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[glnz]

Furry - I hope you're enjoying Thanksgiving, but later, when happily digesting, please advise --

I have Verizon DSL at home in NYC, 7Mbps down and 760±kbps up, Fast Channel with a low Ping to the CO.  My current modem-router is an Actiontec GT784WN-VZ-1.1.18.  I think it's pretty good.  However, my wife's MacBook Pro is on the other side of a fairly thin wall from the Actiontec and is connected by WiFi to the Actiontec, but she complains she has difficulty sending email, especially sending email with attachments.  (But she has no difficulty with anything else, such as buying on Amazon.) 

So, after many hours of discussion with Vz this past week, including the possibility that our upload signal might have some intermittency, Vz did some work at the CO (maybe a "port change") but also sent me a D-Link DSL-2750B as a possible replacement modem-router.  Its label says "Model: DSL-2750B; VZ Part #DLDSL2750B; Shipped Firmware Version: VZ_1.44."

Question - instead of just swapping modem-routers, could I instead use this new DSL-2750B as some type of AP, relay, whatever, to give my wife's MacBook Pro a better connection?  Never done this, and I don't understand the lingo.

I suppose there are two basic possibilities - but leaving the Actiontec as the primary modem-router in both cases:

A)  Next to the Actiontec, I connect the 2750B by short network cable only to the Actiontec and have the 2750B send a separate WiFi signal on a different frequency with a different SSID and WPA2 Personal AES Passkey.  Each of our devices sees both WiFi signals, and we can choose which WIFi signal to connect to.  Maybe, in the other room, if the MacBook Pro connects to the 2750B WiFi, it will have a better connection.

B)  Bring the DSL-2750B to the other room (same room as my wife's MacBook Pro).  Have it connect by WiFi to the Actiontec a few feet away.  Then wire the MacBook Pro to the DSL-2750B.

(I don't think it's possible to do (B) and also have the DSL-2750B send a separate WiFi signal for the MacBook Pro.  But let me know if I'm wrong.)

1)  What do you think about A and B?

2)  Please give me links to the basics.

3)  Issue:  If A or B is doable, but the printer stays connected to the Actiontec (currently by WiFi), will my wife's MacBook Pro be able to print - networking through two routers?

Many thanks.  Send me a turkey sandwich.

[FurryNutz]

You can try this:
 Turning a router into an AP.

Happy Thanksgiving to you too.

[glnz]

Furry - thanks.  Your tutorial page says "See the Networking Basics" section.  Where is that?

Also, when I follow all these instructions but get everything wrong and want to reset the DSL-2750B back to factory settings (including its default name and password and SSID), will the reset pinhole button in the back do that?

Does the DSL-2750B have the higher 5GHz channels?  There's nothing in the manual about channels.

If the DSL-2750B has the higher channels, and I use the same SSID and security settings on the DSL-2750B as my main Actiontek (which is on the lower channels like 11), will our devices really choose the best as we walk around the apartment?  They won't get confused and blow up?

Thanks.

[FurryNutz]

Furry - thanks.  Your tutorial page says "See the Networking Basics" section.  Where is that? Huh? 

Also, when I follow all these instructions but get everything wrong and want to reset the DSL-2750B back to factory settings (including its default name and password and SSID), will the reset pinhole button in the back do that? Yes

Does the DSL-2750B have the higher 5GHz channels?  There's nothing in the manual about channels. I don't know if this model DSL modem supports 5Ghz.

If the DSL-2750B has the higher channels, and I use the same SSID and security settings on the DSL-2750B as my main Actiontek (which is on the lower channels like 11), will our devices really choose the best as we walk around the apartment?  They won't get confused and blow up?
Yes they should
Thanks.

[glnz]

Thanks again, Furry!  Good forum!

Small detail:  In your tutorial at http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=40856.0, you wrote "Please see the Networking Basics section for more information."

I actually sorta need that because the switch from 192.168.0.x back to my existing router LAN network settings of 192.169.1.x is sorta confusing.

[FurryNutz]

Then all you need to do is set the DSL modem to 192.168.1.50 and test.

[glnz]

Furry -

My existing Actiontec dsl modem-router has the following information in its category "LAN IP And DHCP Settings":
Gateway IP Address:    192.168.1.1
   Gateway Subnet Mask:    255.255.255.0
DHCP Server:  Enable
Set the IP addressing values.
   Beginning IP Address:  192.168.1.2
    Ending IP Address:     192.168.1.254
    Subnet Mask:   255.255.255.0
If I want to turn the DSL-2750B into an AP using only n mode on a higher channel, I think what you are suggesting is that
(a) I set the DSL-2750B's incoming (WAN?) IP address to 192.168.1.254,
(b) I make sure the Actiontec agrees when it sees the DSL-2750B - a "static" IP assignment?,
(c) I set the DSL-2750B's own outgoing (LAN?) DHCP range above the range in my Actiontec, so that the DSL-2750B's outgoing (LAN?) DHCP range could be 192.168.1.255 - 192.168.1.350.
Do I have that right?
   Also, should I make sure the DSL-2750B's Subnet Mask is also 255.255.255.0 ?

[FurryNutz]

Furry -

My existing Actiontec dsl modem-router has the following information in its category "LAN IP And DHCP Settings":
Gateway IP Address:    192.168.1.1
   Gateway Subnet Mask:    255.255.255.0
DHCP Server:  Enable
Set the IP addressing values.
   Beginning IP Address:  192.168.1.2
    Ending IP Address:     192.168.1.254
Can you change this to 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.200?

    Subnet Mask:   255.255.255.0
If I want to turn the DSL-2750B into an AP using only n mode on a higher channel, I think what you are suggesting is that
(a) I set the DSL-2750B's incoming (WAN?) IP address to 192.168.1.254,
(b) I make sure the Actiontec agrees when it sees the DSL-2750B - a "static" IP assignment?,
(c) I set the DSL-2750B's own outgoing (LAN?) DHCP range above the range in my Actiontec, so that the DSL-2750B's outgoing (LAN?) DHCP range could be 192.168.1.255 - 192.168.1.350.
Do I have that right?
No, you can not use anything addressed above .254. There are no addresses above .255. .255 is a router networking broadcast address that is reserved for router operations. So up to .254 is the limit.

[glnz]

Got it.

I think I'll change the Actiontec's LAN range to 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.201 because there are already devices at the lower range and my wife's MacBook Pro is static-assigned to 192.168.1.200.
Then I'll set the DSL-2750B's WAN to 192.168.1.201, and its LAN DHCP range to 192.168.1.202-254.
DO I have that right?
(I wish you DID have a "networking basics section".)
Thanks.

[FurryNutz]

Got it.

I think I'll change the Actiontec's LAN range to 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.201 because there are already devices at the lower range and my wife's MacBook Pro is static-assigned to 192.168.1.200. OK

Then I'll set the DSL-2750B's WAN to 192.168.1.201, and its LAN DHCP range to 192.168.1.202-254. Disable DHCP on the DSL modem.
DO I have that right?
(I wish you DID have a "networking basics section".) Informational>DHCP
Thanks.

[glnz]

Furry - If I disable DHCP on the DSL-2750B acting as an AP, then how do the DSL-2750B and any of our WiFi devices communicate?

Do I need to static-assign ("reserve") IP addresses in the DSL-2750B's LAN settings for each of our WiFi devices?

[FurryNutz]

Setting a 192.168.1.201 ON the DSL modem handles the addressing for the modem, When you disable DHCP on the modem and you connect the LAN cable from the Actiontec to the LAN port on the modem, all connections will communicate thru the modem to the Actiontec router.

[glnz]

Aha!  So the Actiontec will continue to assign IP addresses to the devices that are linking with and through the DSL-2750B?

[FurryNutz]

Yes.

[glnz]

Furry - this is VERY helpful.

Now - and sorry to go off-topic briefly - my company gave me a D-Link DAP-1522 AP/bridge unit that might not work so great anyway (which is why I've been thinking about working with the DSL2750B instead.)

But is its setup (as AP) more or less what you've written here?  I give the DAP-1522 an external IP of 192.168.1.201 (for its wired connection to the Actiontec), I set the DAP-1522 for channels that are different from my Actiontec, I turn off the DAP-1522's DHCP, but I give the DAP-1522 the same SSID and WPA2 passkey as the Actiontec even though the DAP-1522 will be physically next to the Actiontec, and our WiFi devices will just pick whichever signals they prefer?