Good wireless bridge?
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Posted by James Knott on April 30, 2005, 4:58 pm
Please log in for more thread options Airhead wrote: >> So a router can be used in Client mode? It can talk to APs?
>
> Only if it supports AP Client Mode otherwise a wireless router AP > wont talk to another wireless router AP. The other issue is how many > MACs will an AP client pass.. 1 for sure, note the word client and not > clients. AP client mode is really acting as a wireless adapter > converting > a non-wireless device to wireless. Allot of devices such as myWAP54G > use WDS and has AP, Bridge, Repeater and Client mode. > Repeater mode and Client mode will talk to an AP, Bridge mode > talks to another bridge. FWIW, there are some Linksys models than run on Linux and can be configured to do things far beyond what the designers intended. There is even one package available, that's essentially a "hot spot in a box", for use in a coffee shop etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by DaveC on April 30, 2005, 5:47 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 05:25:03 -0700, Airhead wrote > Repeater mode and Client mode will talk to an AP, Bridge mode talks to
> another bridge. Thanks for that. Now that I've got the terminology down, I'm looking for a device (regardless of what it's called) that can operate in client mode. Since I the existing remote AP cannot be changed, bridge mode it out of the question. I like a lot of the D-Link devices, many of which operate in client mode. Thanks again, -- Please, no "Go Google this" replies. I wouldn't ask a question here if I hadn't done that already. DaveC me@privacy.net This is an invalid return address Please reply in the news group | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by James Knott on April 30, 2005, 4:56 pm
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Philip J. Koenig wrote: > A WiFi access point is simply an ethernet to WiFi bridge, so I
> assume what the OP wants is just a recommendation for a WiFi AP? > > Since WiFi AP's these days tend to be more expensive than WiFi > routers, and because (according to Jeff Liebermann) most WiFi > routers have an undocumented "AP" mode which can be used simply > by plugging an ethernet cable into the LAN side and leaving the > WAN side unconnected, you may want to consider that direction > if price is an issue. > > What I did, was connect a Wifi router to a 3rd NIC on my Linux firewall. This way, Wifi is outside my firewall and the only way in, is via ssh or VPN. I also have WEP enabled. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by John R Pierce on May 2, 2005, 9:22 pm
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On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 17:17:14 -0700, Philip J. Koenig >
>Since WiFi AP's these days tend to be more expensive than WiFi >routers, and because (according to Jeff Liebermann) most WiFi >routers have an undocumented "AP" mode which can be used simply >by plugging an ethernet cable into the LAN side and leaving the >WAN side unconnected, you may want to consider that direction >if price is an issue. Most routers do NOT support client mode, however, which is needed for the far end of a bridge, at least not without doing custom linux firmware hacking or whatever. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Walter Roberson on April 29, 2005, 6:47 pm
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:I want a wireless bridge (is that redundant?) No, most WiFi equipment these days does not have a briding mode [at least not in the shipped versions.] Some of the more stable and reliable bridges that have been on the market for years are quite restricted as to which systems they will connect to -- sometimes only to the exact same model, sometimes only to devices by the same manufacturer. Wireless bridges that follow a standard and so should interoperate [in theory] use 'WDS', "Wireless Distribution Standard". If a device you are examining does not advertise WDS, then it isn't the right one for you [short of replacing the firmware]; if the devices you want to connect to are not WDS, then you might not be able to connect to them from anything other than a device made by the same manufacturer. :to act as an ethernet :converter, connecting to different brand APs (one at a time, of course). :Would like to buy only 1 bridge and have it work with other brands of APs. An :external antenna connector would be a plus. :I hear good things about D-Link's DWL-900AP+, rev C. I have no particular models to suggest at the moment, just general comments: 1) Read the reviews in places like pcmag and tomsnetworking and amazon . When I was last looking around a few weeks ago, it was quite discouraging: the top-rated consumer-level 802.11g devices were at 6 out of 10 or less in customer satisfaction. Mass sales is no guarantee of quality. 2) Read the reviews again, and read the informal reports in places like alt.internet.wireless and dslreports.com, this time with a view to what customers are saying about their support experiences with the companies. -My- quick summary, looking at those reports, would be "If one of the devices works for you in -your- circumstances, then Great! -- but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone. If you are having a problem with it, and it is from any of the well-known commodity WiFi manufacturers, chances are that you will be disenchanted by the support organization, with a significant chance that you will end up swearingly up and down that you will never EVER buy from that manufacturer again." Or to put things another way: If it works for you, then it works for you; if it doesn't work for you, then be prepared to throw it out (or sell it on eBay). You seldom get serious support attention from a WiFi manufacturer unless you have paid several times the going commodity-device price. -- History is a pile of debris -- Laurie Anderson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
