Connecting Linksys WRT54G to another WRT54G

[MaskdMayo]

Hello,

I am going to be moving soon and will be using a Linksys WRT54G (A) to connect to another Linksys WRT54G (B) router. "A" will be used to connect devices into it such as an PS3, TV, Blueray Player, etc, and B will act as the primary source for the Internet connection (which will have a desktop PC connected directly into it and have a wireless laptop connecting into it, also).

My main concern is password protection. My current Linksys WRT54G router doesn't have an option in it to allow a password to be entered in to connect to another router

Example: I want A to connect to B, but I want B to have a WEP password in place. How would I get A to connect to B if B has the password in place?

I know that the routers will need to have a customized firmware installed on it to make this type of a connection happen. Does this customized firmware add any features for connecting one router to another that is password protected?

Additionally, are there any links for a list of supported routers that will work correctly with what I outlined above? I believe Linksys WRT54G will.

Again, my main concern is password protection since I do not want the main router to not have a password on it since anyone could connect to it (I will still activate the part of the router that allows only specified MAC Addresses to connect, but I like having an extra layer of protection in place).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[stevech]

You are linking these via WDS (wireless) rather than a wired ethernet connection between the two?

 

[thiggins]

Depending on the WRT54G model, you can load DD-WRT, Tomato or other alternative distros that will allow you to set up a bridge.

With WDS, you can configure the far end partner to connect only to the main AP. You do this via MAC address.

Check out Everything You Need To Know About Wireless Bridging and Repeating - Part 1: WDS
for more general info on wireless bridging.

If it were me, I wouldn't mess with trying to do reliable HD streaming via wireless. Get a pair of HomePlug AV 200 or 500 Mbps adapters and give 'em a try. I'll bet you like the results better than an 802.11g bridge.

 

[MaskdMayo]

You are linking these via WDS (wireless) rather than a wired ethernet connection between the two?

Hi Stevech,

Yes, that is correct.

 

[MaskdMayo]

Depending on the WRT54G model, you can load DD-WRT, Tomato or other alternative distros that will allow you to set up a bridge.

With WDS, you can configure the far end partner to connect only to the main AP. You do this via MAC address.

Check out Everything You Need To Know About Wireless Bridging and Repeating - Part 1: WDS
for more general info on wireless bridging.

If it were me, I wouldn't mess with trying to do reliable HD streaming via wireless. Get a pair of HomePlug AV 200 or 500 Mbps adapters and give 'em a try. I'll bet you like the results better than an 802.11g bridge.

Hi Thiggins,

I will give that a read. But, regarding having the main router providing the Internet to the other router, will the WDS software for the router allow me to have WEP protection on the main router so when the other router connects to it, the 2nd router can have a password entered into it so it can connect successfully to the main router? Similar to having a wireless laptop (for example) connect to a password protected router where you have to enter in the password? I imagine for the secondary router I can set a password on that so no wireless devices can connect without knowing the password. But, the main router I think will be tricky, unless this software for the routers has something built in?