So a while back some of you may recall I was looking for (and found) a Linksys v 2.0 WRT54G router. I just got around to setting it up, and I installed the Sveasoft Alchemy 1.0 firmware. I like the additions of the firmware, everything seems to work well. Now, the actual reason I installed this firmware was to use WDS on this router. So far, I can't get it to work.

I'm using a D-Link 2200AP which can act as a repeater using WDS. I have an airport express, and I've actually been able to have it function as a bridge and repeater when I use it to connect to that device. But so far, I can't get it to work with the Linksys.

As I've been researching this, it seems a lot of people are using DD-WRT too. So, for those of you with these Linksys routers and custom firmware, which one are you using, and which version? Any fun things you're doing with the firmware?

The other thing I want to do is run kaid to let me do gaming from my Xbox and PSP. I have a NSLU2, and I installed kaid there, but haven't yet tested it. If it works that way, then I'm fine. But if it doesn't, then I know DD-WRT supports it so my firmware choice might be biased based on that.

Opinions welcome.

Have you poke around over at dslreports.com and checked the Linksys and gaming forums?

Yes, lots of people have their own opinions there, I've looked at dslreports and linksysinfo, but I can't get a good consensus on what's the best firmware in different circumstances.

I'm trying to decipher the statement above because:
1) You have a D-Link 2200AP which can act as a repeater using WDS.
2) You have an Airport Express which can act as a bridge/repeater to connect to "that device." Which device? The D-Link?
3) I can't tell from the two statements above which is your PRIMARY router (i.e. the "GATEWAY" router connected to your broadband connection).

As far as WDS goes w/ the WRT54G, I'm running Alchemy 1.0 FINAL along w/ 2 Belkin F5D7230-4 routers in WDS mode.

My PRIMARY (i.e. "GATEWAY") router is a Belkin F5D7230-4.
The next router in my WDS chain is the WRT54G (which is feeding off of the PRIMARY Belkin router).
The last router in the WDS chain is the 2nd Belkin F5D7230-4, and it's feeding off of the Linksys WRT54G. It DOES NOT have access to feed directly off of the PRIMARY router!

Note 1: The Belkin F5D7230-4 has built in WDS capabilities which are compatible w/ the Sveasoft Alchemy Firmware running on the WRT54G. I don't know if the D-Link WDS implementation is WRT54G/Alchemy compatible.

Note 2: Even if the Alchemy WDS implementation is incompatible w/ the D-Link and/or AirPort Express router(s), you should still be able to use your WRT54G as a Wireless Bridge (but not as a repeater/AP) in "CLIENT" mode.

Instead of configuring your router as an "AP," under wireless settings select "CLIENT" mode. Then select an existing SSID, channel, and appropriate security settings of whatever router you want it to connect to. (This is the equivalent of configuring a USB Wifi adapter, only instead of configuring settings in the Wifi Adapter's driver software, you're configuring those settings in your WRT54G router).

If it is important that your WRT54G work in true "WDS" mode (whereby it behaves as Wireless Bridge as well as a Repeater/AP), then I'll need you to list (in precise detail) what you've done to configure your WRT54G's WDS settings. Please provide all 3 types of MAC addresses per router in your WDS configuration, where the 3 MAC addresses per router are:
1) WAN Mac Address
2) LAN (Wired) Mac Address
3) WLAN (Wireless) Mac Address *** This is the MAC address used for WDS on the WRT54G ***

Note: Feel free to post ficticious MAC addresses in public; however, make sure you know how to convert the ficticious addresses back to their corresponding REAL MAC addresses.

If you'd rather not hassle w/ converting fake to real, real to fake, you can PM me the details instead.

Diggler

P.S. One thing to try before you post any details: Go to the WRT54G's advanced properties and turn off "LOOP BACK." I was unable to get WDS working w LOOP BACK enabled.

Thanks for the reply. I'm using Alchemy 1.0 final at this point too. The release from "TheIndividual", not the one from Sveasoft directly (although they may be the same).

I'm at work so I don't have access to my MAC addresses. But let me clear up what I want to do.

I used to have a NetGear WGR614 acting as my primary router. That was fine, but I had several minor problems with it - link to previous post. Also, it didn't support WDS. So what I did was use my Airport Express (connected via wire to the NetGear) as a WDS access point, and I setup the D-Link 2200AP to bridge/repeat by connecting to the Airport Express (which doesn't run DHCP in this case and doesn't act as a router). The goal was to use the D-Link to extend my network range, and also occassionaly connect it to wired devices that need access to my network.

That setup worked fine, and all was well, except for a few things - the ongoing problems with AOL/ITunes with that Netgear router; the airport express has poor range so WDS to that device isn't the best idea; and finally, I liked using the Linksys WRT54G as my main router because of the enhanced feature set and ability to run various custom firmware (run kaid on the router, for instance).

OK, so I went out and found a v2.0 WRT54G at Office Depot. I plugged it in exactly where my NetGear was, and configured it for the network using the Alchemy firmware. That works fine. Now, instead of connecting to the Airport Express via WDS, I want the D-Link 2200AP to connect to the Linksys (my primary router). That's where I got stuck. It doesn't quite work.

As for compatibility, I would just say this - I know people have gotten Apple WDS to work with D-Link (I have, for instance), and Apple with Buffalo, and Buffalo with Linksys, and Linksys with Apple. So I think Linksys should work with D-Link, although it's possible it doesn't.

In summary - I want the Linksys WRT54G to act as my gateway/primary router, and link via WDS to various client devices - the D-Link 2200AP for now, and perhaps a Buffalo router I have or other devices later.

OK, looks like disabling loopback seems to have fixed it. I have to test more, but I think it did it. Anyway - a question. I'll test this, but I wonder if anyone knows. When you have MAC filtering on your main gateway router, do you need to enable MAC filtering on the WDS repeater too? That is, I've got a MAC filter list enabled on my WRT54G, do I have to have a copy of it on the DWL-2200AP, or will the WRT54G's MAC filtering rules apply?

It's my understanding that you need to configure MAC filtering on each AP. Glad to hear that LOOP BACK was the issue.

Diggler

Thanks for the reponse, Diggler, and the loopback hint. I wouldn't have figured that out on my own - I've done WDS setups before, but I never saw that option or knew it had to be turned off.

Loopback will also **** with local Win/DNS names; i.e. you wouldn't be able to access \\NUMBERFOUR, altough \\192.168.1.4 would work just fine...