Configuring a distributed wireless system using WDS modes

Thanks to WDS (Wireless Distribution System) technology, access points (WAP) can connect to any Wi-Fi device as well as to each other, expanding the coverage area. Modes required to create technology infrastructure are Wi-Fi-bridge and repeater mode (repeater).

Setup can be carried out in two modes: bridge and repeater

The advantages of using this technology:

  • easy setup and connection;
  • allows you to get rid of the need to pull tens or even hundreds of meters of wires;
  • no need to drill the walls to lay the cable;
  • access to the World Wide Web and network-connected equipment where there is no wired Internet.

WDS application

The connection speed by “air” is influenced by the remoteness of the Wi-Fi device from the signal source, the presence of interference due to different objects, including walls, so the use of several WAPs that are on the same network at once allows you to avoid possible problems, since the whole room will be represent one zone. This is especially true for large areas, apartments, as well as houses with thick walls of concrete.

Since the bridge mode allows you to connect several networks working in different houses, you can use the bridge to communicate not just with the neighboring house, but even with rather remote warehouses, as well as with offices or, for example, organize monitoring of the house or cottage. Of course, the longer the created channel (link) is, the more expensive it will be, but the goal will justify the means.

WDS Wireless Bridge Mode for Long Distance

Wireless bridge mode is another WAP function that implies a more complex configuration of all network elements, but if you do everything carefully and in order, then there will be no problems.

A characteristic feature of this WDS mode is that data transmission over the “air” is established only between the equipment itself. Everything is connected to it via cable. It allows you to easily connect all sorts of home appliances via Ethernet, then manage them from a decent distance. It is undesirable that the maximum possible number of involved devices exceed 30 elements, otherwise the connection speed will significantly decrease. If you need to connect a greater number of client devices, then you can think about the use of several infrastructures Wireless Distribution System.

WDS repeater mode (repeater) for advanced features

The repeater mode allows you to attach to WAP not only another point, but also a variety of wireless devices (adapters).

Enable WDS

It’s not so difficult to turn on the Wireless Distribution System, and in order to surely eliminate the risk of incompatibility problems, it is recommended to create an infrastructure based on devices, if not just one manufacturer, then at least similar to each other. This is especially true of IEEE 802.11 standards. The use of adapters, working with different standards, can lead to a loss of speed, so it is better to use the same type of equipment.

Configure the access point

The access point acts as the main element of the Wi-Fi network. It can be presented as a standalone device or be built into the router. Of course, to enable WDS, it is logical to start setting it up with it, while remembering that you need to configure each of all involved in the creation of a wireless infrastructure.

It is worth recalling that such an autonomous device serves as a base station (BS), with the ability to be the main, remote, as well as a relay.

  • Primary base stations are used for wired connections to the global network.
  • Remote allows you to connect to various devices via Wi-Fi.
  • The relays are responsible for amplifying as well as relaying the communication between the main base stations and the remote ones.

First you need to know the IP address of the autonomous device (router, router), as well as the default login with a password. All these data are usually taken from the instructions for the equipment, so there should be no difficulties.

After this stage, we connect the PC to the base station via Ethernet. It is important to set the PC a static IP address, using the same subnet in which the address of the WAP being established is located (the numbers after the last dot change), specify the mask 255.255.255.0. The IP address setting is available in TCP / IP properties.

Now the WAP (or router) control panel interface can be opened using a regular browser, however, sometimes you have to turn off the firewall on a connected PC in advance to ensure correct access. The appearance and functions of the interface depend on the hardware model.

So, the next step on a PC connected to the BS is to open a browser, enter the IP address of the desired AP into the search box. The panel we need will open, where you will need to enter a login with the password requested by the authorization form, having logged in, you can proceed to the subsequent setup.

Through the control panel, you can easily change the WAP address so that each of those used has its own IP, but within the subnet.

  • choose the type of wireless network - you need to specify the preferred wireless standard IEEE, based on the parameters of the equipment;
  • the frequency channel number is the same for all BSs or the automatic selection is made;
  • we set a special identifier SSID (it is desirable to give such a name so that it can be easily identified later);
  • Rate parameter is responsible for the connection speed (it is better to leave it in the auto selection position).

Configuring client adapters to work in WDS mode

For the configuration of the wireless adapter (client) is usually used software developed specifically for a particular device. When connecting several client devices, it is absolutely necessary to take into account that each of them must have its own specific static address within the same subnet that was used for setting up base stations.

To connect a wireless device, you need to create a profile of the new connection by "air", where we enter the name of the profile itself and the Wi-Fi infrastructure to which you want to connect. The number of newly created profiles should correspond to the number of networks united in WDS.

WDS setup

To complete the WDS configuration process, we open the WAP settings again, where we select the appropriate configuration on the required tab. It is possible that it may not be specified - this can only mean that the default point will work as a repeater.

Find the fields to specify the MAC addresses of the points with which the device being configured is allowed to work. Here you need to enter the MAC addresses of the base stations working in WDS.

Finding the MAC address of the access point is very simple - you just need to open the connection properties of the desired profile.

WDS security

To protect against unexpected guests, it is strongly recommended to apply filtering by MAC addresses, then hide the SSID, then encode the data using WEP (WPA in the Wireless Distribution System is not supported) first in the settings of all access points and then in the options of the connected devices.

The command ipconfig / all, typed in the command line, will show the IP and MAC addresses for client devices. Having opened the wifi point configuration interface, we fill in the list of allowed addresses with ours, thereby setting the connection lock for all other unknown devices.

Security and encryption are also configured through the control panel of the stand-alone device. For the smooth operation of the infrastructure, it is necessary to specify the same encoding method and key in the options of all base stations.

WDS Check

If everything was connected correctly, the connected devices will be able to work with each other through the network.