For simplicity's sake you want no more than a single router in the direct robot network. It can complicate things going router to router and can take a little more expertise to track down problems. Your school IT folks can handle that if it's necessary.
I have a test rig at home that I hook up a half dozen different ways depending on how lazy I am and what I'm doing at the time.
For some programming tests I leave a cRIO sitting in one room running off a regulated power supply while I wander the house with my laptop using the house wireless to download and test example code of the cRIO. I can keep my wife company at the dining room table that way.
I just turned it on a minute ago and did it this way:
- My laptop connects wirelessly directly to my home router (IP must be 10., netmask doesn't matter as long as it's valid)
- IP: 10.3.58.9 (I also tested IP 10.3.58.8 just for fun)
- netmask: 255.0.0.0 (I also confirmed that 255.255.255.0 works fine too)
- The router connects to the cRIO via my household Ethernet -> switch -> cRIO
- IP: 192.168.1.1 (doesn't matter what IP or netmask is used)
- netmask: 255.255.255.0
If I wanted to use the Internet, then I would connect Ethernet to my laptop and set the Ethernet port to DHCP.
My Gateway IP for Internet traffic is 71.190.x.y
If you add in a robot bridge, then just use a 10. IP and make sure the SSID/Security matches your router/AP.