for some reason and constantly drops connection to what boxes it will talk to.)

The setup I want to replace is a Netgear WGR614 (V5, 6 or 7, I forget which) chained to the DSL modem and in the office I have a Belkin Wireless G USB dongle (there's no model number on it, just a MAC address) which is plugged into one PC. That connection is then shared to the LAN so that PC always has to be running when any other computer needs internet access.

I want to get it setup so any computer in the office and house can access the internet *and* the printers any time, without needing any other computer running. Currently that's three desktops, three laptops and three printers, with at least one more desktop in the works.

[tain]

You need WDS?

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Wireless_distribution_system

[bizzybody]

I replaced the Netgear with the Belkin F5D8230-4 and bought a Chinese made wireless router based on a Ralink chip.

I put the Belkin in router mode and the Chinese box in bridge+ethernet converter mode. The little black box makes its WiFi link emulate a wired connection to the Belkin and as a bridge acts like it's just another switch in the LAN.

"All in all you're just a- nother switch in the LAN!"