Airlink101 AP431W access point – only bridging first MAC seen

wireless-bridgewireless-networking

I have an extremely strange problem with an Airlink101 AP431W access point. I have a small sub-network of three devices linked to a switch. The network was moved to a different room and now has to connected wirelessly instead of wired. The wireless and wired networks are bridged at their common source. This should be a no brainer. And with a WRT54GS configured as an access point and with all ports bridged, everything works fine.

But with the AP431W (AP431W and all three devices connected to a cheapo gigabit switch), only the first MAC address seen works. If I disconnect all three machines from the switch and reboot the access point, whichever device I connect to the switch first works, and the other two devices cannot reach any host over the access point. (The three devices can reach each other when they're all connected to the switch, but always two of the devices can't reach any devices over the WiFi link.)

The AP431W has a static IP address and management works fine in all configurations. I use no authentication, but 64-bit WEP. It's configured as an AP client. Access control is disabled. Advanced wireless settings are all at their defaults.

It looks like the AP431W will only bridge the first MAC it sees. Has anyone heard of anything like this?!

Best Answer

It's configured as an AP client.

Sounds like the AP client is working as expected, except that you have clouded the picture by introducing a switch and two other hosts. The "AP client" is supposed to support only one (wired) host. You cannot use a switch to expand the backend of the AP431W configured as an AP client. Perhaps a (wired) router instead of the switch would work, but that adds a level of network complexity that you way not want.

Sounds like you really should be using the AP431W in bridge mode, but then you will need another AP431W access point to build a proper wireless bridge.

Or you need to provide an access point client for each of your "devices". Or if any of these "devices" has a USB port that supports a USB-to-802.11 adapter, then that is another way to provide each "device" with wireless connectivity.

Edit:

Consider using a wireless router in wireless bridge mode. You may have to use alternate firmware like DD-WRT.
enter image description here .

Related Solutions

Incorrect configuration of Linksys WRT54GL as wired router with Linsys WRT54GS as wireless access point

                                      Clients
                                        ^
                                        |
                                        |
                                        |
                                        +
              +--------+          +---------+
 Modem+-----> |Router 1|          |Router 2 |
              |DHCP on +--------> |No DHCP  |
              +--------+          |Static IP|
                   +              +---------+
                   |
                   |
                   |
                   v


                clients

Works

                                      Clients
                                        ^
                                        |
                                        |
                                        |
                                        +
              +--------+          +---------+
 Modem+-----> |Router 1|          |Router 2 |
              |DHCP on +--+   +-> |No DHCP  |
              +--------+  |   |   |Static IP|
                   +      |   |   +---------+
                   |      |   |
                   |      |   |
                   |      |   |
                   v      |   |
                          |   |
                          |   |
                clients   +---+
                         PLA  PLA

Does not

Since substituting router 2 with a computer doesn't work, the issue is probably with the power line adapters.

I'd try it with the two adaptors in adjacent sockets (to rule out them being on separate circuits) , and if that fails, probably look up the documentation to see if they need any configuration to work.

Networking – Wireless access point won’t allow more than 1 connection

The Netgear WGT624 is a wireless router, not just an access point, so what you have right now is in effect a second network segment, routed by the WGT624, which is configured to use your actual network the same way it would, for example, a cable modem.

What you need to do, if possible, is configure the WGT624 to act as a wireless bridge, which will make it transparent; DHCP traffic will pass through from the main network, and your devices connected wirelessly to the WGT624 will be properly assigned DHCP addresses and otherwise be able to behave as any other device on the network. Unfortunately, most routers don't offer a bridge mode option, so you're probably out of luck there.

Failing that, you'll need to turn on DHCP on the WGT624 and let it assign addresses within its own range to devices which connect to it wirelessly; you'll also need to configure its DHCP address assignment range not to overlap that of your PC that's doing Internet Connection Sharing, or you'll get IP address conflicts. This is less than ideal, as devices connected to the WGT624 will have trouble communicating with those on the wired network, but it will allow more than one wireless device to connect simultaneously via the WGT624.

Of course, what would really be ideal would be to use the WGT624 as your gateway router, the role for which it is intended, and demote the XP box to a mere client; ICS can be made to work, but it's flaky, relatively slow, and a pain to administer. Is there some reason you can't do that instead of dealing with all this other nonsense?

Related Question

Networking – Configuring a Wired Access Point – Linksys WRT54G