Router -> Repeater -> mAP lite -> Switch - setup is weird

RouterOS Beginner Basics
1

Hi,

I’ve a small network and it’s working, in general. However, I’ve a problem I don’t know what component is responsible. My setup:

WAN-Router/Fritz!Box 7340 (192.168.8.1, DHCP-Server, Route to 192.168.8.253 for 192.168.88.xyz) 
 -> WiFi-Repeater in Client Mode (192.168.8.x, via WiFi) 
  -> mAP lite (192.168.8.253, eth1, via LAN cable)
   -> Switch (via LAN cable to eth2 on mAP lite, 192.168.88.1, DHCP-Server) hosting Client B, C, D

(Note: I don’t know the IP address of the WiFi-Repeater, that’s part of the problem).
Clients B-D can access the Internet and each other. Client A is connected to the WAN-Router and can connect to 192.168.8.253 and Clients B-D but not to 192.168.88.1 (which may be correct).
The WAN-Router provides a list of all connected devices. Before I connected the mAP lite, Client B-D (attached to the switch) got their IP addresses from the WAN-Router and where listed as “IP 192.168.8.yyy [mac-address] connected via repeater (192.168.8.x)”. Since I use the mAP lite, the WAN-Router is totally confused. The originally named “repeater” (i.e. WiFi-Repeater 192.168.8.x) is shown with IP 192.168.8.253 but with MAC address of the WiFi-Repeater. Moreover, the WAN-Router shows different IP addresses “assigned” to the repeater list entry from time to time, cycling through the 192.168.88.xyz IP addresses of Clients B-D. I guess that the IP address of the last devices that sent a packet is shown. The WAN-Router “sees” the 192.168.88.xyz addresses and can connect to them (port forwarding does also work).

So, I hope I could explain what’s going on. I’d like to clean this mess up.
How can I configure the mAP lite (“transparent”?) so that all devices behind eth1 are “forwarded” as separate devices as it would be a switch-only (but keeping a different subnet)?
What I read let me believe that I may setup a bridge and add eth1 and eth2 to it. But What IP address do I have to add to the bridge? 192.168.8.253 probably not because I want to keep the DHCP server for 192.168.88.x.

Thanks in advance & best!

2

If mAP lite works as router and your WAN-Router shows clients based on MAC addresses, then what you see is probably correct, because all 192.168.88.x clients will appear to WAN-Router with only one common MAC address (from mAP lite).

You can turn mAP lite into transparent bridge and even keep separate 192.168.88.x subnet, but then WAN-Router would have to be gateway for it (you’d have two different IP subnets on same physical port). But even that won’t probably help, because AFAIK standard wifi does not like multiple MAC addresses for one device.

3

Thank you for your input.
What I do not understand is the “only one common MAC-address”. Shouldn’t the mAP lite forward the packets from clients to the WAN-Router? If so, the WAN-Router would see the correct MAC-addresses, right?
Moreover, in the first setup (with a simple ZyXEL switch instead of the mAP lite) all devices were identified correctly.

Thanks & best

4

Device’s MAC address does not leave local subnet. It goes unmodified through switch or bridge, but not through router.

5

Oh, thanks for pointing that out.
However, the WAN-Router does not see the MAC of the mAP lite bit sees the MAC of the WiFi-Repeater (which is outside of the mAP lite subnet), which should be part of the WAN-Router subnet–well, I’m not sure how repeater functionality is implemented. In fact, the WiFi-Repeater has the same configuration as when I was using a switch.
I’m totally confused now :confused:

Thanks for helping!

6

I don’t have experience with wifi repeaters, so I could only guess what it does. But it sounds interesting, that router was somehow able to detect it, I’d expect it to be transparent. In other words, I don’t think I have any useful ideas. Maybe try to experiment, connect just one device behind repeater and see what exactly shows in router, what IP and MAC addresses, …

7

Thanks Sob for your help.
I’ll do some tests and maybe I’m lucky.

Best!