From the time I installed my first wireless router I have been wondering if there was a way to have the wireless router manage the public IP address. I wanted the ADSL modem to function as a modem only. I have seen this setup on a few occasions when a static IP address is configure but I never had a clear understanding of the process.
My wireless router has all these wonderful features and yet I would have to let my router function as an access point. The other option was to connect the router to the WAN port on the Router, from the ADSL modem. I then would connect my computers to the LAN ports on the router. I hate the latter setup as I would have to double NAT and this prevented me from connecting to a VPN at work. Also I had to spend too much time setting up port forwards for BIT TORRENT on both devices.
I felt I was stuck with running DHCP and other services on my ADSL modem until I recently purchased a Linksys WRT54G2 wireless router. I purchased this router with the intention of installing DD-WRT firmware. I came across a thread on forums where someone had success with setting up his ADSL modem in Bridge mode and initiating the ADSL login using PPPoE from is Linksys router.
I reconfigured the WAN on my ADSL modem. I saw the option to select Bridge I selected that and save the settings. The modem restarted and I reconnected to it and looked at the information page. I saw that it had connected to CW servers and I could see my upload and download speeds.
I logged into my Linksys and changed the wan configuration to PPPoE. I entered the user name and password and the service name on the ADSL modem which I had written down. I let the other settings remain at the default.
After sometime entering the wrong password I was pleasantly surprised when it connected and the public IP was displayed. I have noticed a dramatic improvement in the performance of my network.
How this bridging works:
ADSL LINE ADSL MODEM (Bridge Mode) Linksys PPoE (WAN Public IP)
I would recommend this setup to anyone who is able to set this up.
