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can i run a secured router and an unsecured router on the same internet connection?

3K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  JohnWill 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm brand new here and I don't have tons of computer knowledge although I am learning....I hope! We bought a campground last year and were offering a wifi hot spot located near the camp office. It was actually done by accident because we live in the same building and have our own home network of 3 computers. We have a Linksys WRT54G router and a cable modem. So the campers were hopping on our wireless. I had some problems over the winter with someone using my credit card online. I was advised to maybe try getting another router and a hub/switch and basically to hook that hub/switch to the cable modem and then hook both routers to that and to have one of the routers be secured (WPA) and the other unsecured for the campers to use as a wifi hotspot. I also bought a Linksys range expander which I haven't set up yet. If this configuration with 2 routers on the same cable modem will work, I will set up the range expander to the unsecured router. I emailed linksys to ask them if this whole configuration was possible and the answer I received was basically not very straightforward but they made it sound like it couldn't be done. So now I'm asking you if it can be done the way I said or if there's another way I can offer an unsecured hot spot without compromising my own home network and security and without costing me a fortune. Hope someone can help. Thanks.:eek:
 
#3 ·
If you daisy-chain routers and want secured/unsecured WiFi access, you will need to make SURE the secure connection is the second router in the chain. The way I configure something like this is to put the secondary router in the DMZ of the primary router. Setup the primary router with no security, and configure the secondary router with the security you desire for your private network.

One additional point. You may end up having issues with bandwidth hogs using all your connection bandwidth, so I'd get a primary router with QoS capability and configure the port for the secondary router to get at least 1/2 the available bandwidth.
 
#6 ·
If you want more range, I'd suggest products along the line of these. If you combine a hi-gain antenna and a signal booster, you should get very good range.

Hawking Tech has a number of products that will help you increase your wireless range. The root page is Hawking Hi-Gain™ WiFi Range Extending Products.

Some of the more interesting products are this Hawking [HSB2] Hi-Gain WiFi Signal Booster, which can be used on either end of a wireless connection to boost the signal power.

Another way to increase your signal strength is by the use of hi-gain antennas. You can choose from omni-directional or directional models, here are a couple of examples.

Hawking [HAI7SIP] Hi-Gain 7dBi Omni-Directional Antenna

Hawking [HAI15SC] Hi-Gain 15dBi Corner Antenna
 
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