[TriLUG] WRT54GL wireless bridge

[Greg Brown]

Yes this is possible and I have done the same in a number of ways using
OpenWRT.

1st and easiest way - bridge:

AP #1 - primary AP, configured SSID and let's say WEP (depending on what
version of WhiteRussian you install WPA may or may not work in bridge mode.
I have had luck with Version5 of WhiteRussian and am using that version to
power all APs I use at the beach).

Anyway on the second AP once you get OpenWRT installed:

set wl0_ssid= to the same ssid that you have on your primary AP
set wl0_key1= to the same wep key you use on your primary AP
set wl0_wep=enabled
set wl0_mode=wet (wet for bridge, sta for routing, I use wet - it is easier)
set lan_ipaddr= to a unique ip address on your LAN
set lan_gateway= to your gateway address
set lan_dns to your DNS address

After all that, run 'nvram commit' to reload everything and reboot

Success will be a ping that returns from OpenWRT unit while it is not
plugged into anything else.

If you have Macs this is a point-and-shoot affiar with Airport access points
but you'll end up with less ports and you'll spend quite a bit more money.

You can also use WDS mode for your openwrt box.  Using WDS you'll end up
with a repeater that you can attach to just like your primary AP (you'll
also eat up more bandwidth this way, but who cares about that?) :)