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Ideally I could just use a flylead between the Ethernet ports on each device, but even then I think some - for me - heavyweight configuration would be necessary. Avoiding wiring between rooms is a very high priority, and my main ADSL WiFi router is in the lounge, and I want my Pi in my bedroom.

Next up, I have a TP-LINK 3G/4G Wireless Router, which has a USB port for a 3G/4G modem, but also a WAN port for backup if the USB modem fails. I'm thinking my best bet here is connect my PC Ethernet to the WAN port on the router, but if I just do that straight, the router says there is no WAN present. I imagine, if possible, it would take some networking setup on my PC and on the router, to get them onto the same subnet or something, or to make my PC look like a WAN.

Is any of the above possible, and how should I go about it? I also have a Wireless Range Extender, with one Ethernet port, but I imagine that is for setup, or connection to the 'LAN' (my PC) for an internet consumer, not to my Pi as an internet provider.

What I have tried:

I have tried connecting my PC (Lenovo T520i laptop) to the WAN port on the Wifi router, with no joy. If I connect it to a normal LAN port, I can at least reach the router's control panel, but with the WAN port, the router says, "No wan!" and I lose all comms.

I havne't tried anything more because I don't want to fiddle with the network settings on my laptop and perhaps lose all comms here as well, the implication being I lose Google and forums as well;
Posted
Updated 26-Aug-16 22:49pm
Comments
Mehdi Gholam 27-Aug-16 9:29am    
1) By WAN do you mean WiFi or the Ethernet port?
2) Is the internet on the tplink wireless router?
3) Do you have internet on the wifi connection?
4) Do you have internet on the lan port on the tplink router?
Brady Kelly 28-Aug-16 1:22am    
Think of the two devices as Alpha and Beta.

Alpha has:

a) RJ-9 port for the DSL (phone) line.
b) Wifi antennae to provide access to the internet from the DSL, to computers in range.
c) Four LAN RJ-45 ports than also provide access to the internet from the WAN.

Beta has:

a) An RJ-45 WAN port, which is expected to be connected to a WAN, or some sort of modem. It is a *source* of internet.
b) Wifi antennae to provide access to the internet from the WAN to computers in range.
c) Four LAN RJ-45 ports than also provide access to the internet from the WAN.

Thus:

a) The WAN port on 'Beta' is Ethernet`.
b) I have internet on the wifi of router 'Alpha'.
c) I have internet on the LAN ports on the 'Alpha' router.
d) My 'Beta' router is where I want a cable Ethernet LAN connection, in a separate room from the 'Alpha' router.
e) Normally to get internet on the 'Beta', one must connect it to a WAN, but I want my PC to be the WAN, so it can share the internet from 'Alpha' with 'Beta'.

1 solution

I recommend you buy a Wifi dongle (e.g. Tenda) and plug it into one of the Raspberry Pi's USB ports. Configure your home Wifi on the raspberry (see Setting WiFi up via the command line for instructions). Then your Raspberry Pi will be able to access the internet, the same way your laptop can.
 
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Comments
Brady Kelly 29-Dec-16 10:23am    
Yes, I did end up doing that quite some time ago, and now all I need do is plug the Pi in and remote to it from my PC. Nothing simpler than a wifi dongle.

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