WDS frustration

[hwmonkey]

I am attempting to do something that should be simple. I have an SXT that I want to function as a WDS AP, accepting wireless clients and a WDS repeater. The WDS repeater should accept clients and repeat. All of this should be bridged.

The repeater is not repeating. It is connecting to the wireless interface, not the WDS interface.

HELP!!

Master:

# jan/02/1970 00:27:55 by RouterOS 6.1
# software id = H07S-XF0G
#
/interface bridge
add l2mtu=1600 name=bridge1 protocol-mode=rstp
/interface wireless
set 0 band=2ghz-b/g/n channel-width=20/40mhz-ht-above country="united states" \
    disabled=no distance=1 ht-rxchains=0,1 ht-txchains=0,1 l2mtu=2290 mode=\
    ap-bridge ssid=NewHopeUMC tx-power=10 tx-power-mode=all-rates-fixed \
    wds-default-bridge=bridge1 wds-mode=dynamic wireless-protocol=802.11
/interface ethernet
set 0 name=eth1
/interface wireless nstreme
set wlan1 enable-nstreme=yes enable-polling=no framer-limit=4000 \
    framer-policy=best-fit
/interface wireless security-profiles
set [ find default=yes ] authentication-types=wpa2-psk mode=dynamic-keys \
    supplicant-identity=MikroTik wpa-pre-shared-key=new-hope-rocks \
    wpa2-pre-shared-key=new-hope-rocks
/ip hotspot user profile
set [ find default=yes ] idle-timeout=none keepalive-timeout=2m \
    mac-cookie-timeout=3d
/ip pool
add name=default-dhcp ranges=192.168.88.10-192.168.88.254
add name=dhcp ranges=172.17.1.10-172.17.1.200
/ip dhcp-server
add address-pool=default-dhcp interface=eth1 name=default
/interface bridge port
add bridge=bridge1 interface=eth1
add bridge=bridge1 interface=wlan1 path-cost=50
/ip address
add address=192.168.1.2/24 comment="local ip" interface=bridge1 network=\
    192.168.1.0
/ip dhcp-server network
add address=172.17.1.0/24 comment="Local DHCP" dns-server=172.17.1.1 gateway=\
    172.17.1.1 netmask=24
/ip dns
set allow-remote-requests=yes cache-size=8192KiB max-udp-packet-size=8192 \
    servers=65.24.0.169,8.8.8.8
/ip dns static
add address=192.168.88.1 name=router
/ip firewall connection tracking
set enabled=no
/ip firewall filter
add chain=input comment="default configuration" disabled=yes protocol=icmp
add chain=input comment="default configuration" connection-state=established \
    disabled=yes
add chain=input comment="default configuration" connection-state=related \
    disabled=yes
add action=drop chain=input comment="default configuration" disabled=yes \
    in-interface=wlan1
/ip firewall nat
add action=masquerade chain=srcnat comment="default configuration" \
    out-interface=wlan1 to-addresses=0.0.0.0
/ip route
add distance=1 gateway=192.168.1.1
/ip upnp
set allow-disable-external-interface=no enabled=yes
/system identity
set name=NewHope-SXT-AP
/tool mac-server
set [ find default=yes ] disabled=yes
add interface=eth1
add interface=wlan1
/tool mac-server mac-winbox
set [ find default=yes ] disabled=yes
add interface=eth1
add interface=wlan1

Repeater

# jan/02/1970 01:42:13 by RouterOS 6.1
# software id = WYGH-XAIH
#
/interface bridge
add admin-mac=D4:CA:6D:6C:BB:9F auto-mac=no l2mtu=2290 name=bridge1 \
    protocol-mode=rstp
/interface wireless
set 0 band=2ghz-b/g/n country="united states" disabled=no distance=1 \
    ht-rxchains=0,1 ht-txchains=0,1 l2mtu=2290 mode=station-wds scan-list=\
    2400-2500 ssid=NewHopeUMC tx-power=28 tx-power-mode=all-rates-fixed \
    wds-default-bridge=bridge1 wds-mode=dynamic wireless-protocol=802.11
/interface ethernet
set 0 name=ether1-gateway
set 1 name=ether2-master-local
set 2 master-port=ether2-master-local name=ether3-slave-local
set 3 master-port=ether2-master-local name=ether4-slave-local
set 4 master-port=ether2-master-local name=ether5-slave-local
/interface wireless wds
add disabled=no master-interface=wlan1 name=wds1
/interface wireless nstreme
set wlan1 enable-nstreme=yes
/interface wireless security-profiles
set [ find default=yes ] authentication-types=wpa2-psk eap-methods=\
    passthrough mode=dynamic-keys supplicant-identity=MikroTik \
    wpa-pre-shared-key=new-hope-rocks wpa2-pre-shared-key=new-hope-rocks
/ip hotspot user profile
set [ find default=yes ] idle-timeout=none keepalive-timeout=2m \
    mac-cookie-timeout=3d
/ip pool
add name=default-dhcp ranges=192.168.88.10-192.168.88.254
/ip dhcp-server
add address-pool=default-dhcp interface=bridge1 name=default
/interface bridge port
add bridge=bridge1 interface=ether2-master-local
add bridge=bridge1 interface=wlan1
add bridge=bridge1 interface=ether1-gateway
add bridge=bridge1 interface=wds1 path-cost=5
/ip address
add address=192.168.1.3/24 comment="default configuration" interface=bridge1 \
    network=192.168.1.0
/ip firewall connection tracking
set enabled=no
/ip firewall filter
add chain=forward comment="default configuration" connection-state=\
    established disabled=yes
add chain=forward comment="default configuration" connection-state=related \
    disabled=yes
add chain=forward comment="default configuration" connection-state=invalid \
    disabled=yes
/ip firewall nat
add action=masquerade chain=srcnat comment="default configuration" disabled=\
    yes out-interface=ether1-gateway
/ip route
add distance=1 gateway=192.168.1.1
/system identity
set name=NewHopeUMC-AP
/system leds
set 0 interface=wlan1

[Rudios]

I suppose you should set the repeater to wds-slave on the wlan interface

[hwmonkey]

Thanks. It looks like you may be right. Do you have an explanation (I will try later today, but I like to understand). All that the wiki says is:

These Are Wireless Modes , You Can Use that To Setup A Link or Bridge Link With Them .

AP ( WDS ) — AP ( WDS ) = Link & Bridge
AP — AP = N/A
AP — Bridge = N/A
Bridge — Bridge = N/A
AP — Station = Link
Bridge — Station = Link
AP — Station Bridge = Link & Bridge
AP — Station PseudoBridge = Link & Bridge
AP — Station PseudoBridge Clone = Link & Bridge
AP ( WDS ) — Station WDS = Link & Bridge
Bridge ( WDS ) — Bridge ( WDS ) = Link & Bridge
Bridge — Station Bridge = Link & Bridge
Bridge ( WDS ) — Station WDS = Link & Bridge
Bridge — Station PseudoBridge = Link & Bridge
Bridge — Station PseudoBridge Clone = Link & Bridge
AP ( WDS ) — Wds Slave = Link & Bridge

N/A : With These Modes You Can Not Have A Wireless Link .
WDS : Need To Use WDS To Bridge Two Network .

The manual says:

Station modes:
station - Basic station mode. Find and connect to acceptable AP.
station-wds - Same as station, but create WDS link with AP, using proprietary extension. AP configuration has to allow WDS links with this device. Note that this mode does not use entries in wds.
station-pseudobridge - Same as station, but additionally perform MAC address translation of all traffic. Allows interface to be bridged.
station-pseudobridge-clone - Same as station-pseudobridge, but use station-bridge-clone-mac address to connect to AP.

AP modes:

ap-bridge - Basic access point mode.
bridge - Same as ap-bridge, but limited to one associated client.
wds-slave - Same as ap-bridge, but scan for AP with the same ssid and establishes WDS link. If this link is lost or cannot be established, then continue scanning. If dfs-mode is radar-detect, then APs with enabled hide-ssid will not be found during scanning.

[hwmonkey]

Thank you! That was the right setting.

I still do not fully understand the documentation, especially given that the wiki examples discuss extending the network range using WDS bridge and indicate you should use a slave-wds configuration. For that type of configuration, I do not see why one would want WDS at all. A simple wireless bridge is sufficient in that situation. Anyway, thank again. The WDS-SLAVE is the right setting for a repeater device when extending a wireless coverage area using WDS .

[hwmonkey]

Hopefully someone is still reading this.

On bench tests, the setup works great. The bench test is even semi-real work, with distances nearly matching, the number of walls being penetrated matches, etc. The bench test works GREAT.

Take the equipment to the real world client location and it does not work. I changed the frequency being used for the WDS link on the primary AP (now channel 11) and (accidently) left the wds-slave alone (channel 1) and the link was up and running happily. I changed the wds-slave to channel 11 and the link goes down. Sometimes it reconnects, but the connectivity rate is 104 mbit/1 mbit. This makes NO SENSE to me. If WDS is doing its thing, shouldn’t this be the optimal configuration? In fact, the documentation I see online says that WDS-SLAVE automatically adjusts the operating frequency to match the AP frequency. For scan list, I have 2400-2500 listed.

Signal strength is -57 dbm. Signal to noise is 53 db.TX/RX CCQ is 50-60%

The configuration still matches above, with the exception of the wireless configuration:

Master:
0 R name=“wlan1” mtu=1500 mac-address=00:0C:42:E8:E8:2F arp=enabled
interface-type=Atheros AR92xx mode=ap-bridge ssid=“NewHopeUMC”
frequency=2462 band=2ghz-b/g/n channel-width=20mhz scan-list=default
wireless-protocol=802.11 wds-mode=dynamic wds-default-bridge=bridge1
wds-ignore-ssid=no bridge-mode=enabled default-authentication=yes
default-forwarding=yes default-ap-tx-limit=0 default-client-tx-limit=0
hide-ssid=no security-profile=default compression=no

Slave:

Flags: X - disabled, R - running
0 R name=“wlan1” mtu=1500 mac-address=D4:CA:6D:6C:BB:A3 arp=enabled
interface-type=Atheros AR9300 mode=wds-slave ssid=“NewHopeUMC”
frequency=2462 band=2ghz-b/g/n channel-width=20mhz scan-list=2400-2500
wireless-protocol=802.11 wds-mode=dynamic wds-default-bridge=bridge1
wds-ignore-ssid=no bridge-mode=enabled default-authentication=yes
default-forwarding=yes default-ap-tx-limit=0 default-client-tx-limit=0
hide-ssid=no security-profile=default compression=no


HELP!!

[hwmonkey]

Well, it barely works some of the time… Notice how the TX/RX bounces all over the place. These were 90 seconds apart.

[hwmonkey]

It looks like no one is reading this. For the person who reads it and says “too much interference,” here is the picture to address that concern. The problem does not seem to be interference to me, unless it is self-interference, which WDS should resolve, right??