Question : using a wireless router with an existing network

Hi,

I have a netgear wireless firewall router (WGT642) and I plugged it into a switch on the internal network in our office.  When I connect to the wireless network, I can access the internet, but I can't access the workstations plugged into the switch that the access point is...  How do I enable this?  Do I need to turn off routing on the wireless device?  Can I force the router to act like an access point instead?

thanks - Trevor

Answer : using a wireless router with an existing network

Here's the deal. If you did not configure the netgear wireless router before plugging it in, it will use the default settings, which includes DHCP Enabled on the router. Chances are, if you view the iP configuration on your laptop/computer, you will see that you are most probably using a different IP address/subnet than that of your network. The Router is basically getting an IP address from your preexisting DHCP Server and treating it as a WAN connection.

So,
First, disable the DHCP on your Netgear wireless router.

Next, change it from acting as a router to becoming a gateway. You can do this by doing one of the following:
1) use a crossover cable and connect one of the LAN ports on your wireless router and use the wireless router as a switch
2) using a straight-through CAT-5 and connect one of the LAN port to the uplink switch port on your switch.

Once you have done that, perform an IPConfig /release and /renew to get a new IP address. You now should get an IP address from your original DHCP Server.

Hope this helps.