How Do I Setup My Bullet WIFI?

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by colemj

I have no problems running it in router mode into the WAN port of the house router. Never had a problem with acceptance splash screens, etc.

Since we use the house router for other things like remote desktop, wireless printing, attached storage, etc, setting up the Bullet as the router through a LAN port defeats those applications.

I believe many of the commercial systems use the WAN port of a second router with the bullet set as a router and have no problems.

Mark

Double NAT/PAT/DNS forwarding can/will cause some problems, in addtion to a small performance hit. Two routers add no value.

I don't understand why you believe connecting the bullet to a LAN port on the 'house router' will defeat your applications. It should not affect them.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by DotDun

Double NAT/PAT/DNS forwarding can/will cause some problems, in addtion to a small performance hit. Two routers add no value.

I don't understand why you believe connecting the bullet to a LAN port on the 'house router' will defeat your applications. It should not affect them.

If I disable the DHCP server on the house router, won't that prevent the other applications I use it for?

Funny, I have been operating this way since 2006 with no problems.

Mark

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by colemj

If I disable the DHCP server on the house router, won't that prevent the other applications I use it for?

Funny, I have been operating this way since 2006 with no problems.

Mark

The bullet has a DHCP server. Unless you need a feature the bullet DHCP server doesn't support (like assign a particular machine the same address every time). Be sure not to run both of them at the same time on the same LAN. If you make the change, you'll have to reboot every machine.

I have to assume all your apps use bonjour or upnp to find each other, which has nothing to do with DHCP.

The way you are now, when you've had a problem you've probably blamed on the website. I would guess problems caused by double nat/pat is way less than 1%, hence it hasn't bothered you much.

[Dennis.G]

Thanks for your help all. I have it all working now.

Changing the IPs on the Bullet seemed to do the trick. I did as per ubnt sheet (I was stupid not to do this first time). Anyway current setup is:

Bullet set as Router and Station. IP at 192.168.10.20 and DHCP enabled with range ..10.21 to ..10.98

The Netgear has DHCH disabled, no connection to WAN port, and IP at 192.168.10.99 (tried on a different subnet but would not work).


One thing that I messed up on is chasing issues that did not really exist. If I make sure to power down and then power up in following sequence (after everything configured) it works (otherwise likely not to end up with everything connecting and getting internet).

1. Power to the Bullet first. Wait a minute.
2. Power up Netgear
3. Power up computer

Thanks again

[David Walker]

Bob

You need to configure the Bullet from your Laptop first, there is a set up guide on web referred to earlier,

Once you have done that you will be able to access the bullet via the netgear router and perform the site survey to see the Hotspots

[BillMerry]

Looks like this is exactly the set up I'm looking for and the thread will be very helpful in getting me set up. I assume logging onto a normal secured wifi or hotspot is pretty straight forward. Before I take the plunge, could someone please let me know if the Bullet can handle logging on to a wifi network where you log in using a web page with user name and password?

[msponer]

Originally Posted by BillMerry

... if the Bullet can handle logging on to a wifi network where you log in using a web page with user name and password?

Yes, it works fine.

[AnchorageGuy]

We have used ours with a webpage login many, many times. Chuck

[W32PAMELA]

You may occasionally encounter a hotspot that modifies information in the packet header sent back to the Bullet which the Bullet needed to pass the packet through its NAT. The result is that the Bullet does not know which device behind it's firewall to pass the page on to.

You can change the Bullets network mode from router to bridge and get this type of hotspot to work.

[msponer]

Originally Posted by W32PAMELA

You may occasionally encounter a hotspot that modifies information in the packet header sent back to the Bullet which the Bullet needed to pass the packet through its NAT.

What tools do you use to get this kind of diagnostics?

I've been keeping notes on what's wrong with various WiFi networks I encounter. My idea is to eventually make open source firmware that'll automatically work around many of these problems for less nerdy people. It would be cool to compare notes with other nerds. The most common problem I've found on WiFi networks is their default DHCP configuration can't handle the number of people using them: their DHCP leases are way too long (days) and the range of IPs they assign too small. Second most common is just an unresponsive local DNS. Both problems are super easy to work around and easily automated, but practically impossible to explain over the radio to non-nerd friends in the anchorage who are jonesing for Internet.

[neptunesjester]

Great thread. I just ordered this same system last night minus the Netgear AP since I already have one. I ordered the pieces off Amazon, but the PDQ Connect Hawk system is the same package. PDQ has support links to Ubuiquiti Networks support page (maker of the Bullet) that has youtube vids that walk you through the hardware/software setup. Once setup, you can daisy chain it to your AP of choice. This is of course a theoretical exercise since my hardware won't arrive until next Thursday.

Later,
NJ

[neptunesjester]

Got my equipment yesterday. Took about 30 mins to setup and configure and another 30 mins connecting to different AP's testing throughput to find the best one. I just watched the vids from Ubiquiti Networks' support site. Walks you through everything you need to connect to the Bullet and configure it. Pretty painless.

I just plugged the ethernet from the Bullet into the WAN port on the back of my existing AP and it all works like a champ.

Later,
NJ

[Stevens 47]

Originally Posted by neptunesjester

Great thread. I just ordered this same system last night minus the Netgear AP since I already have one. I ordered the pieces off Amazon, but the PDQ Connect Hawk system is the same package. PDQ has support links to Ubuiquiti Networks support page (maker of the Bullet) that has youtube vids that walk you through the hardware/software setup. Once setup, you can daisy chain it to your AP of choice. This is of course a theoretical exercise since my hardware won't arrive until next Thursday.

Later,
NJ

What did you think of the PDQ pricing for the wifi hardware? I am in the beginning stages of planning a system.

Jack

[neptunesjester]

Hi Jack,
I found it to be overpriced at ~$300 US. I went on Amazon and put all the pieces together for ~$150 with shipping.

I bought:
1 Ubiquiit Networks Bullet-2HP $68.99

1 8dbi gain omni directional 2.4GHz external antenna with N type connector. I went with an Engenius EAG-2408 that received good reviews. $22.50

Outdoor waterproof Ethernet Cat5E cable(grounded) - I bought 50' complete cable (already has the plugs on it) but your installation location will determine how much you need. $39.50

1 Power Over Ethernet (PoE) injector. I picked up a 2 pack for $3.89 that will handle 5-60v. They are just pigtails, but there are multiple form factors available and your installation will determine which one you want.

I did not buy an antenna mount because I knew I was going to have to fabricate a custom one for my install location. The antenna itself came with a mount kit that is all aluminum and would work with some modification with the Bullet connected directly to the antenna.

Later,
NJ

[BillMerry]

Thanks for all the advice on this thread which has enabled me to set up a Bullet M2 Titanium with a Netgear 150 as access point to provide Wifi. After a bit of re-reading, I've got it all working OK - Bullet as DHCP server, internet access OK and access to management pages on both Bullet and Netgear. I've not installed on the boat yet, but when I test the setup at home, the speed is quite slow. When I access my home network direct by WiFi, I'm getting around 50MBit/s download, but when accessing the same network via the Bullet, the speed drops to around 3MBit/s at best - and often the upload speed is higher than the download. I'd appreciate if anyone has any advice on whether I can expect a higher throughput and any pointers on config changes. Thanks - Bill