I also mentioned that the best way to cover all the blind spots in your house is using a second Access Point (AP) which can be in the form of a secondary router that is configured as a Wifi AP.
Let me elaborate more on how to set this up.
There are a few things you need to take note of when you are using a second router as an AP.
1. Disable the DHCP on the second router.
There can only be 1 DHCP server in the entire network. A DHCP server is the one that decides who gets what IP address. So you will need to arrange it such that only 1 of the routers is the BOSS. As the ole' saying goes, "Too many cooks spoil the broth". That is true in this situation.
2. Set the second router with a static IP.
This is really only to make life easier when you are trying to sort out problems. By setting the second router with a static IP, you can always get back to it to change any configurations. If this isn't done, it can be tough to find out which IP it has been assigned to by the DHCP when you want to change some settings. It would be good to label your second router with the chosen IP address so that you don't forget it.
The choice of IP address is really up to you. For no reason at all, I would usually set my primary router address as:
192.168.1.1
which is the default for many routers out of the box. As this is the router that connects directly into the modem, it is also the "Gateway". So if you happen to come across any requirements to key in the IP address of a "Gateway", that would be your primary router.
You can choose your secondary router as 192.168.1.2 if you like, or 192.168.1.254. Its really up to you to decide. I usually choose all routers from the front (i.e. 192.168.1.2) and all devices from the back (i.e. 192.168.1.254). No real reason except that it fulfills some Obsessive Compulsive Disorder of mine to have things ordered nicely.
Just to round things off neatly, the "subnet mask" for a home network is usually 255.255.255.0
If you really like to know why, I can give you a 5 mins lecture on it. But I suspect most of you don't really care what it means. But if you think you are going to have more than 253 different devices in your house, then send me a PM because you will need to understand a little more about subnet masks. But I doubt many of you will have more than 253 devices.
3. Connecting the cable to the LAN network.
You will notice that with the secondary router, you have several connection points at the back.
There should 2 sections of connectors, one labelled as the WAN and the other as the LAN.
The WAN (Wide Area Network) is meant for you to connect into the Internet, or when you decide that you want to have a separate network. It is useful when you want to set up a secondary network, typically when you want to have 2 WiFi networks, one of which is a VPN setup.
The LAN (Local Area Network) is as it is written, a network that is local in nature. This is also what you are doing when you are creating a network at home. Its a Local Network. So when you have a secondary router to provide extra WiFi signal, you need to make sure that it is connected into the LAN group of connectors and not the WAN group. This will then set the secondary router to behave within the same network group as your primary router.
It is important to ensure that both Primary and Secondary routers are using:
a. The same WiFi Protocol (Wireless Mode)
This means that if you are using Wireless-N, you will want to make sure both Routers are configured to Wireless-N.
You *CAN* have different protocols. But what that means, is that you will need to have different WiFi Network names so that they don't interfere with each other.
By having the same protocol (e.g. Wireless-N or Wireless-AC etc), you can choose to have the same SSID, which makes it neater and you have the convenience of not having to change to a different network when you move to a different part of the house.
b. Have the same SSID
Mmmmm..... well, this part works hand in hand with paragraph (a) above. As mentioned, if you want the same SSID with the convenience of seamless handover, its gotta be the same protocol.
c. Have the same WiFi Password (Pre-Shared Key)
It seems a common sense that when you have the same network SSID, you might wanna use the same password. But this common sense escapes people sometimes. Yes, you need to have the same WiFi password configured between the routers if you are using the same SSID. If you are using different SSIDs, then you can use different passwords.
d. Use the Same Encryption and Authentication Protocol
You need to ensure that the WiFi Encryption is using the same method of Encryption. This will then allow the encryption key to be carried over between routers so that your device and the router can understand each other.
That's all to it! Its not so bad, isn't it?
