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By router I mean consumer grade that combines router/switch/wireless ap etc. I have a primary router that from the ISP. I want to connect a second router to it via Ethernet cable. The second is to provide the wi-fi (the first would have wi-fi disabled) but I want both to keep Ethernet ports enabled. I know it's strange but this is what I want.

I tried to set it up but ran into trouble. What's the best approach, dmz, port-forwarding or bridging? I had issues with one device not being able to access DNS. Also I find it confusing whether to plug Ethernet into WAN or LAN port on the second router?

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    Neither answer actually addresses your question properly. This is a duplicate question with answers already on superuser and all over the internet. superuser.com/questions/1303596/… superuser.com/questions/968323/… google.com/search?q=how+to+turn+second+wifi+router+into+bridge Apr 29, 2018 at 13:52
  • Could someone actually explain instead of just giving steps? For example, what difference does it make using the LAN vs WAN port when connecting the second router?
    – northerner
    May 1, 2018 at 9:46
  • Most consumer grade routers when connected through the WAN port, not only separate the networks with another subnet, but introduces NAT/firewall in-between the two networks. Connecting via LAN on these routers bridges them both into the same continuous network, without a firewall in-between. May 1, 2018 at 12:09
  • @Tim_Stewart how exactly does that make a difference? Subnet just means a separate part of the network (which is circular reasoning because the question was 'what makes the difference?) and it's possible to have 2 firewalls or 2 NATs. Are the actual packets different because those intended for the LAN are different than for the internet?
    – northerner
    May 2, 2018 at 16:28
  • Subnet = network address, continuous host space (smallest being 2), and the last address being the broadcast address. It's also sometimes referenced as a broadcast domain. Yes it's possible to have double, triple and even quadruple NAT, but each router will have it's own network addressing that will be translated. If the new router is just for internet, it's not a huge deal, but does add latency to the second. It also complicates the setup if you need anything other than basic internet for the second network. (File sharing, printing, video games, voip/Skype etc etc) It's not recommended. May 2, 2018 at 16:40

2 Answers 2

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By default Ethernet port on both 1st and 2nd router will work (even when you disabled the WiFi) unless you somehow have a setting to disable the Ethernet Port.

Your 2nd router WAN port connects to Ethernet Port from the 1st router.

Make sure 1st router and 2nd router have different network IP block (eg. 192.168.1.x and say 192.168.2.x) - this avoids confusion between the network (and also easier for you to identify whether your device is in the 1st or 2nd router).

Let the 2nd router get network access using DHCP. It should just work from there.

Note: Devices connected to 1st Router will not able to access devices connected to the 2nd router (unless you set up your 2nd router to allow incoming connection).

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  • Why would you encourage someone to double NAT? Apr 29, 2018 at 18:06
  • @Tim_Stewart There is a concept called Three Dumb Routers - which is double NAT-ing between at least 2 routers. I don't know whether this is what they want, but it is a possible concept that someone may want. In terms of set up - double NAT is the simplest as it simply plug and it works (with no changes if both routers already uses different IP blocks). OP also stated that they want to disable wifi in the 1st router - and I answer that too. If OP has switch / WiFi AP - then yes it is different.
    – Darius
    Apr 29, 2018 at 21:18
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Simplest approach is to bridge the WLAN AP interface on the second router with the LAN interface. That's actually how a "wireless distribution network" as defined in 802.11 is supposed to be set up.

No DHCP, no NAT, no DNS trouble; no different network blocks. It will just work. Everything connected to the second router will be part of the WLAN/LAN segement provided by the first router.

Your consumer grade second router may or may not have support for this in the firmware; so make sure you by some hardware where you can install OpenWRT or similar.

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