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So I've got the task of installing and setting up another router at work. I don't have much experience with routers and networking (I'm a web developer, still in college, working part time but I got the task since I didn't have anything better to do and everyone else being busy).

We have an airRouter HP connected to the internet. We have some 20 - 30 devices connected but it seems like the airRouter couldn't manage it since some of the devices kept losing internet on a regular basis, where suddenly stuff like DNS resolution would stop working (even with other DNS servers like googles). So my employer bought a Netgear WNDAP350 that I'm now trying my best at setting up and understanding.

So the setup:

  • 1 airRouter HP
  • 1 Netgear WNDAP350
  • ~30 devices

I was trying to setup the Netgear in Wireless Bridge mode but to no avail, I feel I don't have the understanding to get it to work even though I've tried my best at understanding the manual. I went to the wireless bridge mode, inputted the MAC address of the airrouter and it's network key but devices connected to the Netgear wont receive any internet connection.

Connecting the Netgear with wire wont be possible as the Netgear will be placed in the other side of the house (but still where it gets good reception to the airRouter, though my employer doesn't want wires going everywhere).

The plan is to set it up so that half of the devices are connected to the airRouter and the other half to the Netgear. The computers also needs to be able to connect to each other locally since we have a couple of servers everyone needs access to.

I've read that both the airRouter and the Netgear needs to be set into Wireless Bridge Mode. How would this affect the network? Will everyone be able to connect to each other and the internet? Trying to set the airRouter to bridge instead of SOHO mode seems to disable NAT which is required to be on (according to my employer).

There doesn't seem to be anywhere where I could input the MAC address of the Netgear router in the airRouter without changing it's mode from AP to bridged.

How would I set up DHCP? On the Netgear you can either have a DHCP client or a DHCP server but not both at the same time so I would assume I need to setup a static IP?

How would I assure that the routers are connected to each other? The Netgear router seems to lack any ability to test the network (which is weird because their home routers for $40 supports that just fine, you would assume that a $400 router would offer more features).

What would you suggest? How would I set this up so that everyone can access each other and the internet?

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The HP can be either a bridge or AP, not both.

I recommend that you do this: just replace the HP with the Netgear, since it can handle more clients than the HP. If your wifi signal is good enough to cover the entire ares, that might be the simplest option.

You also might consider using both: put the Netgear in the same location as the HP. Connect the Netgear wired port to the HP. Use the DHCP server on the HP. Set the HP and Netgear to be on different channels (eg, 1 and 11). You can either use the same SSID or differnt ones, but the idea is that half your clients will connect to the HP and half to the Netgear.

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  • We ended up plugging the Netgear into the airRouter anyway. The plan was to have the Netgear up in our room in the loft for better signal, but we gave up on that and just put the routers in the same place so we could do wired instead. Luckily there was a single port available for LAN on the airRouter, but closest power was above the sink in the kitchen, gonna need to figure out something better for that tomorrow. Thanks for the help :>
    – galaxyAbstractor
    Commented Jan 14, 2014 at 19:24

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