Networking Solutions.

Transcription

1 Networking Solutions. This guide is for those people out there who are struggling to setup a network with multiple routers. For the purpose of this guide, I ll be using screenshots of my ISP s router from Sky, the SR101 & the second connected router is a Dlink DIR 880L. You should be able to use this guide for your own setup, assuming you can setup port forwarding & dynamic DNS for your ISP/original router. Method 1 Double NAT. Most people try to stray away from a double NAT, as it handicaps accessibility of connected devices i.e. you can t access devices on NAT 2 from NAT 1 & vice versa. But a double NAT comes in handy for 2 reasons: If you have a network which you fear is being bogged down by constant traffic, say several high def IP cameras that are recording to a network connected storage. With a double NAT you can place a so called security setup on one, NAT 1 (the external network, for port forwarding & dynamic DNS), NAT 2 (the internal network) can be used for general use, free of any traffic from a security setup. If your ISP s provided router lacks DNS setting functionality, leaving it as your external router (NAT 1), setting up a 2 nd NAT (NAT 2), a router in which has DNS within it s settings is a solution & thus can be accessed via your internal network (NAT 2), handy if like my ISP s router, it lacks primary/secondary DNS control. Guide. ISP s router = NAT 1 (external router) New router = NAT 2 (internal router) IP addresses used, are the ones I ve used in my own setup & are just a guide, change your own IP addresses to suit your network. Connect an Ethernet cable up to NAT 1 (LAN port) from your computer & switch off your computers wifi temporarily, to prevent any conflict. Enter your login/password to get into it s settings, go to the network/lan settings, adjust the DHCP address range, if NAT 1 is at , set the DHCP range as to (normally , but 254 we are going to use, so we don t want DHCP to assign it to something else, same as the router/gateway at ). Save all changes.

2 Now go to the internet/wan settings of NAT 1, set the DMZ server, give the address Save all changes. Setup the wireless features of NAT 1 as you like. Now unplug the cable from NAT 1 (the cable mentioned above), leave it connected to your computer, but now connect it s other end into NAT 2 (LAN port), still leave the wifi off. Enter your login/password to get into it s settings, go to the network/lan settings, now set the address to a different subset of NAT 1 i.e. if NAT 1 is then give your router for NAT 2 the address The subnet mask is the same as NAT 1, , but if you need to give the gateway, it s that of NAT 1, , keep DHCP enabled (as NAT 2, with it being of a different subset address, is independent of NAT 1), also enable always broadcast. Save all changes.

3 Now go to internet/wan setup on NAT 2, set the connection type as a static IP, give it the IP address of , subnet mask , gateway as of NAT 1, & you can setup primary/secondary DNS as you please (shown is registered smart DNS, making US Netflix accessible). Save all changes. Setup the wireless features of NAT 2 as you like. Now disconnect NAT 2 from your computer, run a cable from the Ethernet of NAT 1 (LAN port) to the WAN/Internet port of NAT 2, (as you are connecting to the WAN port of NAT 2, it s router will recognise an internet connection, thus you will be able to use it s internet/wan setup & thus, setup primary/secondary DNS, as described above). Reboot your computer, enable wifi on your computer, you should have wireless access to NAT 1 & NAT 2 through their respective wifi SSID d, being able to access NAT 1/NAT 2, / respectively. Note, any devices connected to NAT 1 need the gateway & devices connected to NAT 2 now need the gateway Further note, dynamic DNS will only take you to your ISP s router, external router NAT 1, you could port forward NAT 2 itself, but that s where it stops, you can t access anything remotely that s connected to NAT 2, unless you double port forward, but that requires your ISP giving you a static IP, which most don t provide without a monthly cost. The only solution for a dynamic IP with a double NAT is to port forward from NAT 1, your ISP s external router, but please be aware, if you use a website to check a port you ve forwarded & you ve got nothing connected to that forwarded IP address, the website won t report the port as open.

4 An example of the security setup on a double NAT would be, IP camera s + rear garden wifi access point on NAT 1 via homeplug, where inside the house is served by NAT 2, a combination of wifi, wireless bridges etc. NAT 1 without DNS settings, NAT 2 with. Method 2 Ethernet Switch/Wireless Access Point. This is the easier of the two methods, effectively you are turning you 2 nd router into an Ethernet switch/wireless access point, in effect it creates a single network, a single NAT & as such, unlike a double NAT, there are no restrictions accessing any attached devices. Guide. Your original router (ISP provided, or not) = Router 1 The new router you are adding = Router 2 As you are basically setting up Router 2 as a dumb Ethernet switch/wireless access point, it s only Router 2 you need to make changes to, as it should slot into your existing network. Connect Router 2 (LAN port) to your computer via an Ethernet cable, switch off your computers wifi temporarily, to prevent any conflict. Enter your login/password of Router 2 to get into it s settings. Go to the network/lan settings, now set the address to that of the same subset of Router 1/gateway i.e. if Router 1 is then give Router 1 the address , setting the last part of the address high, to shove it away from any DHCP assignment, avoiding address confliction. If you like, you can set the DHCP address range of Router 1, to keep things tidy with any fixed IP s you ve set like the IP address you ve set of Router 2. Using the above example, the subnet mask would be & the gateway if needed would be , also disable DCHP, as it should be handled from only one router on the same network (NAT), preferably Router 1. Save all changes. Set Router 2 s wifi as you see fit. Now disconnect Router 2 from your computer & place it anywhere you want in your network, connect it to your existing network via one of it s LAN ports, unfortunately using the WAN port won t work & thus it s setup won t recognise the internet, even though the internet is running through it s LAN port. Due to Router 2 not recognising the internet within it s setting, the internet/wan setting of Router 2 will have no effect, so primary/secondary DNS of Router 2 won t work, if you don t have DNS control at the gateway (Router 1) to pass on through Router 2, you re out of luck.

5 Reboot your computer, switch on it s wifi, now using the above example, you should be able to access Router 2 via Router 1 s Put your IP cameras on your network as you see fit, port forward from Router 1, dynamic DNS set within Router 1. Final Thoughts. I created this guide via information I had gathered from several sources, struggling with the odd niggling problem here & there, working them out by trial n error, so I thought if I knocked up this guide, putting in it things I ve learned, it would help someone who was in a like predicament. Plus, leaving my network in place for few years, this guide can act as a good fast reference for myself, when I need to do any adjustments. Finally, finally, this guide maybe a struggle for some, in such cases, with this guide, use Setting up Dlink DIR 613.pdf and/or How to connect two Routers together v1.00.pdf the Sky User forums.