Router and access point at same time?

[MHofer]

Hello all,

I have several GL.iNet devices (Beryl AX, Slate AX, Slate AR750S). With my Beryl AX, I would like to do the following:
I want to set up a new standalone 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network. I was able to create one by manually adding the missing lines in the config file. I used the same settings as for the regular Wi-Fi network (not the guest one), but I do not receive an IP address. I can connect using my credentials, but it doesn’t go any further. What can I do here?

My primary goal is to use this Wi-Fi as an access point to my local network from my home router, not as a subnet.
Can anyone explain how to achieve this?

My preferred approaches, in order of priority:

1. Use the existing Ethernet WAN connection

2. Reconfigure LAN1 as a second WAN connection that is used exclusively as an access point for the additional Wi-Fi

3. Switch the entire router to access point mode

Why do I need this dedicated Wi-Fi?
I want a separate SSID for my IoT devices, so their credentials are independent of the GL.iNet router in use and the network remains clearly distinguishable.

Best regards,
Mario

[9b9e69c2-4b75-4420]

@MHofer

I want a separate SSID for my IoT devices, so their credentials are independent of the GL.iNet router in use and the network remains clearly distinguishable.

Well that's bloody good timing. The following HOW-TO is for a IoT Wi-Fi-backed VLAN for a Slate 7 but the uci commands should work just fine on all your listed devices. Just change the network port names to match the specific device's as only your Beryl AX has a 2.5 GbE port & I assume you're using that for its WAN.

@MHofer

I want to set up a new standalone 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network.

@MHofer

My primary goal is to use this Wi-Fi as an access point to my local network from my home router, not as a subnet.

These statements are a direct contradiction. A network is a subnet. If you want to pass traffic back & forth between your primary LAN/subnet 192.168.8.0/24 to a VLAN you're going to want to adjust the firewall's zone forwarding & rules to match. In the HOWTO lan is 192.168.8.0/24 while iot is 192.168.25.0/24.

A simple AP would get its connectivity from the upstream router & be attached to the same subnet as said router. It's up to you if you want to 'tag' it to be on a VLAN.

How to set up the VLAN for IoT Wi-Fi on Flint 3(GL-BE9300)

For Flint3 (GL-BE9300) only. Describes how to configure a dedicated IoT network on SSH by creating a VLAN (VID 25), a bridge, DHCP, firewall rules, and a separate 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi SSID. 1. Define VLAN 25 on eth1 We create a VLAN subinterface eth1.25 using IEEE 802.1Q tagging. uci set network.eth1_25=device uci set network.eth1_25.type='8021q' uci set network.eth1_25.ifname='eth1' uci set network.eth1_25.vid='25' uci set network.eth1_25.name='eth1.25' 2. Create the IoT Bridge We define a new b…

[MHofer]

Thank you very much for your recommendation. It also helped me realise that my formulation was imprecise, or even incorrect.

I want a special 'IoT' SSID because changing this on the IoT devices would be time-consuming. Therefore, if I change my Wi-Fi devices, I want my IoT devices to be able to connect. The idea of a special subnet would also work. I will give it a try.

[9b9e69c2-4b75-4420]

Don't forget to make a backup before starting/after it's all working: GL GUI -> System -> Advanced Settings -> LuCI -> System -> Backup / Flash Firmware. It's the same password as the GL GUI login, username of root (same as SSH).