Getting Started Configuring Your Primary Router and Node

To cut down on confusion we will, henceforth, refer to the router that your internet connection is hooked up to as your Primary Router and the router you’re configuring to be your network extender as your Node. It is very easy to accidentally apply settings to the wrong administrative interface so, despite the relative simplicity of the following instructions, it’s critically important that you make sure you’re applying the settings to the correct side of the equation. Always double check if you’re supposed to be working with the Primary Router or Node.

The following instructions start from the premise that you have two routers, both with Tomato installed, and both plugged in.

First, navigate to the administrative interface of the Node. This is where it is extremely helpful to use the Ethernet cable as, even if the default settings on the Node confliction with the default settings on the Primary Router, your direct wired connection will overrule that.

In the administration panel of the Node, navigate to Administration –> Admin Access –> Color Scheme. Select an alternative color scheme for the Node. The default color scheme for Tomato is, simply, “Tomato”. We changed the color on the Node to “Blue”. It seems trivial but you’re going to spend the next 20 minutes plugging in commands to the two interfaces and something as simple as a different color scheme will decrease the chances you plug in the wrong parameters. Also, for future tweaking, it’ll make it immediately clear which of the devices you’ve logged into. Now would also be a great time to scroll down in that same Admin Access sub-menu and change the access password on the router if you haven’t done so already. Make sure to click Save at the bottom to save your changes.

After you’ve set the color and changed the default password to something more secure, it’s time to begin configuring the Node to serve as a WDS access point. Navigate to Basic –> Network on the Node. We have quite a few settings to toggle in this section, you may wish to print a basic check list so you can check them off as we go (trust us, it’s really frustrating to waste time trouble shooting a network problem only to find out that you forgot to change a 1 to a 2 or something as equally tiny).

Within the Network sub-menu of the Node, you want to work down through the following settings, toggling them as you go. First, toggle the WAN / Internet to Disabled. Second, change the values in the LAN section to the following:

• Router IP Address: 192.168.1.2 (presumes your Primary Router IP is 192.168.1.1)
• Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
• Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1 (the IP of your Primary Router)
• Static DNS: 191.168.1.1. (You may use either your Primary Router IP or your ISP’s DNS server IPs)
• DCHP Server: Unchecked.

In the Wireless section of the Network sub-menu of the Node, configure the following settings:

• Enable Wireless: Checked.
• Wireless Mode: Access Point + WDS
• Wireless Network Mode: G Only
• SSID: The SSID of your Primary Router, i.e. linksys or wireless.
• Broadcast: Checked.
• Channel: The channel of your Primary Router, i.e. 6 – 2.437.
• Security: WPA Personal (this is the strongest method you can use with WDS)
• Encryption: AES
• Shared Key: Enter the Wi-Fi key used by the security settings on your Primary Router.
• Group Key Renewal: 3600
• WDS: Link With…
• MAC Address: In the first slot, insert the Wi-Fi MAC address of your Primary Router.

Make sure to click Save at the bottom to lock in all the changes you just made.

Now it’s time to go into the administrative panel of the Primary Router and finish the connection. Login and navigate to Basic –> Network (just like you did on the Node). In order to cut down on confusion (and the chances of you messing up the already functional configuration of your Primary Router) we’re only going to include the WDS specific changes you need to make. Scroll down in Network to the Wireless section. Toggle the following settings:

• Wireless Mode: Access Point + WDS
• Wireless Network Mode: G Only
• WDS: Link With…
• MAC Address: In the first slot, insert the WI-FI MAC address of your Node.

Note: If you weren’t using WPA Personal/AES and inserted new values for your security/encryption into the Node during the previous step, you need to make sure those settings are mirrored on the Primary Router. Click Save.

At this point, having saved the changed on both the Primary Router and the Node, you should be in business. Plug in the Node at the edge of your current wireless signal (say, upstairs or across your house) and enjoy a much stronger Wi-Fi signal.