Adding wireless to an ethernet network

I am attempting to use a Linksys WET11 wireless access point to extend
a small ethernet home network. Two pcs in adjacent rooms are
connected to a DG834 router by ethernet cable. This setup has been
rock solid for many months.

Now I wish to extend the network to a wireless equipped laptop by
using the WET11. According to the WET11 manual this should require
connecting the WET11 to a pc, setting it up through its cd and web
interface in infrastructure mode and setting an ssid, then connecting
the WET11 to an ethernet port on the router.

However, there then appears to be no wireless signal available to the
laptop. The laptop has a Netgear WG511 wireless card. I have tested
this card on other networks at other locations and it works fine.

Also, the WET11 DOES work if I set it up in ad hoc mode - the laptop
gets its signal, but in ad hoc made I cannot persuade it to share the
ethernet network's internet connection - an important need.

The WET11 appears to have difficulty in holding its ssid details.
Having entered an ssid on its cd setup screen, the status screen then
displays "non-specified ssid". Nor will it perform its search for
wireless devices function.

In summary, I am not sure which part of all this is causing the
problem: faulty WET11, incompatibility between router and WET11, or me
missing some crucial step.

Any comments will be gratefully received. Thanks John

"John" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I am attempting to use a Linksys WET11 wireless access point to extend
> a small ethernet home network. Two pcs in adjacent rooms are
> connected to a DG834 router by ethernet cable. This setup has been
> rock solid for many months.
>
> Now I wish to extend the network to a wireless equipped laptop by
> using the WET11. According to the WET11 manual this should require
> connecting the WET11 to a pc, setting it up through its cd and web
> interface in infrastructure mode and setting an ssid, then connecting
> the WET11 to an ethernet port on the router.
>
> However, there then appears to be no wireless signal available to the
> laptop. The laptop has a Netgear WG511 wireless card. I have tested
> this card on other networks at other locations and it works fine.

As you already have a router, you will probably be running a DHCP server on
this existing router, so make sure the DHCP server is turned off on the
WET11.

Make sure the IP address of the WET11 is in the same range as your existing
network (for example, if your current router is 192.168.1.1 then set the
WET11 to 192.168.1.2 (Assuming you are not using this address, and it is not
in the DHCP range - I usually leave 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.20 free for
this purpose)

Make sure the router is in infrastructure mode, but also make sure the SSID
is NOT hidden while you set it up.

On the laptop, make sure it is set to connect to infrastructure access
points - assuming you are using the windows wireless manager, control
panel -> Network Connections-> Right click on your wireless connection and
select properties, select the "Wireless Networks" tab at the top, press
Advanced, Select "Any Available network (access point preferred)

If you are using another wireless manager, there should be a similar setting
somewhere!

If you still don't get any joy, install Netstumbler
http://www.netstumbler.com/ on the laptop, this will show you if there is a
signal, even if it is hidden (Fire it up with the WET11 off, then switch it
on, and you should see it appear, otherwise you may get confused with any
other wireless networks in your area!)

Sparks...

>"John" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:(E-Mail Removed).. .
>>I am attempting to use a Linksys WET11 wireless access point to extend
>> a small ethernet home network. <snip>


>On Wed, 1 Mar 2006 11:49:48 -0000, "Sparks" <postmaster@127.0.0.1> wrote:
>As you already have a router, you will probably be running a DHCP server on
>this existing router, so make sure the DHCP server is turned off on the
>WET11.
>
>Make sure the IP address of the WET11 is in the same range as your existing
>network (for example, if your current router is 192.168.1.1 then set the
>WET11 to 192.168.1.2 (Assuming you are not using this address, and it is not
>in the DHCP range - I usually leave 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.20 free for
>this purpose)
>
>Make sure the router is in infrastructure mode, but also make sure the SSID
>is NOT hidden while you set it up.
>
>On the laptop, make sure it is set to connect to infrastructure access
>points - assuming you are using the windows wireless manager, control
>panel -> Network Connections-> Right click on your wireless connection and
>select properties, select the "Wireless Networks" tab at the top, press
>Advanced, Select "Any Available network (access point preferred)
>
>If you are using another wireless manager, there should be a similar setting
>somewhere!
>
>If you still don't get any joy, install Netstumbler
>http://www.netstumbler.com/ on the laptop, this will show you if there is a
>signal, even if it is hidden (Fire it up with the WET11 off, then switch it
>on, and you should see it appear, otherwise you may get confused with any
>other wireless networks in your area!)
>
>Sparks...
>
Many thanks for this - I will try it over the weekend Cheers John

"John" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

> Many thanks for this - I will try it over the weekend Cheers John

You do know that the wet11 is a wireless bridge and not an access point?
I don't have one to try but the manual indicates that it doesn't work as an
AP.
(It may be that there has been a firmware update to add AP mode after the
manual was printed.)

You may be able to get it to work using ad-hoc mode but in infrastructure
mode it will be looking for an AP to connect to.

On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 22:05:44 GMT, "dennis@home"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>>
>You do know that the wet11 is a wireless bridge and not an access point?
>I don't have one to try but the manual indicates that it doesn't work as an
>AP.
>(It may be that there has been a firmware update to add AP mode after the
>manual was printed.)
>
>You may be able to get it to work using ad-hoc mode but in infrastructure
>mode it will be looking for an AP to connect to.
>
Now I read the manual again I see what you mean. I could indeed get a
signal on a wireless equipped laptop from the WET11 in ad hoc mode,
but in that mode could not access the router or its broadband
connection. I have also been guided by the review at
http://www.adslguide.org.uk/hardware...ksys_wet11.asp

which says, for instance:

"Sharing a broadband connection - Ad Hoc mode

This mode is perhaps the most common mode people will be using. This
involves linking the Linksys WET11 to an existing ADSL router. The
WET11 will then allow computers with their own wireless network cards
running to see the adsl router. The WET11 will remain transparent,
which means that computers using the wireless will behave as if they
had a network cable running to the adsl router, the big advantage of
this is that all the computers connected via the wireless and wired
networks will be able to see each other...."

But this is not the effect I could get - the laptop could not see
computers on the wired network. John

> Now I read the manual again I see what you mean. I could indeed get a
> signal on a wireless equipped laptop from the WET11 in ad hoc mode,
> but in that mode could not access the router or its broadband
> connection. I have also been guided by the review at
> http://www.adslguide.org.uk/hardware...ksys_wet11.asp
>
> which says, for instance:
>
> "Sharing a broadband connection - Ad Hoc mode
>
> This mode is perhaps the most common mode people will be using. This
> involves linking the Linksys WET11 to an existing ADSL router. The
> WET11 will then allow computers with their own wireless network cards
> running to see the adsl router. The WET11 will remain transparent,
> which means that computers using the wireless will behave as if they
> had a network cable running to the adsl router, the big advantage of
> this is that all the computers connected via the wireless and wired
> networks will be able to see each other...."
>
> But this is not the effect I could get - the laptop could not see
> computers on the wired network. John

Have you actually connected to the network?
It is possible to have the laptop setup to only connect to access points

Sparks...

"John" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

> But this is not the effect I could get - the laptop could not see
> computers on the wired network. John

Its probably a bit obvious but are the link lights on on the Ethernet ports
of the router and the wet11?

On Fri, 03 Mar 2006 20:06:37 GMT, "dennis@home"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>"John" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:(E-Mail Removed).. .
>
>> But this is not the effect I could get - the laptop could not see
>> computers on the wired network. John
>
>Its probably a bit obvious but are the link lights on on the Ethernet ports
>of the router and the wet11?
>

Thanks for the advice - I have now got a wireless connection to the
laptop, with status lights on both router and WET11 correctly lit.
The WET11, set up in ad hoc mode, is connected to one of the ethernet
ports on the Netgear DG834v2. The wireless card in the laptop (WG511)
is receiving a signal.

On the laptop I can access those files on the host computer that I
have enabled sharing for, I can also access the router via its IP
addess configuration screen and I can perform a DNS lookup and ping of
an IP address through the router from the laptop via the wireless
link.

What I cannot do is access the internet connection via the web browser
on the laptop. There must be some setting I am missing.

What I have read about internet connection sharing suggests that in
Network connections there should be an entry for the broadband
connection, providing a tab to set sharing. However, the only entry I
have in network connections is for the ethernet LAN.
John

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> On Fri, 03 Mar 2006 20:06:37 GMT, "dennis@home"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>
>> "John" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>
>>> But this is not the effect I could get - the laptop could not see
>>> computers on the wired network. John
>>
>> Its probably a bit obvious but are the link lights on on the
>> Ethernet ports of the router and the wet11?
>>
>
> Thanks for the advice - I have now got a wireless connection to the
> laptop, with status lights on both router and WET11 correctly lit.
> The WET11, set up in ad hoc mode, is connected to one of the ethernet
> ports on the Netgear DG834v2. The wireless card in the laptop (WG511)
> is receiving a signal.
>
> On the laptop I can access those files on the host computer that I
> have enabled sharing for, I can also access the router via its IP
> addess configuration screen and I can perform a DNS lookup and ping of
> an IP address through the router from the laptop via the wireless
> link.
>
> What I cannot do is access the internet connection via the web browser
> on the laptop. There must be some setting I am missing.
>
> What I have read about internet connection sharing suggests that in
> Network connections there should be an entry for the broadband
> connection, providing a tab to set sharing. However, the only entry I
> have in network connections is for the ethernet LAN.
> John

Have you got the PC's gateway address pointing at the router's (LAN) IP
address? If not, do that and it it will hopefully work.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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John wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for the advice - I have now got a wireless connection to the
>> laptop, with status lights on both router and WET11 correctly lit.
>> The WET11, set up in ad hoc mode, is connected to one of the ethernet
>> ports on the Netgear DG834v2. The wireless card in the laptop (WG511)
>> is receiving a signal.
>>
>> On the laptop I can access those files on the host computer that I
>> have enabled sharing for, I can also access the router via its IP
>> addess configuration screen and I can perform a DNS lookup and ping of
>> an IP address through the router from the laptop via the wireless
>> link.
>>
>> What I cannot do is access the internet connection via the web browser
>> on the laptop. There must be some setting I am missing.
>>
>> What I have read about internet connection sharing suggests that in
>> Network connections there should be an entry for the broadband
>> connection, providing a tab to set sharing. However, the only entry I
>> have in network connections is for the ethernet LAN.
>> John
>
On Sun, 5 Mar 2006 15:29:44 -0000, "Roger Mills \(aka Tiscali Tim\)"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
Have you got the PC's gateway address pointing at the router's (LAN)
IP >address? If not, do that and it it will hopefully work.


Yes set default gateway on laptop to match router IP
Unfortunately this has not worked. XP says the wireless connection is
working, the settings all appear OK, signal strength is high, the
internet connection seems to be the one thing I can't get. John