Connecting 2 wireless networks?

Hey all, I need to pick the brains of some of you networking gurus out there!

Here's my network layout. Essentially 2 networks consisting of the following:

1) An office Lan with a Linsys BEFSR41 wired router connected to a Linksys WAP54G wireless access point. Coming off the router are a laptop and desktop which are successfully networked and talking, as well as a network printer.

2) In the living room is my internet connection/cable modem. connected to that is a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router.

The idea is to connect the office lan to the internet connection in the living room. it's too far to run a cable, thus the wireless option. how do I get the wireless access point and the wireless router to talk? i can pick up each signal separately with a wireless laptop, so i know the signals are good and strong. any ideas or guidance?

Mark

Okies, basically...

Nuke the BEFSR41, and use a hub or switch. The WAP54G is a wireless bridge (or at least, it will operate as a bridge)...

If so, then simply changing out the BEFSR41 for a switch or hub should do it. If it's an autosensing switch, cool, if not, make sure you put the wireless bridge on the uplink port of the switch.

i hear you there, but i'd like to do it with the hardware i have. i really don't want to lay out any more cash if i really don't have to. if i have to spend more money, i think the easiest way to do it is to just add a wireless card to my desktop to access the internet, and use the wired router to run the lan in the office.

mark

Well, a 5 port switch is only gonna run you about 20 bucks....

Basically, unless you can disable the routing functions on your router to make it run like a hub or a switch, then you're gonna have to get a hub or a switch really.

I have a similar setup going on here...

This is how things are setup in one room here in the house (This is Network 1)...



Network 2 is simply 4 PCs talking to each other via a switch (which cost me like 5 bucks after rebates from NewEgg.com)...

In order to get Network 2 talking to Network 1, I basically need a wireless bridge on the Switch's uplink port on Network 2. Then the Micro$oft wireless router in here can send out its signal to the bridge, the bridge passes it onto the switch, and then it goes out to the other 4 ports to each PC and it can allocate it a DHCP address.

Your second wired router is basically going to create its own local network, that isn't directly connected (essentially you're going through 2 different LAN networks before hitting your cablemodem).

hmmm, i'm doing some looking and it looks like i may not be able to use the WAP54G as a bridge after all.

http://www.timhiggins.com/FAQ-33-Linksy ... 12.php#472

i may have to spring for an actual wireless bridge. man, they're like $130. and then i'm stuck with a WAP i don't need.

just out of curiousity, if a WAP can't be used for bridging two wireless networks, what is it for?

mark

Well, I would assume it's an actual router itself, but I've not really had much of a play with wireless until recently (it's just been WAY too slow for many of the networks that I've set up, so they've always been wired).