EA3500 - how to set up guest network without interfering with DHCP from office server
In my kids' dentistry office, we decided we wanted to support Wi-Fi Internet access via a guest network, so patients could surf the Internet faster than 3G cellular, but not be able to get into the office server. We got a Linksys EA3500 for this, and I set it up today. Its main Wi-Fi LAN works fine, but the guest network did not work. Through testing I found that the guest network is dependent on the EA3500serving IP addresses - I briefly turned on its DHCP server and presto! we could get on the Internet via the guest network from smart phones etc.
Trouble with this is, when the DHCP server on the EA3500 is active, the office PC's were sometimes getting IP addresses from it, in the guest subnet, and thus could not access the office server.
I realize that I could make it all work if I were to turn off the DHCP server on the office Windows server and just let the EA3500 provide IP addresses for both the main LAN, and for the guest network on its own subnet. But we don't want to rely on the EA3500 for DHCP services, because the server is inherently a more reliable device.
Even if there were a way to make the EA3500 serve IP addresses for only the guest network, we would still have the problem of the office PC's getting their IP addresses from it. I don't know how to avoid that. Well maybe I could set up MAC address reservations on the server's DHCP server, for specific IP addresses for each PC in the office LAN - as much work as using static IP's! That would prevent other devices from using those IP addresses, but I'm not sure it would actually force each PC to lease its particular address. Anyway that's too inefficient support-wise.
A Linksys support tech suggested that we could piggyback a 2nd Wi-Fi router off the first one, and set it up as an AP. But it would still be connected to the office LAN via Ethernet cables, just one more hop, so I didn't understand how that would prevent office PC's from leasing their IP addresses from it unstead of from the office server.
I wonder if anyone has any suggestions on how we could make this work.
TIA
Bob
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