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Access Point vs Bridge

Greetings,

According to Google, this has been asked gazillion times before. But somehow I can't seem to wrap my mind around the concept, so please bear with me.

Two scenarios:

  1. Have laptop users access LAN resources through a wireless access point. Dynamic address allocation, authentication, and general merriment courtesy main server box (although a little WAP wouldn't hurt). AP plugs into hub; same subnet.

  1. Connect two ethernetted servers to wireless LAN--wirelessly. WLAN router serves a couple of clients already but resides at the far end of my living space. Again, same subnet; encryption mode is WEP.

AFAIK, scenario 1. calls for a wireless access point, whereas scenario 2. needs a wireless bridge (sitch, hub?). Am I right/wrong, and what are the finer points to watch out for?

Any input greatly appreciated.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Ruebner
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I have a bridge and this is how I did it and why. I have a bunch of computers in the basement that do not have wireless network cards but do have regular network cards. I bought 2 AP's and plugged the 1st into my router and the 2nd in a hub that the computers then plugged into. That way all the computers in the basement connect wirelessly to the router but each does not have to have its own wireless card.

Reply to
f/fgeorge

I did the same thing with different hardware and it works great. In my office, I have a wired 100mb/s network connected to 5 computers, print servers, printers, etc. I added a D-Link DWL-800AP+ setup as an AP. In the Garage, I put a DWL-810+ wireless-to-ethernet bridge (800 with hacked firmware) connected to a 4 port cheap hub. One putput goes to the computer out there, and I have 3 open ports to connect computers I'm fixing - to have an internet connection to download drivers, patches, etc. No way to measure the actual connection speed, but it is greater than my 5mbs cable modem speed. DHCP works fine through the garage hub, which was one of my concerns. You can find these DWL-800's for $25 refurb'd. Rob

Reply to
MrSmiley

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