Two routers, trying to use DHCP on both?

Question

I have an ADSL/router set up and working with the Internet just fine.

I want to use a proxy service, which requires changing the DNS settings. I do not want to use the proxy all the time, but when I do, I want to connect multiple devices with it. I can do that theoretically by setting up a secondary router and setting it up with the proxy and using as needed.

I can connect router 2 to router 1, where DHCP is disabled in router 2, but that turns router 2 into an access point and I cannot change the DNS settings. If DHCP is enabled in router 2, it will not get Internet.

I have already changed the DHCP on router 2 to different settings. (Router 1 192.168.178.1, and Router 2 192.168.1.1).

There are many articles on the Internet about using 2 routers, but most are very old or are about turning off DHCP on the second router, or questions about not understanding why someone would want to do this.

Many thanks.

Answer 1

It depends upon how the two routers are connected to each other.



If the secondary router has an Ethernet WAN/Internet port that is connected to one of the PC/LAN ports on the primary router, then the two routers must be using different sub-nets, and both routers should have their DHCP services enabled.



If the secondary router has one of its PC/LAN ports connected to a PC/LAN port on the primary router possibly using a cross-over cable, then the DHCP service in the secondary router must be disabled. It can be an advantage to have the IP address of the secondary router set to an unused address in the sub-net of the primary router. This will allow you to log on to the secondary router to make any configuration changes. In this case, the secondary router is not providing the DNS service to any of its devices.



The problem with using a proxy service is that the normal ISP DNS service may not be accessible. This is because the ISP may not allow its DNS server to be accessed from the Internet, but DNS queries from your computer will be routed to the Internet via the proxy and will try to reach the ISP's DNS service but find the access is blocked.



In theory you should be able to access a public DNS server such as the Google servers either directly or when using the proxy. The Google servers are on 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.



I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Piece of Piroshki -- buy a 4-port RJ45 switchbox: https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20140803115624AAAq2jj



LAN port of Router 1 to WAN port of Router 2. Router 2 set for DHCP Client, Fixed DNS address.

4-port RJ45 switchbox. Port A to Router 1, Port C to Router 2.



A-port for straight, switch to B-port (empty) for a couple of seconds for PC to lose it's Ethernet link, switch to C-port to connect to the PC and the other DNS.

Answer 3

Turns out that the TPLink router needed to be enabled for EWAN which it was not. Then it was necessary to enter the DNS info for the proxy. So 2 problems resolved by... well, me. But thanks for the responses.

Answer 4

You're going about this wrong, I think. It's not clear what you're trying to do exaclty, but I believe you will want to set up a router so it can enable VPN when you want, rather than the way you're thinking about it.



From your clarification, my suggestion is to go to the DD-WRT or TomatoUSB sites and explain your needs, they'll tell you how to set it up with your hardware.

Answer 5

When i suggest making use of http://www.vpnmaster.org to unblock web sites. I am using their services for more than 2 years without any problems.

Answer 6

We highly recommend utilizing http://www.vpnmaster.org to unblock sites. I am using their services for more than 2 years with no difficulties.