How to bridge Balance one and Balance 20 routers

Product Discussion Peplink Balance
1

I have a 8 port Balance one as my primary router and I have run out of ports on that router, so I want to use my 4 port Balance 20 router as my secondary (or bridge) to expand my available LAN ports.
The IP on the Balance one is 192.168.0.1, the IP on the Balance 20 is 192.168.0.2 and I have the cable connected to a LAN port on each router, but the primary router doesn’t see to recognize the secondary router.
Is there a parameter that I need to configure to bridge these 2 routers?

2

Just make sure you have disabled the DHCP server on the Balance 20 and it should work just fine.

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3

Thank you sir!
I will try this out and let you know.

4

Hi. Maybe I misunderstand your issue. Since you have insufficient LAN ports why not just add a switch to increase the number of ports rather than connect a router on the LAN side??

5

Hi, I already have the 2 routers… so I didn’t want to purchase more equipment.
Also, If I disable the WAN port (on the secondary router)… would I gain another LAN port?
Thanks for the response!

6

Hi. Well, it’s your network but a reliable unmanaged or “1/2 smart” switch (e.g., Netgear ProSafe series) is inexpensive. And, lesser quality products generally still work well and are dirt cheap. You’re adding significant complexity (and points of failure due to misconfiguration, etc) by using a router when you really need just a switch.

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7

Hi Rick,
I value your input and will look into using a switch for a permanent solution.
Thank you!

8

I am a big fan of using what you have laying around. As far as I know, you can do what you are wanting to do with the Balance 20. You just need to disable the DHCP server, connect the routers LAN to LAN and bobs your uncle. Granted, you will lose a lan port on both the Balance 20 and the 8 port router. The WAN interfaces are going to go wasted. You can still use the Balance 20 as a Smart Switch by using Vlan tags if you wanted to.

When you connect it LAN to LAN, they should all be in the same broadcast domain (layer 2), so as long as the subnet mask and stuff is accurate – you should be good to go.

9

Hi Jim,
I was able to get the “bridge” to work after disabling DHCP on the “secondary” router.
I know some routers when you disable the WAN port, you can use as a LAN port.
I will try that next to see what happens (just curious).
Thanks for your input!