Wanting to Bridge R7000 to RAX43 using Cat 6 Ethernet Link
Currently I have my R7000 in the Workshop set up as a Router connected to my RAX43 in the House using a Cat 6 Cable. Currently they are each running separate WiFi Zones. Both have the latest Firmware and the R7000 has just had a Factory Reset.
I would like to have just one WiFi SSID for the house and Workshop to give me seamless access to WiFi when moving between the two.
It seems that this should be possible using the Workshop R7000 in Bridge mode, but according to the Manual page 84, it says that this requires the R7000 to be connected to the other main Wifi router using either the 2.4GHz, or 5GHz WiFi band. Due to the 30m distance between the buildings, the Steel Clad Workshop and the Foil Sisalation on the house, the WiFi signal is very poor, so would probably struggle to maintain a usable connection.
Whereas I see in the Manual, for it to be used as an Access Point, the first sentance says to connect the two devices using an Ethernet Cable from the host's LAN Port to the Slave's Internet (WAN) Port, which is what I have at the moment using a Crossover Patch Lead (T568A) on my T568B Patch Panel Ports. This works really well and I have Gigabit speed at both locations from the one Fibre Modem in the house. However, using it as an AP requires separate SSIDs, which is not what I want.
I tried using the R7000 in Bridge mode setting and got a sort of flakey WiFi coverage and I noticed that the WAN port on the R7000 had turned to orange and not its normal flashing white, indicating a Gigabit connection.
Does anyone have any experience of getting these Netgear devices to work in this way?
Re: Wanting to Bridge R7000 to RAX43 using Cat 6 Ethernet Link
Solved - thank you all for your very prompt responses.
Connecting the R7000 in AP Mode to the RAX43 using a Cat6 cable is giving me a very workable solution of having one Wi-Fi name and network address range spread between the House and the Workshop. While the Wi-Fi connections to the phones may not be completely seamless, while wandering back and forth to the Workshop from the House, it seems to be working pretty well.
As for the Cross-over Cable from the RAX43 LAN1 Port to the R7000's WAN Port, for some strange reason this is the only way I could get the two to play nicely together. I am pretty much getting full Gigabit speed at each Router when testing the link connection using SpeedTest, so this seems to be working well. Although I appreciate that technically this may not be the optimal solution, it is the only one I could get to work.
While I appreciate that my desires, may not have been technically correct to call it 'Bridging', this setup has allowed me to join, which were previously two separate networks (192.168.1.1 range and 10.0.0.1 range), into the one 192.16.1.1. network. In my naivety I assumed that when you joined two different networks to form one, I thought this was called 'Bridging' - silly me.
The beauty of this setup is that I can now also access the Colour Laser in the Office from the Workshop and the CNC machine in the Workshop from the Office CAD/CAM PC - Perfect.
Great - shame the R7000 has just become EOS, but it is working I will leave it as it is.
Another great tip I picked up from this forum was the ability to back up your Router Configuration Settings, another little gem. Thanks
Re: Wanting to Bridge R7000 to RAX43 using Cat 6 Ethernet Link
Set it up in access point mode and just use the same ssid for both devices. Just make sure they're using different wifi channels for each band to reduce interference. If the buildings are far enough apart, the device's (phone/laptop/etc) own roaming protocols will switch between the 2.
They won't be true "mesh" systems because neither is a mesh device like the Orbi's or MK nighthawk but you can have it work (ish).
Re: Wanting to Bridge R7000 to RAX43 using Cat 6 Ethernet Link
With both devices connected and booted, log in to your RAX43 and look under connected devices. You should be able to identify your R7000 by its name. Use the R7000 IP address in your browser to log in to the R7000 user interface. From there you can change the Wi-Fi SSID and password to match what you have set on the RAX43.
The crossover patch lead may give you some problems. If it does, use a non-crossover patch cable.
You use the term seamless transition in your original post. Usually reserved to describe mesh systems or cell phones where you maintain a constant connection as you physically move and transition from one connection point to another.
Bridge is not the correct term for what you are trying to accomplish.
Re: Wanting to Bridge R7000 to RAX43 using Cat 6 Ethernet Link
Solved - thank you all for your very prompt responses.
Connecting the R7000 in AP Mode to the RAX43 using a Cat6 cable is giving me a very workable solution of having one Wi-Fi name and network address range spread between the House and the Workshop. While the Wi-Fi connections to the phones may not be completely seamless, while wandering back and forth to the Workshop from the House, it seems to be working pretty well.
As for the Cross-over Cable from the RAX43 LAN1 Port to the R7000's WAN Port, for some strange reason this is the only way I could get the two to play nicely together. I am pretty much getting full Gigabit speed at each Router when testing the link connection using SpeedTest, so this seems to be working well. Although I appreciate that technically this may not be the optimal solution, it is the only one I could get to work.
While I appreciate that my desires, may not have been technically correct to call it 'Bridging', this setup has allowed me to join, which were previously two separate networks (192.168.1.1 range and 10.0.0.1 range), into the one 192.16.1.1. network. In my naivety I assumed that when you joined two different networks to form one, I thought this was called 'Bridging' - silly me.
The beauty of this setup is that I can now also access the Colour Laser in the Office from the Workshop and the CNC machine in the Workshop from the Office CAD/CAM PC - Perfect.
Great - shame the R7000 has just become EOS, but it is working I will leave it as it is.
Another great tip I picked up from this forum was the ability to back up your Router Configuration Settings, another little gem. Thanks
While the Wi-Fi connections to the phones may not be completely seamless, while wandering back and forth to the Workshop from the House, it seems to be working pretty well.
I have found the same thing. They may be separate networks, but if you have decent mobile clients they make the transitions without you knowing anything about it. The system just works.
In my naivety I assumed that when you joined two different networks to form one, I thought this was called 'Bridging' - silly me.
Not so much your naivety, more a case of a widely abused term. "Bridging" means different things in different contexts.
Great - shame the R7000 has just become EOS, but it is working I will leave it as it is.
If the R7000 is in AP mode, most of the crucial stuff is in the hands of the router. So it doesn't leave any big security holes in your network.
One good reason for using "old" stuff like that in AP mode is that you can continue to use its USB ports for ReadySHARE storage and printing. That is especially useful if you end up with a router that does not support USB.
