I’m trying to extend the range of a wireless LAN by using WDS, where the WDS remote node would be a station-bridge feeding Ethernet to a fixed computer. The instructions for setting up WDS say to make the remote an AP bridge, but that’s what the master AP uses. The hardware at both ends is an RB951-2N.
I’ve created WDS interfaces wds1 on both the AP and the bridge, specifying wlan1 as the actual address. I’ve added wds1 to both nodes’ local bridge. The WDS address on both is left at the default 00. The bridge works to the Ethernet port, but WDS doesn’t begin, so wireless stations beyond the remote bridge don’t connect.
Can this be done, or can WDS not share a bridge node? If it can, what am I missing? Thanks.
Both as AP in wds mode. default bridge, bridge. same ssid and freq. Also put the wlan interface to bridge. Then regular non wds should be able to connect. (just make sure they connect to correct AP. Could roame between them. )
I tried to set the station-bridge to AP bridge, but that turned off the station bridge function. I’ve bricked that box a couple of dozen times today and that reset function doesn’t every time, either. Not having a serial port (not that most computers do either nowadays) is an issue, since anything that blocks IP connectivity blocks the ability to adjust the unit. Not to mention the fact that the default address of 192.168.88.1 is outside of the /24 default subnets, so it takes some hacking to get to it.
You can manage RouterBoards on L2 as well, if you are in the same L2 segment, simply click on its MAC address in winbox, and you will connect using MAC, so no L3 is really needed for management
Regarding the wireless, both units need to be manually configured for AP-Bridge, same SSID, same Freq, same security profile and WDS.
You can manage RouterBoards on L2 as well, if you are in the same L2 segment, simply click on its MAC address in winbox, and you will connect using MAC, so no L3 is really needed for management >
Thank you for that advice! I did not see the MAC address; I didn’t realize it was an option I could click through to. But that gave me control of the box.
My subnet is 192.168.123.x, and while it defaults to /24, I manually set it to /17 in order to include 88.x, but that wasn’t working right. I have managed to use Winbox to set the IP address to .123.253, where I want it, and Winbox even sees that as an available address, but it doesn’t actually work. Odd. Neither Winbox nor Webfig responds; I’m only able to manage it via the MAC address. Everything looks normal via Winbox though.
Regarding the wireless, both units need to be manually configured for AP-Bridge, same SSID, same Freq, same security profile and WDS.
When I put the (remote) box in AP-bridge mode, it loses the ability to operate as an Ethernet station bridge. Or does that somehow come back when WDS actually connects? Frankly it was kind of hard to get all the combinations straight via Webfig, since it would lose connectivity, but Winbox via MAC might make experimenting easier.
Just a follow up… Once the WDS actually connected, the bridge did come back up! I’m happy.
I’m still not happy with how erratic connectivity has been, including MAC-based Winbox. At one point that stopped working (I had just changed the name) and I had to do the reset for the 987th time and restart the process…
One more note in case anyone is following this thread…
A couple of days after this was set up, I plugged in my laptop to the base AP (not the WDS node) and DHCP assigned me the wrong address, one from the .88 block used for initial setup. The remote WDS repeater/bridge still had that block in its DHCP server, even though its own address had been moved back to the network’s normal block. And of course its DHCP server shouldn’t have been running anyway; I turned it off, so only the real AP served addresses. So be careful if you copy this procedure.
WDS is a funny thing. The remote radio is operating as an AP to its own local client radios, but acting as a CPE to ethernet-attached devices. The AP side still wants to do some AP router things if you don’t tel it not to, even though it has no address space of its own.
and that reset function doesn’t every time, either. Not having a serial port (not that most computers do either nowadays) is an issue, since anything that blocks IP connectivity blocks the ability to adjust the unit. Not to mention the fact that the default address of 192.168.88.1 is outside of the /24 default subnets, so it takes some hacking to get to it.