This guide is valid for any device running ChilliWrt firmware 12.x or later

Transcription

1 This guide is valid for any device running ChilliWrt firmware 12.x or later This guide describes how two routers running ChilliWRT, Chillifire s preconfigured OpenWrt based firmware, can be configured as a main router with a repeater. In this scenario the repeater will use the main router to gain access to the Internet using a wireless connection; only the main router has direct access to the Internet, the repeater has Internet connection only through the main router. This setup is analogous to the various mesh network setups that are available (e.g. open mesh), where each router connected to the mesh network is running an individual hotspot. Unlike the open mesh scenario each router in the network can be assigned to a different account or sub account and the wireless connection is attained by using static connections using the WDS protocol rather than the flexible routing used by the various mesh network protocols out there. Unlike the repeater firmware we previously used this setup has the advantage of a) All routers using the same firmware; b) All routers reaching through to the control panel with a heartbeat; c) All routers being remotely accessible through the control panel; d) All routers are running a full hotspot, distributing the processing load over several routers.

2 1. Setting up the main router The first step is to establish a backhaul connection the repeaters can use to connect to. To do this log on to the router s firmware with user root and your password (default password is shae 4 without apostrophes). Go to Network >Wifi and add a new SSID (i.e. virtual wireless interface). In our example it is called backbone10. Note the channel used by the router is channel 3. You must use a specific channel (setting channel to Auto is not permissible in a WDS scenario). The mode is set to Access Point (WDS) and the network has been set to lan. To avoid confusion it is recommended to hide the backhaul connection by clicking Hide ESSID.

3 We further recommend to encrypt the connection. You can do so on the same screen on the Wireless Security tab. Choose WPA PSK, set cipher to Auto and choose a password/key. You can now click on Save and Apply. Once finished we recommend you reboot the router to be sure the settings are taken into account.

4 2. Setting up a repeater You can set up as many repeaters as you like; obviously we will only show setting s for one router but will point out the different settings you have to make should you choose to add more than one router. Set up the wireless connection to the main router First thing is to set up a backhaul connection on the repeater to connect to the main router. To do that you need to go to Network >Wifi and add a new SSID (i.e. virtual wireless interface). In our example the backhaul connection is called backbone10 ; note that the SSID s name is the same as the main router. Also note that the channel of the repeater is set to 3, the same as the main router.it is imperative for the SSID of the backhaul connection and the channel of the routers to be the exact same. Otherwise a wireless connection will not be established between the two routers. The mode is set to Client (WDS) and the network has been set to wan. The BSSID (aka. Mac address remains empty).

5 If you did establish WPA PSK security of the connection you must enter the same credentials as in the main router on the Wireless Security tab of the repeater. Now press Save and Apply. Set up the WAN interface on the repeater Now go to Network >Interfaces and click on Edit for interface WAN. You must now redefine the WAN interface so the system will receive the Internet from the Ethernet jack but from the backhaul connection.

6 First change the protocol from dhcp to static. Next set the gateway IP address. In our example it is set to This means that this is the main router s IP address. Should you use the main router with ChilliWRT running an unchanged IP address this value should be Tip: If you are unsure what is the right gateway IP address, just connect to the main router, and go to Network, click on Edit on the line of LAN, and you will see the lan IP address of the main router. On the repeater you now must set the repeater s IP address to an address within the main router s number range. In our example we have used Should you use default configuration on the main router and the main router has IP address , then the address should be This is the point where a different configuration is required, if you intend to connect more than one router to the main router. A second router could have IP address , a third one and so forth. Next thing is to link the WAN interface with the wireless SSID we have set up earlier. To do that click on the Physical Settings tab on the same screen and switch the interface setting to backbone10. Make sure the bridge interface is not active. Now click on Save and Apply.

7 Set up the LAN interface on the repeater The last thing to do is to set up the LAN interface correctly on the Repeater. If your main router s IP address range is , then you repeater must not have the same IP address range as this will lead to an IP address conflict. To change IP address range of the repeater go to Network >Interfaces and click on Edit for interface LAN. If your main router has the IP you can safely set your repeater to the IP address range If you have more than one repeater, you need to use a unique IP address range for every repeater, say, , , , etc. The repeater is now set up. You may want to reboot the repeater after the Save and Apply action was successful just to be sure. After 5 minutes the repeater should appear as active in the heartbeat screen. The repeater setup is now finished