Problem linking two Cisco routers with a static route

routingstatic-routes

I'm trying to link two Cisco routers with a static route and I haven't been able to get it working as expected.

Here is the basic setup:

  • Router 1 – WRV210 – 192.168.1.1 – connected to cable modem
  • Router 2 – RV120W – 192.168.2.1

I already have several machines on Router 1 that are working and I want to setup Router 2 with a few other machines on the different subnet.

Here is what I've configured:

  • Connected the WAN port on Router 2 to a LAN port on Router 1
  • Configured Router 1 to give 192.168.1.2 to Router 2 via DHCP
  • Configured Router 1 with a static route (192.168.2.0 mask 255.255.255.0) to 192.168.1.2 using the LAN & Wireless interface
  • Disabled the firewall on Router 2 (since it is covered by Router 1)
  • Configured Router 2 to "Router" mode instead of "NAT" mode
  • Configured Router 2 with a static route (192.168.1.0 mask 255.255.255.0) to 192.168.1.1 using the WAN interface

From the research I've done I think that should be enough but things aren't working exactly as expected:

  • Router 2 can ping 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.101 (a machine on router 1)
  • A machine on Router 2 can ping 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.101 (a machine on router 1)
    ping 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.101 (a machine on router 1)
  • Router 1 can NOT ping 192.168.2.1 or 192.168.2.101 (a machine on router 2)
  • A machine on Router 1 can NOT ping 192.168.2.1 or 192.168.2.101 (a machine on router 2)
    can NOT ping 192.168.2.1 or 192.168.2.101 (a machine on router 2)
  • Router 1 and a machine on Router 1 can ping 192.168.1.2 (Router 2 itself)

I'm confused as to why Router 1 cannot talk to the 192.168.2.0/255.255.255.0 subnet. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best Answer

Because the external interface on R2 is on the same LAN as the clients on 192.168.1.0/24, you'd need a route on each client on 192.168.1.0/24 to route to 192.168.2.0/24 via 192.168.1.2. That should do the trick (assuming R2 is routing, not NAT, and has no firewall.)

If I were you, I'd throw the link between the two routers into its own administrative VLAN and then you could route through this VLAN.

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