Gentlemen, helmets on. INCOMING TEXT WALL!
To answer your question about whether this is a worthy adventure, the speed benefit of an N router should technically not be a factor when interfacing with the internet, but the D-link should provide some range increase as well as offloading some of the crappier parts of the Westell (in theory at least). Overall, I'd probably do it if I was in a similar situation.
What I was originally trying to have you do is turn the FiOS router/modem/access point into ONLY a modem and then setup the D-Link router to be the router. The benefit to this is that because the Westell does a little bit of everything, it has a tendency to not do anything particularly well, so we were going to ask it to do only the most basic task (connecting you to the internet). This was supported by several posts that I read about the Westell having stack overflow problems (essentially, it would run out of memory) under some fairly normal operating circumstances. The negative here is that if you have FiOS TV service, you lose access to Video on Demand and the Program Guide.
So, we now have two options that will allow you to use both routers without crippling your set top boxes. One is to do a modified version of the first idea that requires a lot more time and effort to get working correctly (including having Verizon change how their Optical Network Terminal communicates to your modem). Or we can use a simplified approach that should give you most of the benefits without the hassle. I propose the latter and am posting the following instructions with that in mind.
Step 1 - Disable the wireless function on the Westell
1. Login to the Westell Modem/Gateway/Router
2. On the menu running across the top of the page click on the Wireless icon
3. On the menu on the left side of the page click on the Basic Security Settings link
4. Look at the top of the page under where it says "1. Turn Wireless On"
5. Tick the "Off" Radial
6. Scroll down the bottom of the page and click the "Apply" button
7. At this point the Westell may reboot itself or go through some manor of updating. If it does, wait until it is finished and then select Logout on the left menu. If not, do the same without waiting
Step 2 - Turn the D-Link router into a wireless Access Point
1. Directly connect the D-link router to the ethernet port on any computer via one of the 4 LAN ports on the router
2. Login to the D-link router by typing 192.168.0.1 into a web browser
3. Select Admin from the drop down menu and leave the password field blank (unless the password has been changed).
4. Select "Internet" from the menu on the left
5. Select "Manual Internet Connection Setup"
6. Under "Internet Connection Type" select "Static IP" for "My Internet Connection is..."
7. Under the heading Static IP Address Internet Connection Type enter the following information:
IP Address: 192.200.200.250
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.200.200.1
Primary DNS: 192.200.200.1
Secondary DNS: 0.0.0.0
Note: This is all bogus information meant to give the router something for the WAN port that will A. Shut it up and B. Not interfere with anything else
8. Select the "Save Settings" button at the top of the page (I believe you will be logged out, so after it finishes repeat steps 2 and 3 to log back in)
9. Select "NETWORK SETTINGS" from the menu on the left
10. Deselect the "Enable DHCP Server" check box
11. Under the heading Router Settings enter the following information:
Router IP Address: 192.168.1.200
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Device Name: *Call it whatever you want*
12. Select the "Save Settings" button at the top of the page and log back in as in step 8
13. We are now going to look for the "Wireless Settings" menu (I believe it will be on the left hand side somewhere, but I'm not sure, fumble around until you find it, it should be relatively easy to find)
14. Once you find the menu enter the following information:
Enable Wireless: Radial checked and set to always
Wireless Network name: This is your identfier, call it whatever you want (would avoid things like your name, address etc as this is potentially visible to the world)
802.11 Mode: Mixed 802.11n and 802.11g
Enable Auto Channel Scan: Selected
Transmission Rate: Best (automatic)
Channel Width: Auto 20/40
Visibility Status: Visible if you want people to be able to freely see your network (this is best if you have people over frequently, or have trouble
remembering your SSID name, but a slight security risk as anyone can see the router is present.) Invisible if you want to be slightly more secure.
Security Mode: Take what you learned about setting up WPA/2 and apply it here (should be the exact same concept)
15. Select the "Save Settings" button at the top of the page and praise the gods that you are done fiddling with this stupid device
Step 3 - The Moment of Truth
1. Take the D-link router and plug it directly into any of the LAN ports on the Westell. It is imperative that the ethernet cable goes from a LAN port on the Westell to a LAN port on the D-link.
NOT, I REPEAT NOT, to or from the WAN (Internet) port of either device.
2. Connect any wireless devices to the newly created wireless network
3. Enjoy your internets!
Note on security: If you have any real desire to have your wireless network be secure, definitely change the default username/password for your devices. I personally have all default IP addresses and login credentials memorized for pretty much every major brand of router, as would most anyone who wants to get in. Make sure to set it to something YOU will remember though, so you don't have to do a hard reset and lose all your configuration data.
Note on me: I am a human being and more than capable of making mistakes, omissions, or just plain not knowing the answer to everything. If you have any problems with these instructions, let me know and we'll work it out.
