Two routers - one network

I've just added a Linksys RT31P-UV VOIP router to my system and signed up
with Vonage. If I plug this router into my cable modem and then plug my
existing Linksys WRT54G wireles router into one of its LAN ports, everything
works fine(ish) straight out of the box. I say "ish" because sometimes web
pages won't load on the first attempt, and require one or two refreshes to
load properly. What I'd like is to reconfigure the wireless router so that
it's just acting as a hub. As things stand, I've got two DHCP servers;
everything on the VOIP router is assigned addresses in the range
192.168.15.xxx and everything on the wireless router gets 192.168.1.xxx. If
I disable the DHCP server on the wireless router then nothing plugged into
it can obtain an IP address. The book says to give the router a static IP
if you do this, which I've tried but without success. I'm fairly sure that
with the right settings I can turn the wireless router into a hub/wireless
access point and have everything residing on the same network regardless of
which box it's plugged into. I've tried changing the operating mode of the
wireless from 'Gateway' to 'Router' - that hasn't helped. What I need is a
step-by-step idiot's guide.

I need the VOIP router to be the gateway, rather than the other way round,
so that it can prioritize bandwith for voice traffic.

Can anybody help?

"Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%E70h.51372$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I've just added a Linksys RT31P-UV VOIP router to my system and signed up
> with Vonage. If I plug this router into my cable modem and then plug my
> existing Linksys WRT54G wireles router into one of its LAN ports,
everything
> works fine(ish) straight out of the box. I say "ish" because sometimes
web
> pages won't load on the first attempt, and require one or two refreshes to
> load properly. What I'd like is to reconfigure the wireless router so
that
> it's just acting as a hub. As things stand, I've got two DHCP servers;
> everything on the VOIP router is assigned addresses in the range
> 192.168.15.xxx and everything on the wireless router gets 192.168.1.xxx.
If
> I disable the DHCP server on the wireless router then nothing plugged into
> it can obtain an IP address. The book says to give the router a static IP
> if you do this, which I've tried but without success. I'm fairly sure
that
> with the right settings I can turn the wireless router into a hub/wireless
> access point and have everything residing on the same network regardless
of
> which box it's plugged into. I've tried changing the operating mode of
the
> wireless from 'Gateway' to 'Router' - that hasn't helped. What I need is
a
> step-by-step idiot's guide.

you need both boxes to operate their LAN connections as a single LAN to
allows DHCP to propagate between them.

connect a LAN port on 1 box to a LAN port on the other - you might need a
crossover Ethernet patch lead rather than a standard straight through lead
to do it.
>
> I need the VOIP router to be the gateway, rather than the other way round,
> so that it can prioritize bandwith for voice traffic.

leave DHCP running on the router you want to be the gateway - disable on the
other box.
>
> Can anybody help?
>
--
Regards

(E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl

As simple as that!

There I was thinking I'd have to edit static routing tables and all sorts.
I didn't even need a crossover cable. One or both of the routers (probably
both) appear to be auto-sensing.

There is one little thing. Well two, actually. I can log onto the VOIP
router and the cable modem to view their web-based utilities but I can't
talk to the wireless router (the one that's NOT directly connected to the
Internet) unless I reconfigure my PC with a static IP in the same subnet.
Which brings me to the second little thing (oops!) I changed the wireless
router's local address to 192.168.15.2 (to match the subnet of the gateway
router) and now I can't talk to it at all!

Is there a factory reset procedure (power up while holding a button in
while standing on one leg, that sort of thing) that'll get me talking to the
thing again? I'll leave well alone next time.

Anyway, the good new is that everything else appears to be working. I just
can't log onto my wireless router


"stephen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:yU80h.4827$(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:%E70h.51372$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> I've just added a Linksys RT31P-UV VOIP router to my system and signed up
>> with Vonage. If I plug this router into my cable modem and then plug my
>> existing Linksys WRT54G wireles router into one of its LAN ports,
> everything
>> works fine(ish) straight out of the box. I say "ish" because sometimes
> web
>> pages won't load on the first attempt, and require one or two refreshes
>> to
>> load properly. What I'd like is to reconfigure the wireless router so
> that
>> it's just acting as a hub. As things stand, I've got two DHCP servers;
>> everything on the VOIP router is assigned addresses in the range
>> 192.168.15.xxx and everything on the wireless router gets 192.168.1.xxx.
> If
>> I disable the DHCP server on the wireless router then nothing plugged
>> into
>> it can obtain an IP address. The book says to give the router a static
>> IP
>> if you do this, which I've tried but without success. I'm fairly sure
> that
>> with the right settings I can turn the wireless router into a
>> hub/wireless
>> access point and have everything residing on the same network regardless
> of
>> which box it's plugged into. I've tried changing the operating mode of
> the
>> wireless from 'Gateway' to 'Router' - that hasn't helped. What I need is
> a
>> step-by-step idiot's guide.
>
> you need both boxes to operate their LAN connections as a single LAN to
> allows DHCP to propagate between them.
>
> connect a LAN port on 1 box to a LAN port on the other - you might need a
> crossover Ethernet patch lead rather than a standard straight through lead
> to do it.
>>
>> I need the VOIP router to be the gateway, rather than the other way
>> round,
>> so that it can prioritize bandwith for voice traffic.
>
> leave DHCP running on the router you want to be the gateway - disable on
> the
> other box.
>>
>> Can anybody help?
>>
> --
> Regards
>
> (E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl
>
>

OK, answering my own post is bad form, but I have managed to perform a
factory reset on the thing. I can once again log onto it with a static IP
of 192.168.1.<insert favourite number here>.

Now. Thank you in advance for bearing with me:

How can I log onto the second router without having to reconfigure my PC?
I'm assuming it needs a local address of 192.168.15.xxx (the address range
of the gateway router) but my knowledge is sorely lacking at this point.


"Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:RZa0h.44113$(E-Mail Removed)...
> As simple as that!
>
> There I was thinking I'd have to edit static routing tables and all sorts.
> I didn't even need a crossover cable. One or both of the routers
> (probably both) appear to be auto-sensing.
>
> There is one little thing. Well two, actually. I can log onto the VOIP
> router and the cable modem to view their web-based utilities but I can't
> talk to the wireless router (the one that's NOT directly connected to the
> Internet) unless I reconfigure my PC with a static IP in the same subnet.
> Which brings me to the second little thing (oops!) I changed the wireless
> router's local address to 192.168.15.2 (to match the subnet of the gateway
> router) and now I can't talk to it at all!
>
> Is there a factory reset procedure (power up while holding a button in
> while standing on one leg, that sort of thing) that'll get me talking to
> the thing again? I'll leave well alone next time.
>
> Anyway, the good new is that everything else appears to be working. I
> just can't log onto my wireless router
>
>
> "stephen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:yU80h.4827$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> "Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:%E70h.51372$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> I've just added a Linksys RT31P-UV VOIP router to my system and signed
>>> up
>>> with Vonage. If I plug this router into my cable modem and then plug my
>>> existing Linksys WRT54G wireles router into one of its LAN ports,
>> everything
>>> works fine(ish) straight out of the box. I say "ish" because sometimes
>> web
>>> pages won't load on the first attempt, and require one or two refreshes
>>> to
>>> load properly. What I'd like is to reconfigure the wireless router so
>> that
>>> it's just acting as a hub. As things stand, I've got two DHCP servers;
>>> everything on the VOIP router is assigned addresses in the range
>>> 192.168.15.xxx and everything on the wireless router gets 192.168.1.xxx.
>> If
>>> I disable the DHCP server on the wireless router then nothing plugged
>>> into
>>> it can obtain an IP address. The book says to give the router a static
>>> IP
>>> if you do this, which I've tried but without success. I'm fairly sure
>> that
>>> with the right settings I can turn the wireless router into a
>>> hub/wireless
>>> access point and have everything residing on the same network regardless
>> of
>>> which box it's plugged into. I've tried changing the operating mode of
>> the
>>> wireless from 'Gateway' to 'Router' - that hasn't helped. What I need
>>> is
>> a
>>> step-by-step idiot's guide.
>>
>> you need both boxes to operate their LAN connections as a single LAN to
>> allows DHCP to propagate between them.
>>
>> connect a LAN port on 1 box to a LAN port on the other - you might need a
>> crossover Ethernet patch lead rather than a standard straight through
>> lead
>> to do it.
>>>
>>> I need the VOIP router to be the gateway, rather than the other way
>>> round,
>>> so that it can prioritize bandwith for voice traffic.
>>
>> leave DHCP running on the router you want to be the gateway - disable on
>> the
>> other box.
>>>
>>> Can anybody help?
>>>
>> --
>> Regards
>>
>> (E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl
>>
>>
>
>

(E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> OK, answering my own post is bad form, but I have managed to perform a
> factory reset on the thing. I can once again log onto it with a static IP
> of 192.168.1.<insert favourite number here>.
>
> Now. Thank you in advance for bearing with me:
>
> How can I log onto the second router without having to reconfigure my PC?
> I'm assuming it needs a local address of 192.168.15.xxx (the address range
> of the gateway router) but my knowledge is sorely lacking at this point.


Sounds like you need a single router capable of all the jobs, e.g.
Draytek. They have built-in VoPIP ports and also a QoS function which
can prioritise bandwidth for VoIP.
--
Regards
Jon

"Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:PDb0h.51524$(E-Mail Removed)...
> OK, answering my own post is bad form, but I have managed to perform a
> factory reset on the thing. I can once again log onto it with a static IP
> of 192.168.1.<insert favourite number here>.
>
> Now. Thank you in advance for bearing with me:
>
> How can I log onto the second router without having to reconfigure my PC?

changing the PC is probably the easiest way (at least on w2k or XP, since
you can change it dynamically) - give it an address in the current range of
the router you want to talk to.. Alter the settings, and point your browser
at it.

give the router a new address in 192.168.1.x - but out of the DHCP range.
Once you apply this, you will need to put your PC back to DHCP to talk to it
again.

> I'm assuming it needs a local address of 192.168.15.xxx (the address range
> of the gateway router) but my knowledge is sorely lacking at this point.
>

>
> "Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:RZa0h.44113$(E-Mail Removed)...
> > As simple as that!
> >
> > There I was thinking I'd have to edit static routing tables and all
sorts.
> > I didn't even need a crossover cable. One or both of the routers
> > (probably both) appear to be auto-sensing.
> >
> > There is one little thing. Well two, actually. I can log onto the VOIP
> > router and the cable modem to view their web-based utilities but I can't
> > talk to the wireless router (the one that's NOT directly connected to
the
> > Internet) unless I reconfigure my PC with a static IP in the same
subnet.
> > Which brings me to the second little thing (oops!) I changed the
wireless
> > router's local address to 192.168.15.2 (to match the subnet of the
gateway
> > router) and now I can't talk to it at all!
> >
> > Is there a factory reset procedure (power up while holding a button in
> > while standing on one leg, that sort of thing) that'll get me talking to
> > the thing again? I'll leave well alone next time.
> >
> > Anyway, the good new is that everything else appears to be working. I
> > just can't log onto my wireless router
> >
> >
> > "stephen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:yU80h.4827$(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> "Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> >> news:%E70h.51372$(E-Mail Removed)...
> >>> I've just added a Linksys RT31P-UV VOIP router to my system and signed
> >>> up
> >>> with Vonage. If I plug this router into my cable modem and then plug
my
> >>> existing Linksys WRT54G wireles router into one of its LAN ports,
> >> everything
> >>> works fine(ish) straight out of the box. I say "ish" because
sometimes
> >> web
> >>> pages won't load on the first attempt, and require one or two
refreshes
> >>> to
> >>> load properly. What I'd like is to reconfigure the wireless router so
> >> that
> >>> it's just acting as a hub. As things stand, I've got two DHCP
servers;
> >>> everything on the VOIP router is assigned addresses in the range
> >>> 192.168.15.xxx and everything on the wireless router gets
192.168.1.xxx.
> >> If
> >>> I disable the DHCP server on the wireless router then nothing plugged
> >>> into
> >>> it can obtain an IP address. The book says to give the router a
static
> >>> IP
> >>> if you do this, which I've tried but without success. I'm fairly sure
> >> that
> >>> with the right settings I can turn the wireless router into a
> >>> hub/wireless
> >>> access point and have everything residing on the same network
regardless
> >> of
> >>> which box it's plugged into. I've tried changing the operating mode
of
> >> the
> >>> wireless from 'Gateway' to 'Router' - that hasn't helped. What I need
> >>> is
> >> a
> >>> step-by-step idiot's guide.
> >>
> >> you need both boxes to operate their LAN connections as a single LAN to
> >> allows DHCP to propagate between them.
> >>
> >> connect a LAN port on 1 box to a LAN port on the other - you might need
a
> >> crossover Ethernet patch lead rather than a standard straight through
> >> lead
> >> to do it.
> >>>
> >>> I need the VOIP router to be the gateway, rather than the other way
> >>> round,
> >>> so that it can prioritize bandwith for voice traffic.
> >>
> >> leave DHCP running on the router you want to be the gateway - disable
on
> >> the
> >> other box.
> >>>
> >>> Can anybody help?
> >>>
> >> --
> >> Regards
> >>
> >> (E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl
> >>
--
Regards

(E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl

Yep. That's what I've been doing. In fact I've permanently set up the
Ethernet port of my laptop for this purpose, since it uses wireless to
access the internet.

Thanks for your help.


"stephen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:MMl0h.17534$(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:PDb0h.51524$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> OK, answering my own post is bad form, but I have managed to perform a
>> factory reset on the thing. I can once again log onto it with a static
>> IP
>> of 192.168.1.<insert favourite number here>.
>>
>> Now. Thank you in advance for bearing with me:
>>
>> How can I log onto the second router without having to reconfigure my PC?
>
> changing the PC is probably the easiest way (at least on w2k or XP, since
> you can change it dynamically) - give it an address in the current range
> of
> the router you want to talk to.. Alter the settings, and point your
> browser
> at it.
>
> give the router a new address in 192.168.1.x - but out of the DHCP range.
> Once you apply this, you will need to put your PC back to DHCP to talk to
> it
> again.
>
>> I'm assuming it needs a local address of 192.168.15.xxx (the address
>> range
>> of the gateway router) but my knowledge is sorely lacking at this point.
>>
>
>>
>> "Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:RZa0h.44113$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> > As simple as that!
>> >
>> > There I was thinking I'd have to edit static routing tables and all
> sorts.
>> > I didn't even need a crossover cable. One or both of the routers
>> > (probably both) appear to be auto-sensing.
>> >
>> > There is one little thing. Well two, actually. I can log onto the
>> > VOIP
>> > router and the cable modem to view their web-based utilities but I
>> > can't
>> > talk to the wireless router (the one that's NOT directly connected to
> the
>> > Internet) unless I reconfigure my PC with a static IP in the same
> subnet.
>> > Which brings me to the second little thing (oops!) I changed the
> wireless
>> > router's local address to 192.168.15.2 (to match the subnet of the
> gateway
>> > router) and now I can't talk to it at all!
>> >
>> > Is there a factory reset procedure (power up while holding a button in
>> > while standing on one leg, that sort of thing) that'll get me talking
>> > to
>> > the thing again? I'll leave well alone next time.
>> >
>> > Anyway, the good new is that everything else appears to be working. I
>> > just can't log onto my wireless router
>> >
>> >
>> > "stephen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> > news:yU80h.4827$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >> "Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> >> news:%E70h.51372$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >>> I've just added a Linksys RT31P-UV VOIP router to my system and
>> >>> signed
>> >>> up
>> >>> with Vonage. If I plug this router into my cable modem and then plug
> my
>> >>> existing Linksys WRT54G wireles router into one of its LAN ports,
>> >> everything
>> >>> works fine(ish) straight out of the box. I say "ish" because
> sometimes
>> >> web
>> >>> pages won't load on the first attempt, and require one or two
> refreshes
>> >>> to
>> >>> load properly. What I'd like is to reconfigure the wireless router
>> >>> so
>> >> that
>> >>> it's just acting as a hub. As things stand, I've got two DHCP
> servers;
>> >>> everything on the VOIP router is assigned addresses in the range
>> >>> 192.168.15.xxx and everything on the wireless router gets
> 192.168.1.xxx.
>> >> If
>> >>> I disable the DHCP server on the wireless router then nothing plugged
>> >>> into
>> >>> it can obtain an IP address. The book says to give the router a
> static
>> >>> IP
>> >>> if you do this, which I've tried but without success. I'm fairly
>> >>> sure
>> >> that
>> >>> with the right settings I can turn the wireless router into a
>> >>> hub/wireless
>> >>> access point and have everything residing on the same network
> regardless
>> >> of
>> >>> which box it's plugged into. I've tried changing the operating mode
> of
>> >> the
>> >>> wireless from 'Gateway' to 'Router' - that hasn't helped. What I
>> >>> need
>> >>> is
>> >> a
>> >>> step-by-step idiot's guide.
>> >>
>> >> you need both boxes to operate their LAN connections as a single LAN
>> >> to
>> >> allows DHCP to propagate between them.
>> >>
>> >> connect a LAN port on 1 box to a LAN port on the other - you might
>> >> need
> a
>> >> crossover Ethernet patch lead rather than a standard straight through
>> >> lead
>> >> to do it.
>> >>>
>> >>> I need the VOIP router to be the gateway, rather than the other way
>> >>> round,
>> >>> so that it can prioritize bandwith for voice traffic.
>> >>
>> >> leave DHCP running on the router you want to be the gateway - disable
> on
>> >> the
>> >> other box.
>> >>>
>> >>> Can anybody help?
>> >>>
>> >> --
>> >> Regards
>> >>
>> >> (E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl
>> >>
> --
> Regards
>
> (E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl
>
>

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

> Sounds like you need a single router capable of all the jobs, e.g.
> Draytek. They have built-in VoPIP ports and also a QoS function which
> can prioritise bandwidth for VoIP.
> --
> Regards
> Jon

Yes, in fact Vonage supply a D-link wireless router fit for the purpose, but
what with shipping, connection charge etc, it came to over sixty quid. I
picked up the Linksys for under a tenner. I do agree, though, that a single
router would be the more elegant solution.

"Rojo Habe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:PDb0h.51524$(E-Mail Removed)...
> How can I log onto the second router without having to reconfigure my PC?
> I'm assuming it needs a local address of 192.168.15.xxx (the address
> range of the gateway router) but my knowledge is sorely lacking at this
> point.

Everything should use the same subnet mask, which it probably does already.
Then you should be able to reconfigure the router's LAN interface to have an
address in the same range as everything else.

You should ideally restrict the DHCP range to a subset of the usable
addresses and put both routers and any statically-configured PCs/devices
outside the DHCP range. In practice you will often get away with not doing
this because the DHCP server will probe an address to check it is not in use
before offering it to a client.

For example, assuming a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 in all cases:

VoIP router LAN interface: 192.168.15.1
Wireless router LAN interface: 192.168.15.2
Statically-configured PCs/devices: 192.168.15.3-127
DHCP range (set on VoIP router): 192.168.15.128-254

If you can't get this to work, you are doing something wrong - I have an
equivalent network setup, also using a WRT54G as an access point only.

Alex

"Alex Fraser" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed). uk...
>
> For example, assuming a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 in all cases:
>
> VoIP router LAN interface: 192.168.15.1
> Wireless router LAN interface: 192.168.15.2
> Statically-configured PCs/devices: 192.168.15.3-127
> DHCP range (set on VoIP router): 192.168.15.128-254
>
OK, I think I've sussed it. I'd set the wireless router's WAN port to
static like it says in the book, and just left it on the default that the
router selected for me, which was probably the last address issued to it by
DHCP. Since I'm not using this port it doesn't need an IP adddress so I've
left it on DHCP. It's not plugged into anything so it'll never get issued
an address. I don't really know why this was causing problems since it
wasn't an address that any other device was using, but now I can talk to
both routers and the cable modem from any LAN port on either router.
Success!

Thank you.