I'm trying to create two wireless networks in my house, that would provide the client devices different ip address ranges and DNS settings, depending on which network they connect to.
My current setup involves the following hardware:
1xVirgin Media Super(?)Hub
1xNetgear WGR614v9
the superhub:
- has a wireless SSID of "wifi-super"
- is the only device connected to the internet cable
- has a LAN IP of 192.168.0.1
- Is a DHCP server, with the range of: 192.168.0.20 to 192.168.0.50
- provides the client devices with the default DNS servers for VM (can't be changed in router!)
the WGR:
- has a wireless SSID of "wifi-other"
- is connected to the superhub via an Ethernet cable from one of it's hub ports (not modem port) to a hub port on the superhub
- has a LAN IP of 192.168.1.1
- Is a DHCP server, with the range of: 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.150
- should provide it's clients with the google DNS servers
- should provide it's clients with the gateway IP of 192.168.0.1
So, with this set up, I'm expecting that:
-
if I connect to "wifi-main", I would get a 192.168.0.xxx IP address, with the virgin media dns servers, and 192.168.0.1 as the default gateway.
-
If I connect to "wifi-other", I would get a 192.168.1.xxx IP address, with the google dns servers, and 192.168.0.1 as the default gateway.
Point 1 is working as expected, but point 2 is not.
When I connect to "wifi-other", I'm being provided an ip in the 192.168.0.xxx range, with all the other details specified by the superhub – not the WGR.
Please can you advise what I can do to achieve my desired result, or explain what I'm doing wrong, as I thought this would work… :/
Cheers in advance!
Best Answer
TheUser1024 has the problem right, but I'd suggest a different solution.
Firstly, to confirm, having two DHCP servers on the same Layer 2 segment can be problematic. The easiest way around this, for a SOHO setup, is simply to avoid the situation altogether.
Here's how I'd do it. Much of this just re-caps configuration you've already done, so I'm highlighting the key differences for you in bold.
SuperHub:
WGR:
Under the above configuration, here's what will happen when you connect the first device to each Wi-Fi network:
"wifi-super"
"wifi-other"
What's happening in this configuration is that, instead of treating the second router as a switch/AP you're actually using it as a router - the way it was originally designed to be used. Essentially, the part of the network that's behind the WGR is treating the SuperHub as you would a standalone cable modem. This will allow you to easily serve up two separate Wi-Fi networks, on two separate subnets, with the common SOHO networking equipment already on-hand.
The trick to getting the systems behind "wifi-other" to automatically pick up Google's DNS servers for their configuration, is to set the WGR's WAN port to static configuration. Don't let it just grab an IP from the SuperHub, or it will also want to inherit the DNS settings and pass those along to its clients similar to how the SuperHub does.
If it is not critical that you have two separate subnets, you can still serve up two separate Wi-Fi SSIDs (though the clients won't be quite so isolated from one another) on the same subnet (192.158.0.0/24). Simply start with the setup you already have, disable the DHCP server on the WGR, and set its LAN IP in the same range as the SuperHub. That's essentially the setup I have at home (different hardware, of course) and it works just fine - though computers configured for both networks occasionally choose the more distant one.