MikroTik

Can someone please explaing what the difference between WDS dynamic and static is ?

and ...
When should I use ap-bridge
When should I use bridge
When should I use station
When should I use alignment only
When should I use wds-station
When should I use wds-slave

Here is what I am trying to achieve...

I have 2 access points with 2 radios in each - 1 80211a (wlan2) & 80211b (wlan1)

I would like the two access points to communicate with each other using 80211a (wlan2) and broadcast to my clients using 80211b (wlan1).

The first access point has an adsl connection plugged into ether1.

If possible I would like 1 SSID broadcast so as not to confuse my hotspot customers.

Can someone please point me in the right direction ?

wds-mode (disabled | dynamic | static) - WDS mode:
disabled - WDS interfaces are disabled
dynamic - WDS interfaces are created 'on the fly'
static - WDS interfaces are created manually

mode (alignment-only | ap-bridge | bridge | nstreme-dual-slave | station | station-wds | wds-slave; default: station) - operating mode:
alignment-only - this mode is used for positioning antennas (to get the best direction)
ap-bridge - the interface is operating as an Access Point
bridge - the interface is operating as a bridge. This mode acts like ap-bridge with the only difference being it allows only one client
nstreme-dual-slave - the interface is used for nstreme-dual mode
station - the interface is operating as a client
station-wds - the interface is working as a station, but can communicate with a WDS peer
wds-slave - the interface is working as it would work in ap-bridge mode, but it adapts to its WDS peer's frequency if it is changed

You may use the following configuration examples to achieve your scenario,
http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Wireless_repeater

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oh... i c

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Can someone please explaing what the difference between WDS dynamic and static is ?

With WDS static you have to declare the MAC address of the ap on twice site, with dinamic you have to declare nothing (but with this your network will be easier to spoof).

When should I use ap-bridge

Access point mode.

When should I use bridge

Don't know...i tryed it between two ap (first bridge-bridge mode and then apbridge-bridge mode), but it doesn't work. May be i committed some error....

When should I use station

Client mode.

When should I use alignment only

When you want to associate your client to your ap, place your ap in "alignment only" mode, and your client on "aligment" or "scanning", and the align operation will be easier.

When should I use wds-station

When you want to associate your client to your ap on wds mode, but you don't want your client act as an ap.

When should I use wds-slave

Don't know, sorry, never tried.

Here is what I am trying to achieve...

I have 2 access points with 2 radios in each - 1 80211a (wlan2) & 80211b (wlan1)

I would like the two access points to communicate with each other using 80211a (wlan2) and broadcast to my clients using 80211b (wlan1).

The first access point has an adsl connection plugged into ether1.

If possible I would like 1 SSID broadcast so as not to confuse my hotspot customers.

Can someone please point me in the right direction ?

Place your ap in "ap-bridge" mode, and your client on "WDS-station" (dynamic WDS) mode.
P.S.
I wrote "and your client on "WDS-station" (dynamic WDS) mode" becouse this will let you use Nstreme.
If you use "WDS static", Nstreme won't work (Mikrotik bug).

EDIT:
We have answer all in the same time!

OK just so I am crystal clear on this can some one fill in the question marks for me ?

MASTER AP - With Hotspot
----------------------------------------------------------
Interface Mode WDs-Mode Frequency
WLAN1 ? ? 2.4Ghz
WLAN2 ? ? 5Ghz

SEONDARY AP
----------------------------------------------------------
Interface Mode WDs-Mode Frequency
WLAN1 ? ? 2.4Ghz
WLAN2 ? ? 5Ghz

Where mode can be (alignment-only | ap-bridge | bridge | nstreme-dual-slave | station | station-wds | wds-slave; default: station) -
and wds-mode can be disabled, dynamic, static

NB. Assuming I want to communicate between AP's using WLAN2's

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Hello,
when you are planning your divices as roam of your hotspot, only Transparant Network will help you.
Dynamic or Static wds isn't problem

Dynamic wds: [AP2STATION-WDS]
create bridge interface
master-ap mode=ap-bridge wds-mode=dynamic default-wds-bridge=[your_bridge_interface_name]
second-ap mode=station-wds

Static wds: [AP2AP]
master-ap mode=ap-bridge wds-mode=static
second-ap mode=ap-bridge wds-mode=static
create wds interface every ap, after establised you can bridge them to ethernet

mode=station wds-mode=disabled

search again at manual top this page. and about Wireless and Access Point detail for.


regards
Hasbullah.com
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thank you to all who replied - finally got it working.

For those who are interested....here is my configuration

MASTER AP
=======================
WLAN 1 - Ap Bridge - 2.4Ghz - WDS-Mode=disabled SSID=hotspot
WLAN 2 - Ap Bridge - 5Ghz - WDS-Mode=dynamic ssid=backhaul

Bridge created containing WLAN1 & WLAN2

Created Hotspot on the Bridge <---- important to create on bridge not WLAN1 interface

REPEATER AP
========================
WLAN 1 - Ap Bridge - 2.4Ghz - WDS-Mode=disabled ssid=hotspot
WLAN 2 - Station-wds - 5Ghz - WDS-Mode=disabled ssid=backhaul

Bridge created containing WLAN1 & WLAN2

Tested roaming between access points and it seems to work ok - small period of disconnectivity

Cheers

nice topic of the confusing WDS , let assume this scenario :

AP1--AP2--AP3

and we want AP1--AP3 also ..

would AP2 stay in station-wds mode ?

its a simple mesh , so whats the mode here for the wds link ( using dual radio in each AP ) ?

Based on my limited but fast growing knowlege on this topic I would think the following.

If you want AP2--AP3 then I think you would need to put WLAN2 (5ghz) into AP-Bridge modem and change WDS-Mode to dynamic.

If you want AP1--AP3 then you could just copy the settings from AP2

Have I answered your question ???

Yes, it is correct, if you wish that AP2 can connect to AP1 and as well serve as other clients such as AP3.
Station-wds does not allow to accomplish this, mode=ap-bridge or wds-slave should be used for this.

Judging from the configuration it would appear that all traffic on all APs would be broadcast somewhat simultaneously, the exact same information.

Is this true sergejs ??

If so then I would have to say that WDS should only be used where is must be used, and avoided everywhere else, in order to keep the network running optimal.

Is this also true sergejs ??

thanks friends , but i think i wasnt very clear , its a mesh WDS ,not a STAR WDS , each one of my nodes (AP) has dual radio's 2.4g for clients and 5G for linking the nodes , and i just want the 3 AP's to connect to each other , one of them let's say AP1 is connected by wire to internet source ...now whats the mode for each one of the 3 AP's ?