Using a router as wireless access point - slow speed

[erwan777]

Hello,

I recently bought a new router (Asus RT N66U) and I'm trying to use my old router (Billion Bipac 7300N) as a wireless access point. I would like to have 1 wireless network using wireless n (Asus) and 1 using g (Billion).

I have followed the instruction from this article: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...onvert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point
But I'm getting very slow speed on the Billion wireless g network.

Here is what I have done:
On the Billion, I have disabled DHCP and assigned a fixed IP (192.168.1.254), which is outside the DHCP range of the main router.
I have set 2 different SSID on each router and used different channels (1 and 6).
I have connected the 2 routers with a cable, avoiding port 1 on the Billion, which the EWAN port. I have tried using different LAN ports on each device.

I read somewhere that I should disable WAN on the router, but I don't believe there is an option on the Billion. The WAN profile is set to EWAN (the other option is ADSL).

I can connect devices to the Billion, but I get very small internet speed (<1 Mbps). I get 25Mbps when I connect to the Asus (which is the speed of my cable connection). And the speed is not enough to watch Netflix.

I know very little about networking so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Erwan

 

[L&LD]

I would be running an Ethernet cable from a LAN Port of the RT-N66U to the WAN Port of the Billion.

I would also change any settings that limit the Billion to 'G' only. In other words; set the wireless mode to Auto but only connect your 'G' devices to it.

You may also want to turn off the Firewall (with my suggested configuration) and also let the WMM setting be 'on' (if you have that option with the Billion).

If the above fails to provide results - try using a different security setting; WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc..

 

[RogerSC]

I would be running an Ethernet cable from a LAN Port of the RT-N66U to the WAN Port of the Billion.

I would also change any settings that limit the Billion to 'G' only. In other words; set the wireless mode to Auto but only connect your 'G' devices to it.

You may also want to turn off the Firewall (with my suggested configuration) and also let the WMM setting be 'on' (if you have that option with the Billion).

If the above fails to provide results - try using a different security setting; WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc..

Generally speaking, unless a router has an AP mode, running a cable to the WAN port of a router being used as an AP is not a good idea, you would use a LAN port. And the best security setting for speed and highest security is WPA2/AES, although with a wireless-g router, speed most likely doesn't matter. I've never seen turning off the firewall on a router being used as an AP recommended, either, probably doesn't matter since it's used in conjunction with the WAN port, which you're not likely to be using on a router converted to an AP (unless, again, it has an AP mode).

Here's a basic article about converting a router to an AP. It's a bit dated, but so is the router that you're converting to an AP:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-basics/30338-how-to-convert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point

 

[koan00]

Have you tested the wired speed from a lan port on the AP ?

 

[CaptainSTX]

Don't connect the cable from the LAN port on the Asus to the WAN port of your Atomic unless you want to double NAT the routers. Nothing wrong with double NATing if you need the functionality it can add to your network

Just be sure that the DHCP server on the Atomic is off and you have set a static IP for the Atomic to make it easier to connect to it and adjust the settings.

If you are still having problems try resetting the Atomic to factory defaults then re enter your basic IP settings. The most critical setting is to turn off the DHCP server. Everything else is just basically frosting for convenience.

Also try using a different SSID for your primary router and AP so know which radio you are connected to.

 

[overdrive31]

I would say it most likely is 40MHz mode on the ASUS choking out the AP on channel 6. Either disable 40MHz mode or change to channel 11 on the AP.

 

[erwan777]

Thank you very much for replying.

I tried all the suggestions above but it's still not working properly. I can get it to work but the whole network is unstable.
I guess the Billion I have is not really designed for that.

I've solved the problem by using an Airport Express. Its wireless range is slightly worst than the Billion but everything else works great.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[L&LD]

Generally speaking, unless a router has an AP mode, running a cable to the WAN port of a router being used as an AP is not a good idea, you would use a LAN port. And the best security setting for speed and highest security is WPA2/AES, although with a wireless-g router, speed most likely doesn't matter. I've never seen turning off the firewall on a router being used as an AP recommended, either, probably doesn't matter since it's used in conjunction with the WAN port, which you're not likely to be using on a router converted to an AP (unless, again, it has an AP mode).

Here's a basic article about converting a router to an AP. It's a bit dated, but so is the router that you're converting to an AP:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...onvert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point

The linked article is a bit dated?

If my recommended setup was followed, it should work.

I've done this many times for many different customers. Not guaranteed to work with all possible configurations though.

 

[erwan777]

I was using a Lan port on the Billion, I tried once the WAN port and it wasn't working at all.
I also changed the wireless to g/n (there is no auto mode) and disabled wireless security. The firewall settings were off (as far as I could tell). There was no WMM setting that I could find. Also did a hard reset of the Billion and changed the wireless band to 20Mhz.

It was kind of working, but the whole thing was very unstable. It caused a lot of intermittent connection problems on my network.
That said, I'm not an expert so I could have easily missed something obvious.

 

[koan00]

I was using a Lan port on the Billion, I tried once the WAN port and it wasn't working at all.
I also changed the wireless to g/n (there is no auto mode) and disabled wireless security. The firewall settings were off (as far as I could tell). There was no WMM setting that I could find. Also did a hard reset of the Billion and changed the wireless band to 20Mhz.

It was kind of working, but the whole thing was very unstable. It caused a lot of intermittent connection problems on my network.
That said, I'm not an expert so I could have easily missed something obvious.

Did you try the suggestion from 'overdrive31' ? If the RT-N66U is set to 40 Mhz, it will conflict with the Billion on channel 6. You'd want to move the Billion to channel 11, or set the RT-n66u to only 20Mhz mode.

 

[erwan777]

It is a good suggestion and I did try it. Unfortunately it didn't help in this case.
The 11 channel is quite busy where I live so I went with the second option: I had the router on 1 and the AP on 6 with both devices set to 20mhz.
Thanks for your help.
Erwan