How to set up your secondary WiFi routers as wired WiFi Mesh bridges

Ok, this is just a note to myself so I could implement it the next year I came home. By the way, I love "ASUS WL-520GU" wireless router. It is cheap, reliable, and I can reset its firmware using Tomato firmware.

It works! My Buffalo is now connected via the LAN to my Linksys, and my Laptop shows up in the device list as a wireless client in the Buffalo. Woot!

Here's a short step-by-step for those of you interested in using your secondary Wifi routers as wired bridges with meshing wifi.

These settings allow you to plug your WiFi routers into your LAN and use the WIRED network to backhaul data, rather than the WiFi network that WDS and Wireless Ethernet Bridge wireless settings do. They are extremely useful for extending your network wirelessly, but you lose precious bandwidth by forcing your wireless client data to be retransmitted wirelessly to the next AP. In THIS configuration, the data is sent via the WIRED network, while still extending your wireless network coverage in a seamless way. You don't need "Wireless Ethernet Bridge" or WDS or any other wacky WiFI settings! Read on.

1. In the Tomato control panel click Basic > Network



2. On the Basic Configuration page under WAN / Internet set the following:
   
   WAN / Internet
   Type: Disabled
   Use WAN port for LAN: [x]
   
   This disables DHCP by default on this router (at least in Tomato Firmware 1.25), thus eliminating step 4 from the original page above. DHCP will now be handled by your primary gateway router (assuming you have DHCP enabled on your network somewhere).



3. Under LAN set the following
   
   LAN
   Router IP Address: 192.168.1.2
   Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   
   This is the IP address for this router. It usually defaults to 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. You will want to change it to 192.168.1.2 or another unused static IP within your LAN netblock.
   
   Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
   
   This is the IP address of your gateway device that connects directly to the Internet. 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 are likely candidates for this value.
   
   Static DNS: 192.168.1.1
   
   DNS server to use. Use your Gateway IP if your Gateway router runs a DNS caching service (which it is if it is running Tomato Firmware). If not, use your ISP's DNS servers, or use OpenDNS.



4. Under Wireless set the following:
   
   Wireless
   Enable Wireless: [x]
   Wireless Mode: Access Point
   B/G Mode: Mixed *
   SSID : YourSSID
   Broadcast: [x] *
   Channel: 9 *
   Security: WPA Personal *
   Encryption: TKIP/AES *
   Shared Key: SuperSecret *
   Group Key Renewal: 3600
   
   * NOTE: If you want wireless clients to seamlessly switch between your main and secondary routers, select the same values as your primary main router wireless settings for: B/G Mode, Broadcast, Channel, Security, Encryption, Shared Key. When they are the same, the wireless client will switch seamlessly between the strongest one at the time. The values above are an example configuration only, you may change them as you see fit.



5. Click Save at the bottom of the screen
   
   You can choose a different SSID for this secondary router if you like, but then you lose the value of the "mesh" that this configuration offers. Matching the same AP settings as your main router allows clients to easily switch between APs without changing configuration.

Ref:
- http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22572390-Tomato-Building-a-Wireless-Mesh-Network-Routers-wired