AP won't connect to internet

[kinderhund]

Trying to improve wireless performance, and having a single wireless router stuck in the basement surrounded by concrete and steel shelving wasn't working well.

So tonight installed a simple wired router, so the setup is:

Modem -->Wired Router ->8-port gigabit switch

I then reconfigured a DIR-857 as an AP, connected through the switch.

Wired router is 192.168.0.1, DHCP range is .100 to .199
DIR-857 has DHCP disabled, set as 192.168.0.2

Tried to connect with a laptop. It can see the AP, and watching the wired router it assigned a DHCP address (.104) to it.
All PCs are running Windows 7, and can see each other in the Windows "Network map" thing.
Problem is the laptop can see the AP, but not the internet

And then to make matters worse, the AP kicks other PCs off the internet as well.

HELP!

 

[thiggins]

If the "AP" is pulling an address from DHCP, it is not connected properly.

Plug an Ethernet client into it and make sure you can reach it at its assigned IP.

Be sure you are connecting the AP via its LAN port not WAN.

 

[kinderhund]

Sometimes a picture makes more sense. See network layout jpg attached.

1. Modem/router (192.168.0.1)/switch in the basement.
2. 3 kids computers on the 2nd floor, all connected through a 2nd switch.
3. Office computer on main floor. 192.168.0.100
4. DIR-857 set up as access point on main floor. 192.168.0.2
5. 4th laptop on main floor – this is the one that connects wirelessly through DIR-857. This time it was assigned 192.168.0.106.

If the DIR-857 is turned off, all 4 hardwired PCs work fine. Once I turn the 857 on, some or all of the hardwired PCs lose connection to the internet. The wireless laptop gets assigned an IP, but can never connect to the internet.
But all the PCs can see each other. The kids can all play a minecraft over the LAN together, INCLUDING the wireless laptop.

So I’m stuck. Here’s the other oddity – the wired router is seeing an additional client, mapped as 192.168.0.101, listed as UNKNOWN. See attached DHCP.jpg
The DIR-857 is only listing the one wireless laptop, so that suggests to me that the router is trying to assign .101 to the DIR-857.

The only way to restore internet connectivity is to turn off the 857, and reboot all the PCs. That doesn't really solve the problem though. Ultimately the wireless needs to serve a couple laptops, 4 ipads, and 3 iphones, so I really need to get this solved.

 

[stevech]

My guess is that the DIR857 is not in the Access Point mode.
It's becoming a DHCP server.
An access point in a home system should not have DHCP enabled- it would relay those requests to the one home router.

 

[kinderhund]

I have DHCP server disabled on the DIR857, but you may be right, it may be trying to do it anyway.

I'm going to try a dedicated access point instead of trying to configure a router that way. I'll report back once I've tried that.

 

[sfx2000]

I agree with Steve - just because the DHCP switch in the WebUI is deselected, doesn't mean it is...

Ran into a similar problem with an F5 load balancer a while back - GUI said it was good, but the shell said different when reviewing the config files.

 

[stevech]

You're not using the WAN port, right?

 

[kinderhund]

Update

Got frustrated trying to disable this, that and the other thing to make a router not be a router. So I bought an Amped Wireless AP20000G Access Point. Plugged it in, and a minute later up and running. No messing around, no configuring.

Thanks all for the help.