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Time Capsule in bridge mode with Linksys

netnothing

netnothing

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
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So I want to setup a Time Capsule to work with a Linksys WRT54g. From what I understand, I can plug the Time Capsule into one of the wired ports of the Linksys and set it up in bridge mode for 5Ghz n speeds only. That way the Linksys still does the NAT, DHCP, and wireless b/g, while the Time Capsule does wireless n only.

Couple of questions:

1) I plug the Time Capsule into one of the 4 ports on the Linksys. Where does the other end go into the Time Capsule? The WAN port? Or one of the 3 LAN ports?

2) If I add both the Linksys wireless network and the Time Capsule n network in on my MacBook running Leopard (making the n network higher in the list), if for any reason the Time Capsule wireless connection gets lost.....will the MacBook automatically fail over to the Linksys b/g network? Assuming that both WPA passwords are stored in the keychain.

3) If I plug in a Printer or external HDD into the Time Capsule, can users connecting through the b/g connection, or connected directly to the Linksys see it?

Thanks for any help.

-Kevin
 
S

skorpien

macrumors 68020
Jan 14, 2008
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Hey Kevin,

I just helped somebody in the Apple Discussion forums the other day with a similar setup as you. Here goes:

1) I was under the impression it had to be a LAN port as my Linksys required that to work in bridge mode (I have the opposite setup as you, Linksys with TC bridge), but the guy I was helping told me he had his connected to the WAN and it worked (could be the Apple routers automatically make the WAN port act as a LAN port when in bridge mode). If one doesn't work, try the other.

2) Not entirely sure on this one, but I think in theory it should work. I'd like to know the outcome of this if you are willing to test it.

3) Yes. Both b/g and n users will see it. It's pretty much the same network with two different ways to access it. I can still access my Time Capsule and even use it for backups when I connect to my Linksys.
 
netnothing

netnothing

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
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skorpien said:
1) I was under the impression it had to be a LAN port as my Linksys required that to work in bridge mode (I have the opposite setup as you, Linksys with TC bridge), but the guy I was helping told me he had his connected to the WAN and it worked (could be the Apple routers automatically make the WAN port act as a LAN port when in bridge mode). If one doesn't work, try the other.
Click to expand...

The way I want to set it up is the same as you....I think. I want to keep the Linksys as the 'master' router, handling all DHCP and NAT. The TC is just being used to extend the network as 'n' only.

So I'm assuming that I obviously plug the cable connecting the Linksys to the TC in one of the LAN ports on the Linksys.....it just the TC end I'm not sure at this point whether it goes in the WAN or LAN port. Guess I'll have to just go buy the darn thing and try :D

I'll also test the failover and report back.

-Kevin
 
S

skorpien

macrumors 68020
Jan 14, 2008
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kbmb said:
The way I want to set it up is the same as you....I think. I want to keep the Linksys as the 'master' router, handling all DHCP and NAT. The TC is just being used to extend the network as 'n' only.

So I'm assuming that I obviously plug the cable connecting the Linksys to the TC in one of the LAN ports on the Linksys.....it just the TC end I'm not sure at this point whether it goes in the WAN or LAN port. Guess I'll have to just go buy the darn thing and try :D

I'll also test the failover and report back.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Ahah! Oops! I meant to say that my TC is the main router with the Linksys as the bridge :eek: Yeah, just set up bridge mode first and see which port works, though I'm thinking it'll likely be the WAN port. I'm keeping my Linksys as the main router because I'm not sure how to do reserved IP addresses with the Linksys. It's easier than having to specify a static IP address.
 
M

matisito

macrumors newbie
Apr 21, 2008
2
0
Uruguay, South America
Hi, I am setting up the same set-up... Linksys WRT54G as my main router and TC in Bridge Mode.

I am still unsure of a couple of things.. Will my wirless 'n' connection between my Mac and TC be slower due to the fact that the Linksys is doing the routing?

When I send data to my TC, the data travels directly to TC, or does it route throught the Linksys and then back to the TC?

How is this set-uo working for you guys?
 
netnothing

netnothing

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Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
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matisito said:
I am still unsure of a couple of things.. Will my wirless 'n' connection between my Mac and TC be slower due to the fact that the Linksys is doing the routing?
Click to expand...

No. The connection between the Linksys and the TC is a wired connection, so don't worry about that being slow.

matisito said:
When I send data to my TC, the data travels directly to TC, or does it route throught the Linksys and then back to the TC?
Click to expand...

If you are just dealing with a Mac -> TC connection, then no, the traffic won't go through the Linksys.

-Kevin
 
Diode

Diode

macrumors 68020
Apr 15, 2004
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Washington DC
kbmb said:
If you are just dealing with a Mac -> TC connection, then no, the traffic won't go through the Linksys.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

If your using the Linksys as a router then yes it will go through the linksys otherwise the data wouldn't know where to go.
 
netnothing

netnothing

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Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
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Diode said:
If your using the Linksys as a router then yes it will go through the linksys otherwise the data wouldn't know where to go.
Click to expand...

So you are saying that if I have the TC in bridge mode, and I have my Mac Pro plugged into the TC, if I mount my TC disk from my Mac Pro, the traffic is going to the TC, onto the Linksys, back the TC, then back to the Mac Pro?

Also, I have both the Mac Pro and XP machine plugged into the TC. How is it that I can get 1Gbit/s speeds if it is sending traffic through the Linksys which only has 100Mbps ports?

-Kevin
 
netnothing

netnothing

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
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kbmb said:
So you are saying that if I have the TC in bridge mode, and I have my Mac Pro plugged into the TC, if I mount my TC disk from my Mac Pro, the traffic is going to the TC, onto the Linksys, back the TC, then back to the Mac Pro?

Also, I have both the Mac Pro and XP machine plugged into the TC. How is it that I can get 1Gbit/s speeds if it is sending traffic through the Linksys which only has 100Mbps ports?

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Just a followup to this, I unplugged my Linksys and while I lost connection to the internet (as I would expect), I still had the local connection between the PC and the Mac Pro.

Now of course without the Linksys up, eventually the TC would probably go to renew it's IP and the DHCP server on the Linksys wouldn't be there so things would probably start to go wonky.

Traffic however shouldn't have to go all the way back to the Linksys.

Now, if the TC was setup in a WDS wireless situation, then yes, I believe all traffic has to travel back through the master router.

-Kevin
 
netnothing

netnothing

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Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
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kbmb said:
Couple of questions:

2) If I add both the Linksys wireless network and the Time Capsule n network in on my MacBook running Leopard (making the n network higher in the list), if for any reason the Time Capsule wireless connection gets lost.....will the MacBook automatically fail over to the Linksys b/g network? Assuming that both WPA passwords are stored in the keychain.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

skorpien said:
2) Not entirely sure on this one, but I think in theory it should work. I'd like to know the outcome of this if you are willing to test it.
Click to expand...

So just a followup to some testing I've done on the MacBook failing over to the next available network. Just to recap, just setup is a Linksys in 2.4GHz G only mode, and the TC in bridged 5GHz N only mode.

In my MacBook network prefs, I have the N network listed above the G network.

I haven't yet had the MacBook 'live failover' to the next network if I unplug the router it's currently connected to. I would just lose connection and have to select the next network.

Now, when in my room, which is the furthest point from both routers in the house, the TC 5GHz signal is weaker than the 2.4GHz Linksys signal. If I wake the MacBook from sleep, it will usually select the G network to connect to (even if I WAS connected to N prior to sleep).

The weird thing is, if I sleep the MacBook again, and go to the same room where the routers are and wake up the MacBook, it will still connect to the G network even though the TC network is right there full strength.

I wish OS X would always 'try' to connect to the highest network in the list. In this case, as it works now, often times I forget and end up staying on the G network when downstairs.

Oh well, maybe a future update will address this. Not a huge issue.

One plus I've found is that backing up to TC does very good if I change networks during the backup. Doesn't fail.

-Kevin
 
netnothing

netnothing

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Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
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coolemt said:
Dumb question but how do you put the TC in bridge mode?
Click to expand...

In Airport Utility, click on the Internet Tab. It's the bottom option: Connection Sharing.

-Kevin
 

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monkey2000

macrumors newbie
Oct 7, 2009
5
0
Great forum, but I am missing something

I have a D-Link DIR-628 and a TC. I have an iMac that used to connect fine, but once I went to Leopard it does not connect as before. After trying everything I know of and on the forums, I have resorted to chaining the routers. however, I am stuck.

how can i have the TC extend the D-Link which is connected to my Comcast modem. I see that folks say it cannot happen as it is not an Apple product at the source,e but then it seems that others are successful. I greatly appreciate any input.
 
tbayrgs

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,343
4,867
monkey2000 said:
I have a D-Link DIR-628 and a TC. I have an iMac that used to connect fine, but once I went to Leopard it does not connect as before. After trying everything I know of and on the forums, I have resorted to chaining the routers. however, I am stuck.

how can i have the TC extend the D-Link which is connected to my Comcast modem. I see that folks say it cannot happen as it is not an Apple product at the source,e but then it seems that others are successful. I greatly appreciate any input.
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with your D-link but why use the TC to extend the D-link in the first place? Why not just ditch it and use the wireless capabilities of the TC, especially since you can set up dual band networks?
 
M

monkey2000

macrumors newbie
Oct 7, 2009
5
0
Your logic is right on the money. the only issue I am having is that the iMac cannot see the TC. My MBP sees it fine but the iMac does not even see it in the list (unless it is sitting on top of it). This is even with channel adjustments etc. It seems as if something is up with the iMac. So after days of troubleshooting, I figured I would extend the D-Link with the TC. That way I have good coverage downstairs, and coverage upstairs with the Drive near the iMac for Backups.
 
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