Isolate LAN in repeater mode, RT-N66U? Assign WAN port to LAN?

[Razzmatazz]

I'd appreciate any help...

Summary:
1) Show-stopper for me: On RT-N66U with ASUS-WRT, can I run in repeater mode (not WDS) and can I isolate the repeater's LAN from the host LAN?

2) Show-stopper for me: Can ASUS-WRT do repeater mode at 5GHz?

3) Nice-to-have: Can I assign the WAN port as a LAN port (so that I have 5 LAN ports)?

If any of this is possible with ASUS-WRT (or even Tomato) would somebody kindly point me to an appropriate version?

More detail if it helps...
1) About 1 year ago on my RT-N66U, I tried Asus-Merlin 374.40. I use the router in repeater mode to share (with his permission) my neighbor's (WPA2-encrypted, 2.4GHz WiFi cable-Internet connection) on a different SSID throughout my house. It works fine, but I don't want my neighbor to have access to "my" network. At that time ASUS-WRT did not allow me to isolate "my" LAN from my neighbor's LAN. (I can do this on DD-WRT, but the throughput seems worse than Asus-Merlin.) Is that possible now?

2) Since I don't need the WAN port, I'd like to make it a 5th LAN port. Is that possible? (It's an option on DD-WRT.) That didn't used to be an option on ASUS-WRT. Is it now?

Since those features were not available a year ago on ASUS-WRT, I have been using DD-WRT, but the throughput isn't great so I'd like to switch to ASUS-WRT, if the above "showstoppers" were eliminated.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[jegesq]

I'd appreciate any help...

Summary:
1) Show-stopper for me: On RT-N66U with ASUS-WRT, in repeater mode can I isolate the repeater's LAN from the host LAN?

I don't think so. But I've never tried doing it. From the controls that are exposed in repeater mode though, I don't think it's possible. If by "isolate" one from the other, you mean can you create separate networks (e.g., 192.168.1.xx for the router and 10.01.1. for the repeater), I think the answer is a resounding "no." Once you select "repeater" mode, everything is pretty much automatic. But to be honest, I've never tried, and perhaps it's possible if you configure the repeater unit as a separate LAN (separate from the router's LAN before you put it into "repeater" mode. I have found that some of the other settings which are applied before putting it into repeater will stick, so perhaps this would work as well.

2) Show-stopper for me: Can ASUS-WRT do repeater mode at 5GHz?

Yes. It can repeat the router's 5ghz transmits, and it can also utilize its own 5ghz and 2.4 ghz radios as well. In fact of the few settings when in repeater mode, the only one that I think is actually configurable when you're set in repeater is which band to repeat from the host router, i.e., 2.4 or 5ghz.

3) Nice-to-have: Can I assign the WAN port as a LAN port (so that I have 5 LAN ports)?

I don't think so, but again, I've never tried to use the LAN port when in repeat mode. It might be possible, but even if it isn't it shouldn't be a "show stopper" for you.....just get an inexpensive 4 or 5 port GigE switch and hang it off one of the LAN ports to give yourself the extra ports you need.

If any of this is possible with ASUS-WRT (or even Tomato) would somebody kindly point me to an appropriate version?

I am certain that Asus-WRT firmware and most versions of Merlins firmware (at least as far back as 374.38) will do "repeater" mode, and do it well. Can't speak to Tomato or any other firmware.

More detail if it helps...
1) About 1 year ago on my RT-N66U, I tried Asus-Merlin 374.40. I use the router in repeater mode to share (with his permission) my neighbor's (WPA2-encrypted, 2.4GHz WiFi cable-Internet connection) on a different SSID throughout my house. It works fine, but I don't want my neighbor to have access to "my" network. At that time ASUS-WRT did not allow me to isolate "my" LAN from my neighbor's LAN. (I can do this on DD-WRT, but the throughput seems worse than Asus-Merlin.) Is that possible now?

2) Since I don't need the WAN port, I'd like to make it a 5th LAN port. Is that possible? (It's an option on DD-WRT.) That didn't used to be an option on ASUS-WRT. Is it now?

Since those features were not available a year ago on ASUS-WRT, I have been using DD-WRT, but the throughput isn't great so I'd like to switch to ASUS-WRT, if the above "showstoppers" were eliminated.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Well, one out of three ain't bad, and with the switch it's really two out of three. But if I wanted to do what you're trying to do re: separate LAN's, I'd try to configure your repeater while it's still in router mode, i.e., before you put it into repeater mode so that it's radios are transmitting on a separate subnet first....maybe that will work, maybe it won't. Otherwise, I guess you're stuck with DD-WRT and crappy throughput.

 

[Razzmatazz]

Thanks jegesq.

1) When I tried using ASUS-WRT in repeater mode a year ago, before and after implementing repeater mode, I tried setting a different IP address from the host network but in repeater mode, it automatically became the same IP address as the host network. I don't want my neighbor to be able to see the PCs (file shares) on my LAN. (Show-stopper.)

2) It's good to know that it will repeat at 5GHz. (Would have been a show-stopper.)

3) Assigning the WAN port to a LAN port is not a show-stopper for me (so I listed it as a "nice-to-have") but I don't think there's even an optional setting in ASUS-WRT, is there?

 

[jegesq]

re: segregating, I don't think you can do that using a repeater as the source, and I also think even if you hung an AP off a LAN port on the repeater you still probably couldn't do it, at least not with stock Asus firmware, or even Merlin's. You'd need some method to create VLAN's (since I don't think if you configure a guest network on a second AP that would do what you want....you really wouldn't have "shares" on the guest network, but just internet access, and if you allowed intranet traffic on a guest SSID, well, then you'd be exposing everything to your neighbor. The only way I can think it might be accomplished is in the same sort of standard way that VLANs are done, but you'd need the router on your end, and not just a repeater, in order to properly configure the different subnets. As you note, even when you set a different IP or a different subnet on the repeater, once you identify the SSID that you want it to use, it will take it's IP and subnet settings from that router. And I don't believe you can configure an AP (at least none with stock Asus firmware) to run as a separate VLAN.

Here's the closest forum thread I could locate doing a search here, and it's really not on point, but will give you an idea of how to configure different networks with a single router. http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=1165&highlight=vlan:

 

[Softail]

I'd appreciate any help...
3) Nice-to-have: Can I assign the WAN port as a LAN port (so that I have 5 LAN ports)?

If any of this is possible with ASUS-WRT (or even Tomato) would somebody kindly point me to an appropriate version?

I haven't yet tried this myself but I've thought about this issue for one I run as an access point. Have you tried

brctl addif br0 eth0

i.e., just add the wan adapter to the bridge?

 

[Razzmatazz]

jegesq: Thanks for the info. On DD-WRT, I can set up VLANs (with different SSIDs) and isolate the repeater's LAN from the host LAN, but DD-WRT's throughput is worse than ASUS-WRT. Unfortunately, it sounds like ASUS-WRT still can't do what I want in repeater mode. (Probably not a priority for Merlin.)

Softail: Thanks for the suggestion. If I can get the (show-stopping) repeater-LAN isolation issue solved, I'll try that.