Two wireless APs/nets with different security?

[cstein]

Current equipment:
- LINKSYS 4-port Gigabit Firewall Router (wired) model RVS4000
- Netgear Rangemax Wireless Router model WPN824 (simply as an AP)
- Netgear Wireless Router model MR314 (not currently in use, but serviceable)

The scenario:
A few years ago I upgraded to the Rangemax wifi router specifically to be able to utilize WPA2 security (the MR314 only supported up to WEP). The RVS4000 is the main wired router for the house - uplink to my cable modem, with my desktop, TiVO and WPN824 running off wired ports. My laptops, XBox and WII all connect wirelessly to the 824. Everything works great.

Now, my young son received an Nintendo DS and would like to connect online. It's of an age that it only supports WEP security.

Is there a way I can set up a network that has the 824 serving as a primary wi-fi access point (using WPA2) for my laptop, etc, that can access my network resources like computers, drives, printers in the house, and then maybe bring the MR314 out of retirement as a secondary AP (using only WEP, or no security at all) that ONLY has a pipe out to the internet (the DS certainly doesn't need to have access to my drives or printers)?
Would I have to set up a subnet with the RVS4000? If so, how? And how would I restrict access to resources for the different subnets?

Also, silly question perhaps, but if there IS a way to set all this up... do the 824 and MR314 physically have to be placed way far apart from each other so their wi-fi signals don't conflict?

OR... might there be a way to accomplish two wi-fi nets with just the RVS4000 and the 824 (or another, as yet unmentioned piece of equipment)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
-Carl

 

[CntdwnToExtn]

Hmmm,
Since they are routers as well, you could possibly set up 3 networks.

Set your Linksys to a 172.16.0.0 network with DHCP on.
Connect the other 2 routers from the Linksys to their WAN ports. They'll receive a 172.16.0.x IP address as their WAN connection. Or you can simply statically assign the ports and don't use DHCP on the Linksys (might be a better way).

I'll assume your Netgears are on a 192.168.x.x network.

Create a rule on your each of your Netgears to only accept traffic on the WAN side from 172.16.0.x where 'x' is the IP Address of the Linksys, NOT the other Netgear.

This is just off the top of my head however.


I'd suggest running the wireless on different channels. 1 and 6, 1 and 11, 6 and 11.

 

[cstein]

Thanks much for the reply, Cntdwn!

3 wholly distinct networks, huh? I hadn't thought to go that far. Three networks would be better than one net with a subnet because... security? Ease of maintenance?
And wouldn't three networks prevent me from being able to, say, access the print server hooked up to the Linksys from anything connected wirelessly to my 824 (the AP using WPA2)?

I'm also not entirely sure if the MR314, being that it's so old, has the facility to create rules to restrict traffic on the WAN side, but I'll definitely check it out. Part of my frustration with these things is always that different manufacturers tend to call this type of functionality by different terms... so hunting for it is 10% knowledge and 90% crapshoot. But I'm sure I'm not preaching anything the choir doesn't already know.

Thanks again for your help. I'll dig around some more and see if I can't get 3 networks to work.

 

[CntdwnToExtn]

Well, I'm trying to segregate that secondary AP for a few reasons, 1 being security of WEP and the second to get it straight out to the Net without having access to anything else. It would be useless to have the 2 AP's on the same network because WEP can easily be cracked.

I would just use the Netgear Rangemax as your main network - desktop, TiVO for wired and wireless the Laptops, XBox, Wii, etc.
Use the Linksys only to segregate the 2 Netgear networks (essentially creating that 3rd segment, however not really used for devices)

And yes, It would be good to see if you can actually set up some rules lol. or this whole conversation is bah and we go back to the drawing board.