Re: Creating my first LAN
On Wed 31 Mar 2021 at 10:45:59 (-0400), Marc Auslander wrote:
> Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi> writes:
> >Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> writes:
> >
> >> Now - could I use this non-internet-capable router as a switch?
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> >
> >Probably. Usually LAN ports on a router are setup as a switch. The
> >router may have a DHCP server running though which you may want to
> >disable.
That's precisely the scenario I have here, posted in
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/02/msg00603.html
where it's the second diagram. Reason, the same or similar:
a failed WAN port. But it's ideal for radiating to the
living half of the house, and all its ports are active
as well.
> In my experiance, you should put the router into access point mode,
> connect your lan to the wan port, and then use the lan ports as
> additional ports. Some routers get confused when they think they are
> routing even though they can't reach the wan. And remember to turn off
> WiFi unless it is far from your primary router and you want to extend
> your WiFi network.
Yes, you only *have to* switch to AP if you have a working WAN port,
which you're connecting to the primary router. It does no harm either
way in Brian's case (or mine), with no functional WAN port.
I don't know that the secondary router gets "confused" if you leave it
in non-AP mode (when you are using the WAN port), but I assume that a
host on the primary router should be seen as an outsider if it tries
to connect to one on the secondary router, which would be a problem.
> Also, make sure you set the IP address of the router to one on your lan
> that's not in use and not in the DHCP range of your primary router. I
> normally use .2 for this purpose.
The primary router has the secondary one at a reserved address—
actually that's the case for all the hosts in the house. (Neither
router is capable of acting as a DNS server.)
The wifi settings are identical for both, and hosts just connect
to whichever gives the stronger signal.
But going back to the OP's original scenario, a broken¹ router would
be an ideal solution for linking two wifi laptops, with no possibility
of accidentally joining the Internet (horrors!).
¹ Is this a common mode of failure? My guess would be that, plus
the radio part. (Note: nowhere am I talking about modems.)
Cheers,
David.
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