Best way to bridge a ad-hoc Wi-Fi network

Installing and Using OpenWrt Network and Wireless Configuration
1

Hi guys

My setup is several archer c7 in a multi ap Wi-Fi network with a wired back bone - works great

I’m also a keen astrophotographer and have acquired an ZWO ASIair. The device is great you connect over its own Wi-Fi network and I can control the scope remotely.

What I’m looking to do is extend the range of the Wi-Fi on the device by connecting to its custom Wi-Fi from openwrt. I still want to keep it as a separate lan and not integrate with my existing Wi-Fi. But I would like to make use of the infrastructure I have to extend the range. What’s the best way to do this?

So far I have connected one of my APs in client mode to the ASIAir. But obviously there is more to do.

2

Need more info here

  • What controls it?
  • Is the protocol routable?
3

I need to investigate. I’ll do a tcp sniff on it from my android

1 Like
4

Check if the client receives an IP address, and if the client knows the IP address of the ASIair; with that information, you should be able to enable a route from any device in your network to the ASIair.

5

Where this is going is that if the protocol can be routed, then it is "straightforward" to extend it. If it is link-local (many phone-controlled devices are), then it is a little more complex, but well within the capabilities of the Archer C7 (v2, at least) running OpenWrt, especially on a wired backhaul.

6

Device does get an IP from the ASIAir and it has a default gateway of 10.0.0.1

So mobile is 10.0.0.58 and the ASIAir is 10.0.0.1

I don’t have control of this dhcp or the IP range

7

The following is based on these assumptions:

  • The app you're using needs to be on the same subnet as the controller
  • The device running the app can't be easily configured for a different or second subnet

Two routers, R1 and R2. R1 is "near" the controller. R2 is connected to R1 over a wire on LAN4 and the switch is configured such that eth1 is presently used for br-lan. Device supports at least 100 VLANs (Archer C7v2 supports 128) and VLAN 100 is unused elsewhere in the network (100 selected as a "convenient, unused" VLAN).

On R1:

  • Configure a wireless client that connects to the controller
  • Configure an interface eth1.100, bridging over the client interface above; proto 'none' and auto '1' (it doesn't need an address)
  • Ensure that DHCP is disabled on the resulting interface
  • Add VLAN 100 as tagged to the switch's eth1 and LAN4 ports

On R2:

  • Configure a wireless AP with the same name and key as that provided by the controller (on a different channel than the controller)
  • Configure an interface eth1.100, bridging over the AP interface above; proto 'none' and auto '1'
  • Ensure that DHCP is disabled on the resulting interface
  • Add VLAN 100 as tagged to the switch's eth1 and LAN4 ports

So now you've got two APs with the same name and key that are "echoing" each other. They are bridged so that your phone sees the same thing, no matter if connected to the controller directly, or via R2

1 Like
8

This topic was automatically closed 10 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.