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I have been trying to network the MiFi 4510L to my home network.

I am using the 4510 to replace my cable connection but need to keep a network environment with my XP desktop (not wireless), Wireless printer, laptop, and a solar panel monitor (wired) as well as VOIP. Somewhere on this community forum a Cisco Linksys WES610 was mentioned as a solution to link my wired and wireless devices to the 4510 but I cannot seem to successfully link them. I also have a netgear LAN active that supports the network between the computers and printers, but will not work with the 4510. Any Suggestions?

Comments

commonsense101

good luck getting voip to work with this

John_Getzke

Hello,

I can see how the Cisco WES610 would work with all the wired devices that you mentioned. However, the Cisco WES610 does not appear to offer a wireless repeater function needed to support your wireless devices, so your enviornment will be somewhat complicated, especially considering you already have a 2ndary network to deal with. Lets leave out your Netgear for the moment.

In this scenario I normally recommend the PepWave Surf Mini because I actively use it for just that purpose. Normally, you should only have to setup your bridge/repeater as the home network and make sure all devices work locally and without internet. Once all the local connections are made you simply connect the repeater/bridge to the MiFi and internet would be provided to everything. Your devices should not connect directly to the MiFi if you had a repeater but since you dont your wireless devices will need to.

Recommended diagram of your enviornment as I read it:

MiFi ))))))))))) Laptop

MiFi ))))))))))) Printer

MiFi )))))))))) Cisco ===== Desktop

MiFi )))))))))) Cisco ===== Solar Panel

MiFi )))))))))) Cisco ===== VOIP (depends on your device but i assume its wired)

Note that your Cisco device is on a different LAN than the MiFi by default. In order to allow local communication between all your devices you need to cascade the MiFi into the Cisco or visa versa. That way they share the same subnet and all devices can speak to each other. This will cause problems when your MiFi is removed from the rest of the network as only one router can be the default gateway for the network.

Diagram of enviornment using PepWave Surf Mini:

MiFi ))))))))))) PepWave ))))))))) Laptop

MiFi ))))))))))) PepWave ))))))))) Printer

MiFi ))))))))))) PepWave ===== Desktop

MiFi ))))))))))) PepWave ===== Solar Panel

MiFi ))))))))))) PepWave ?????? VOIP (depends on your device but i assume its wired)

This setup is way easier and needs hardly any configuration at all except to connect the MiFi to the Pepwave. Everything stays on the Pepwave network so it doesnt matter if the MiFi is present or not. The only thing you are missing when the MiFi is removed is the internet, local traffic remains in-tact.

Lets assume that you do not need help hooking up your local devices to the Cisco bridge. Cisco has a wonderful forum full of experts that would be a much better resource when it comes to configuring that device. There is also a nice support page on Cisco's site with documentation on how to configure the enviornment:

http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/adapters/linksys-WES610N-bridge-switch_stcVVproductId136484981VVviewprod.htm

What we can help you with is the connection between the MiFi and the Cisco bridge. What I suggest is changing the password requirements on the MiFi so the Cisco can see and connect to it. You should try lowering the wireless mode from B+G+N down to B+G. You can also try lowering the password type from WPA2 down to WPA or just turn it off completly since WEP is worthless as a password type. Let me know if you need the steps.

Message was edited by: John Getzke

lwstack

The setup with the WES610 finally worked! Solution involved an update to the software from Cisco. With the MiFi working with the laptop, I was able to hard wire the WES610 for the download. The unit responded. Moving it down the basement to the desktop, I now have the desktop, VOIP, Solar monitor by Enlighten Enphase, and Direct TV all working fine. I was able to eliminate the Netgear LAN and switch to the WES610 for LAN. Printer and both computers are tied together beautifully.

The MiFi4510L seem to be a great alternative to cable. However, I only have 3G present so movie downloads to Direct TV are quite slow. Verizon promises 4G this year.

It's been a learning experience, but the people at Cisco dedicated over 4 hours on the phone to get the unit paired with the MiFi. Can't ask for more!

John_Getzke

Glad to hear you were successful LW. You have a more advanced setup than most home users. I figured it had something to do with conflicting subnets, atleast the firmware update was able to do the trick.

A word of caution to you. The MiFi 4510L can cause a lot of heart ache if you are depending on it to stream/download movies on a regular basis. Video content of any kind will consume the majority of your data plan. The tiered data limits of all VZW plans tend to get people in trouble when they treat thier Mobile Broadband like thier pre-existing cable connections. Be diligent and monitor your usage on a frequent basis until you have your habits under control. Once you step into the overage arena your money is as good as lost; don't let it get to that point. I see too many threads where people are hit with several hundered dollar usage bills without an understanding of where the leak came from.

lwstack

Thanks for the heads up. I have been monitoring our usage. We do not normally download movies and videos, and our average usage was around 7gb on comcast. Tried the 5GB plan but needed to upgrade to the 10GB plan. even with the excess usage for troubleshooting, testing, and just having fun making it work, we are well under the limit.

D_Art

For those who are somewhat tech savvy. Many other routers can be used for this purpose. It requires an aftermarket firmware upgrade. (dd-wrt being one option). Set the router up as a repeater-bridge.

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