Accessing router setup pages

[Theoreo]

Howdy all,

My internet is set up like this: Modem->Linksys wired router->Belkin Wireless Router.

The default gateway for the wireless router is 192.168.2.1, and I can access it and the router's Setup page just fine. I'm pretty sure the wired router's default gateway is 192.168.1.1, but I've only managed to access the Setup page for it once and now I can't seem to do it again.

Is there a way I can gain access to the wired router's Setup page again?

[Maz_-]

look on back of the router, normally they have a label there giving all the information.

[johnwill]

Actually, I've never seen a router with any such information.

Open a command prompt and type the following command.

IPCONFIG

The Default Gateway Listed for the connection is the base address of the router. Type that address into the IE address bar, and you can access the router's web based setup.

[Theoreo]

Johnwill,

Yeah, the Default Gateway in ipconfig is lets me access the setup page for the wireless router, but I what I want to access is the Linksys router that the wireless is connected to.

On the wireless router's setup page it says that my WAN IP is 192.168.1.100 and the default gateway is 192.168.1.1, but I can't access the Linksys through either of these IP's anymore.

[krazyko]

You need to plug directly into the Linksys and get an IP from that router. And yes the default IP for a Linksys is 192.168.1.1. If you need wireless you can turn your Belkin into an access point and then you'll be able to access both router's config pages without having to connect directly into the Linksys. The other option of course is to get a wireless Linksys router and get rid of your Belkin router.

The reason you can't get to the Linksys config page through the Belkin is because the 192.168.x.x network is reserved for private networks and the Belkin tries to find it internally. The Linksys is on the outside of the Belkin's network (plugged into the WAN/Internet port).

[johnwill]

Please describe EXACTLY how the two routers are connected. If you've daisy-chained the routers, you may have to make some adjustments or connect directly to the first router.

[Theoreo]

The routers are daisy-chained together. The Linksys connected to the modem and the Belkin router is connected to the Linksys.

If any, what changes can I make without having to directly connect to the wired router?

[krazyko]

First you need to configure your Belkin to the same subnet as the Linksys. I suggest 192.168.1.254. Then turn off the DHCP from the Belkin and then plug from the Linksys into a LAN port on the Belkin (do not plug anything into the WAN/Internet port). Once that is done you'll need to release and renew your IP because now you will be getting an address from the Linksys. If your Belkin supports acting as an Access Point then choose that option instead.

[johnwill]

Connecting two (or more) SOHO broadband routers together.

Note: The "primary" router can be an actual router, a software gateway like Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing, or a server connection that has the capability to supply more than one IP address using DHCP server capability. No changes are made to the primary "router" configuration.

Configure the IP address of the secondary router(s) to be in the same subnet as the primary router, but out of the range of the DHCP server in the primary router. For instance DHCP server addresses 192.168.0.2 through 192.168.0.100, I'd assign the secondary router 192.168.0.254 as it's IP address, 192.168.0.253 for another router, etc.

Note: Do this first, as you will have to reboot the computer to connect to the router again for the remaining changes.

Disable the DHCP server in the secondary router.

Setup the wireless section just the way you would if it was the primary router, channels, encryption, etc.

Connect from the primary router's LAN port to one of the LAN ports on the secondary router. If there is no uplink port and neither of the routers have auto-sensing ports, use a cross-over cable. Leave the WAN port unconnected!

This procedure bypasses the routing function (NAT layer) and configures the router as a switch (or wireless access point for wireless routers).

For reference, here's a link to a Typical example config using a Netgear router