Hi Dan,
Routing Problem Due to Different Subnets
Currently, your Access Point (AP) establishes a different subnet (192.168.5.x) which isn’t directly managed by IPFire, that handles the 192.168.6.x range. This creates a routing problem as IPFire is not aware of the routes necessary to reach the 192.168.5.x subnet directly.
Static Routing from IPFire and AP Side
A solution would be to set up static routes both in IPFire and your AP. You’ve set up a static route in IPFire to direct traffic from the 192.168.5.0/24 network to the 192.168.6.10 (WiFi router). Similarly, you would need to log into your AP’s admin interface and add a static route for directing traffic destined for the 192.168.6.0/24 network through 192.168.6.10, effectively creating a two-way route.
Possible NAT by the AP
Many APs perform Network Address Translation (NAT) by default. In your current setup, the AP might be applying NAT, which isn’t necessary for internal traffic between your subnets. Check the settings in your AP’s firmware to see if NAT is enabled and, if possible, disable it for traffic between your internal networks to simplify routing and avoid potential issues.
Suggesting Bridge Mode for Simplification
Lastly, a straightforward solution would be to configure your AP to work in bridge mode. This change would make IPFire the sole DHCP server (as suggested by @hvacguy), assigning IP addresses to all machines, both wired and wireless, in the 192.168.6.x range. Setting your AP to bridge mode will simplify the network configuration greatly, allowing all devices to communicate within the same subnet without the need for additional routing rules or NAT configurations.
In this last setup:
- Devices will communicate using their MAC addresses (data-link layer 2), not IP addresses (network layer 3);
- The WiFi router (working in bridge mode) will function to forward frames to the correct destination based on the MAC addresses;
- It allows for more direct and efficient communication between devices in your local network.
I hope one of these suggestions would be useful. Let us know how it goes.