Add Wireless N Router To Network With An Actiontec Router

[Camaroon]

Hi everyone, I know this wireless N thing is being beaten to death but I just really need to be pointed in the right direction.  I recently built a HTPC setup with a SiliconDust HD Homerun network tuner so I could share three tuners with computers on my network.  I've got two PCs wired to the network right now which share them fine.  But the problem I'm running into is when I try to set up my laptop to watch something wirelessly, usually a game in HD.  The signal is very weak and I constantly lose the tuners because of that, not to mention the picture is very choppy.  I saw on a Microsoft Windows Media Center site that they don't recommend streaming HD TV feeds over anything other than a wireless N connection.  I currently have the standard Actiontec router that came with FiOS, and it doesn't the N band.  Now, that router accesses the internet signal through a coax so I know I can't get rid of it, but I've seen mentioned in a couple of places that you can just add a wireless N router into the network and turn off the wireless on the Actiontec router.  This is the router I was thinking of getting:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Cisco+Linksys+-+E1200+Wireless-N+Router+with+4-Port+Ethernet+Switch/2225...

My current network setup is like this: Actiontec router upstairs which carries internet to -> a gigabit switch connected to -> computer, tuners, and printer upstairs, with a line run to -> another gigabit switch downstairs which connects to -> a computer, and an XBox. 

So a couple of questions about this:

- Where would this go on the network?  Would it go after the router and before the switches, like I run the internet into the new router then out to the switch, or can I just add it to one of the switches?

- Will I need to do any sort of port forwarding or anything, or assiging of IP addresses?

- Anything else I should know or might run into?

I love my FiOS service so hopefully this will help me get even more out of it!

[dslr595148 · Accepted solution]

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@Camaroon wrote:
 

- Where would this go on the network?  Would it go after the router and before the switches, like I run the internet into the new router then out to the switch, or can I just add it to one of the switches?

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You can put this Wireless N router anywhere behind the Primary router.

a) Before the first gigabit switch

b) After the first gigabit switch but before the second gigabit switch.

c) After the second gigabit switch.

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@Camaroon wrote:
 

- Will I need to do any sort of port forwarding or anything, or assiging of IP addresses?

-Anything else I should know or might run into?

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#1 The Wireless N router's LAN IP must be in the same subnet as the primary router but outside of it's DHCP range.

For example if the Primary router's LAN IP is 192.168.1.1, the first IP Address in the DHCP Range is 192.168.1.99, the last IP Address in the DHCP Range is 192.168.1.254, then the Wireless N Router's LAN IP should be between 192.168.1.2 and 192.168.1.98

#2 The Wireless N Router's DHCP Server must be disabled

[Camaroon]

dsl, thanks for your response!  I was hoping you'd say I could put it just about anywhere after the primary router.  My goal was to put it downstairs on the second switch because we use most of our wireless stuff down there anyway.  This sounds like a pretty simple project but thank again for your help, will post back if I have any problems once I've had a chance to try it out!

[Camaroon]

So I picked up a slightly different version of the same router this weekend and following your instructions everything went perfectly!  Thanks again for the help, it's nice getting 30 down on wireless now!

[EricHolsinger]

I wanted to upgrade to an N protocol wireless router but since Verizon doesn’t offer the option, I purchased a Netgear N600. Unfortunately, after it arrived, I discovered that it didn’t have a coax connection as did the Verizon Actiontec. I then set out to find out how to daisy chain the routers to leave the Actiontec connected to the coax and connect the two routers via Ethernet cable. To my good fortune, during the time I spent on the phone with Netgear, I learned my way around their router interface and with the help of a co-worker that actually has a solid understanding of router/network configuration, I finally got everything working correctly – my port forwarding for RDC login worked, I could connect devices to either router and everything could once again see each other (e.g. PC, printer via Ethernet, Blu-ray player for Netflix, receiver for streaming Windows Media Player). Hopefully, this post will help you get up and running quickly and avoid the several hours I spent groping in the dark for the correct configuration.

1. Login to Verizon Actiontec router (type 192.168.1.1 into browser address bar).
2. No configuration changes are necessary on the Actiontec, you just need to identify an open IP address range in My Network section (I chose 192.168.1.50). This will be used as your static IP address of the Netgear router LAN settings.
3. Connect you PC via Ethernet cable directly into an Ethernet port (not WAN/Internet) on the Netgear router. No other connections are needed at this point.
4. Note: Do not use the Netgear wizard CD to setup the router. It will not take you through the necessary steps as you’re not setting it up as a router.
5. Login to the Netgear router (type routerlogin.net into the browser address bar) using the default login of “admin” and password “password”. Depending on your firmware version, your interface may vary but hopefully you’ll be able to find the same configuration options in either but perhaps not in the same order or placement. For subsequent logins after the router is active, you may need to type the Netgear IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.50) as routerlogin.net may open a search.
6. At the top of the Netgear genie, click on the Advanced tab.
7. On the left side, expand Setup, then select Internet Setup.
8. Select “Get dynamically from ISP”, under Internet IP Address.
9. Under Domain Name Server (DNS) Address, select “Use These DNS Servers”, and enter the IP Address of your Actiontec router (e.g. 192.168.1.1) in the Primary DNS” field.
10. Next go down a few options  within Setup to Wireless Setup.
11. In the Wireless Network 2.4GHz section, click Enable SSID broadcast.
12. Enter a meaningful name in “Name (SSID)” as this is what will be displayed for your wireless connection.
13. For Channel, select Auto.
14. For Mode, select “Up to 300 Mbps”.
15. Security Options, recommend WPK2-PSK[AES] for longer/stronger password options.
16. Set the password of your choice.
17. Repeat the same process for Wireless Network 5GHz, except vary the name slightly so you’ll be able to distinguish which band you’ll connect to. You can optionally use the same or different password as your 2.4GHz. The only exception is you’ll have to select a Channel of your choice.
18. Next go down a couple more options within Setup to the LAN Setup.
19. In the LAN TCP/IP Setup section, enter the IP Address you chose in step 2 (e.g. 192.168.1.50).
20. Enter the IP Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
21. Leave the block for “Use Router as DHCP Server” blank as your IP assignment will be handled by your Actiontec router.

You’re now finished with the configuration and you can connect the Actiontec router to the Netgear router using an Ethernet cable using the LAN ports (Note: do not connect the two routers using the WAN/Internet ports on either). You may connect your devices (PC, printers, A/V devices, etc.) to either router. If you have devices that are gigabit capable, you’ll want to connect them to the Netgear router to take advantage of the higher speed.

To avoid any possible interference between the 2.4GHz range of the two routers, you can optionally turn off the Actiontec wireless capability by logging into the Actiontec router admin (described above), go to the My Router tab, and there should be an option for “Change Wireless Settings” in the Quick Links section. Option 1 allows you to turn On/Off the wireless portion of the router.

[Camaroon]

Eric, thanks for the detailed response.  Dsl had solved this for me.  I basically went through the exact same steps you posted except I bought a Linksys router.  Things work flawlessly!

[Camaroon]

Sorry to reopen something that was solved, but I had another question directly related to this setup.  If I want to remotely access something on my home network, do I need to forward ports on both routers now, or just the Verizon one?  For example, I'm running Windows Media Center and am trying to set up a program called Remote Potato which will allow me to stream stuff from my home computer to another computer/smartphone.  To get this set up I have to forward certain ports to the computer I'm trying to access.  I tried to set this up today but it's not working.  I went in to the actiontec router, went to firewall, then port forwarding.  From there, I added a new rule where I chose the computer I'm trying to remotely access, in this case 192.168.1.12 (static IP), then chose both UDP and TCP, and picked the port I was forwarding it to.  It showed up in my list fine after I clicked Apply.  But now, when I try to access the computer on that port using my external IP, it doesn't work.  The computer I'm trying to access is plugged into the second switch, where the wireless router is also plugged in.  Thanks!

[dslr595148]

#1 Only need to forward from the Verizon one.

#2 Do you have local LAN access to this server?

For example you can access the server using the LAN IP of 192.168.1.12

#3 What port checker (or port checkers) did you use?

#4 What is/was the result(s) of the port checker(s)?

[Camaroon]

I haven't had a real chance to work on this too much, but so far I don't have access to the server on the local network.  The ports I'm supposed to forward are 9080 and 9081-9083 (that's how they tell you to do it).  So from my phone when connected to wifi, I've typed in http://192.168.1.12:9080 and it hasn't connected yet.  I haven't tried from a laptop or anything but the phone is supposed to work according to the developer.  I'm using a Windows Phone with IE9 on it.  I assume I've forwarded the ports on the Actiontec correctly.  But another weird thing is I had set up remote desktop on a different computer in my house which worked flawlessly up until a month or so ago then just stopped.  Now I can't connect from work.  Maybe I need to reboot the router to get these things going again?

I haven't used a port checker yet but I've read about some in other forums.  Which one do you recommend?

[dslr595148]

#1 You need to check the DHCP Range of the Verizon router.

a) Make sure it does not occupy the full subnet.

b) As need be, make sure to change it.

#2 Then make sure your computer is outside of that range.

For example if the Verizon router is at 192.168.1.1, the second router is at 192.168.1.2, the DHCP server's first address is at 192.168.1.99, and the last DHCP server's address is at 192.168.1.254 then your computer's IP Address should be between 192.168.1.3 and 192.168.1.98

#3 Forward to the IP Address that you setup.

#4 A port checker to use, for example the one at https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2