Using 2 access points

Hi, I'm using a WRT54GL with Tomato on it to connect to the internet. Parts of the house don't get a good signal from the router so I wanted to add my Dlink DIR-655 as another access point(GL in the basement and the DIR-655 upstairs. The 2 routers would be hard wired together, do I just have the 2 routers broadcast the same SSID with the same username and password? I would have the GL(address 192.168.1.1) with DHCP on and the DIR-655(address 192.168.1.5) with it off. Is this fine if the signals over lap?

Thanks

 

You shouldn't have any problem with this setup. But you'll definitely want to have the two access points using DIFFERENT wireless channels (choosing between channels 1, 6, and 11 is generally the best because they do not overlap each other). As for the SSIDs and wireless passwords, it's up to you whether you want them to be the same (in which case, clients should automatically connect to the AP with the best signal) or different (if you'd prefer to manually control which AP you're connecting to).

I would also suggest that you enter the IP of the WRT54GL (192.168.1.1) as the Gateway and the DNS for the DIR-655.

 

Actually, many suggest having them on the same channel so you can seamlessly roam between the two APs depending on signal strength. I've done so without incident for years.

Rodney

 

Thanks for the replies.
I had it setup like I said last night and it seemed to be working fine.