Connecting two LAN's via wireless

Hello,

I am after some technical help with my home network. I'll try and keep it short.

At the moment I have a standard home network, a DSL router which dishes out wireless to laptops, phones, tablets etc.

I also have a mini Cisco network as I'm starting to learn a bit more about them. What I want to do is connect these devices into my network and have Internet access, however the problem being that all this equipment is up stairs with my router being downstairs (I want to keep it that way).

To connect this equipment up, would it be best to buy a second wireless router and use it to connect wirelessly to the existing router? (Netgear DG834PN). I presume I would need to use it in bridging mode. I could then plug my Cisco equipment into the new router and therefore it would have Internet connectivity?

Hope that makes sense and any help or guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks,

It may be better to use Devolo Homeplugs (or similar) if you don't want to run an ethernet cable. Wireless can be prone to interference.

But a wireless bridge will do what you want http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-turn-an-old-rout...

Edited by deleted (Sat 18-May-13 19:35:51)

Wireless repeating is a definite no no

500Mbps homeplugs or Ethernet cabling (best option).
Wireless repeating halves the bandwidth,
Interference is common,
It's unreliable
Hard to setup
Often goes wrong.

Ethernet is best

I assume you're using old Cisco gear because it's not on your main network so WAN throughput wouldn't be that good anyway, i.e. wireless or wired really wouldn't matter. On the config side of things you would need to set a default route for internet access, and either static route or use an IGP to connect the LAN's.

Edited by deleted (Sat 18-May-13 19:46:33)

As others have suggested it would be much easier, safer and faster to go with a HomePlug solution. It's more futureproofed and you don't run the risk of being bogged down by interference.

Also latency can by higher with Wireless which can be a problem to some applications if the range is very long.