For those of you wanting to bridge using WPA, one item rarely mentioned is that the SSID needs to be the same on all the bridged routers for it to work.

Bridging using no security or WEP does not have that requirement. But, until I changed my SSIDs to all match, I was not able to get WDS to work with WPA at the same time.

P.S. This is on F5D7230-4 version 2000

HTH

Me too Just realized I could really use another one right now and no one has a good deal on it. sigh

--
Daniel

I just set up WDS bridging at home with a F5D7230-4 (router) and a WRT54G (AP). It is very easy and I found many of the steps reported are not necessary. The SSID does not need to be the same, the subnet mask does not need to be change, no static IP setting required, the DHCP does not need to be turned off in the AP (as long as they cover different address range), there is no need to telnet to the AP or restarting the computer (but the AP). The advantage of keeping both DHCP on is allowing you to connect to both router/AP during the set up process without static IP. It is very helpful during the setting up process when the 2 routers are not talking to each other yet. I can use wireless connection to both router/AP with one computer to set up the bridging.

In the Belkin router connected to internet, I only need to turn on the Wireless Bridging and copy down the WLAN MAC address. The LAN IP was set at 192.168.16.1 with subnet mask 255.255.255.0. The DHCP assigns IP range from 50-100.
For the Linksys WRT54G, I first flashed it with the public final release of Alchemy firmware. Set the IP to 192.168.16.129 with the same default subnet mask. Use the Belkin LAN IP as Gateway (192.168.16.1 in my case). Set the DHCP range from 150 to 200. Check under Setting/Advance Routing if it is in Gateway mode. Under Wireless/Basic Setting, set to AP mode and use the same channel as the primary router. SSID can be anything and does not need to be the same as the router. In Wireless/Security, set the same WEP as primary router. In Wireless/WDS, choose LAN in the first box and punch in the WLAN MAC address of the primary router. Turn off the Firewall and uncheck the "Block anonymous internet request" under Security/Firewall. Don't forget to save changes in each page. Now unplug the AP and replug. That's it. I found it more stable to use different SSID in the two routers. WPA has problem in WDS bridging as previously reported. I gave it a try and verified it, so don't waste your time.
By the way, I try to switch both router to G-only and had problem. Switch back to mixed mode and they are working fine.

daptech said:Ok here's a new challenge. By following your recommendations above I have been able to bridge belkin and linksys succesfully. But now I got this Linksys-Vonage wireless router and this is a whole new game now.
...
The point is to have the Linksys and the belkin on different floors and buying a 100 ft CAT5 and rolling it through the stairs its just retarded.

No idea if the Linksys-Vonage router has the WDS etc like the WRT54G. How about this instead?

Cable modem into
WRTP54G into
WRT54G then wireless to
Belkin 7230-4

If you can't make the WRTP54G work with WDS etc, then this is a good option.

I just received a new-in-box F5D7230-4 directly from Belkin. It is hardware version 4.00.01 with firmware 6.00.10. It's half the size of my v1112 box, with only 1 antenna. Features & web interface appear to be pretty much the same. It still bridges Appletalk between WLAN and LAN. I haven't done any detailed performance tests, however I notice 2 huge issues:

- Web configuration using Safari is completely broken (even more than before). Must use IE or Opera.
- Support for wireless bridge mode (WDS) has been dropped. The menu option is entirely gone.

Sounds like version 4 has completely different hardware, so the older firmware should not be compatible.

One thing about WDS with WPA, if the router is rebooted, you have to go to the web page and click "apply" again. The one configured as AP survives reboot without problem.

BillCSHo said:I just set up WDS bridging at home with a F5D7230-4 (router) and a WRT54G (AP). It is very easy and I found many of the steps reported are not necessary. The SSID does not need to be the same, the subnet mask does not need to be change, no static IP setting required, the DHCP does not need to be turned off in the AP (as long as they cover different address range), there is no need to telnet to the AP or restarting the computer (but the AP). The advantage of keeping both DHCP on is allowing you to connect to both router/AP during the set up process without static IP. It is very helpful during the setting up process when the 2 routers are not talking to each other yet. I can use wireless connection to both router/AP with one computer to set up the bridging.

In the Belkin router connected to internet, I only need to turn on the Wireless Bridging and copy down the WLAN MAC address. The LAN IP was set at 192.168.16.1 with subnet mask 255.255.255.0. The DHCP assigns IP range from 50-100.
For the Linksys WRT54G, I first flashed it with the public final release of Alchemy firmware. Set the IP to 192.168.16.129 with the same default subnet mask. Use the Belkin LAN IP as Gateway (192.168.16.1 in my case). Set the DHCP range from 150 to 200. Check under Setting/Advance Routing if it is in Gateway mode. Under Wireless/Basic Setting, set to AP mode and use the same channel as the primary router. SSID can be anything and does not need to be the same as the router. In Wireless/Security, set the same WEP as primary router. In Wireless/WDS, choose LAN in the first box and punch in the WLAN MAC address of the primary router. Turn off the Firewall and uncheck the "Block anonymous internet request" under Security/Firewall. Don't forget to save changes in each page. Now unplug the AP and replug. That's it. I found it more stable to use different SSID in the two routers. WPA has problem in WDS bridging as previously reported. I gave it a try and verified it, so don't waste your time.
By the way, I try to switch both router to G-only and had problem. Switch back to mixed mode and they are working fine.

is there a way to do this backwards?
meaning, having the wrt54g as your main router and then using the belkin as a wireless bridge(to connect in another room to a replaytv or an xbox?)

wfay said:RedMachoDevil said:is there a way to do this backwards?
meaning, having the wrt54g as your main router and then using the belkin as a wireless bridge(to connect in another room to a replaytv or an xbox?)

Give it a try and report back. Don't know why it wouldn't work off the top of my head.

See the other thread nullhere. Look for a June 5 post. Some steps are not necessary, but it works.

I have been using hardware version 2000 and just bought a 3000 and a 3001 in the past week. Haven't opened the new ones yet. Does anyone know if there are any functional differences, like the version 4000 dropping WDS?