Intellinet 525794, User Manual

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– This mode can be used to connect two networks together. All WDS bridges must be set to the same channel,
SSID, encryption mode and physical mode. Unlike Bridge mode, the mode allows the access point to
communicate with wireless clients and other WDS bridges at the same time. However, do note that due to the
directional antenna characteristics of the Intellinet CPE Access Point, the useable wireless signal is limited to a rather
narrow beam. That is good for point to point connections, but when you want to connect wireless clients that are in
the vicinity of the access point on all sides, not just in the area of the beam, it is not an ideal solution. In such a
situation, the use of an Omni ‐ directional antenna connected to the external antenna connector would be
recommended.
Repeater – In this mode, WPS repeaters re ‐ broadcast an existing wireless signal and by doing so extend the range of
the wireless network. It works pretty much the same way as the universal repeater mode (see section “Operation
Modes”), except the WDS repeater offers some advantages and disadvantages over the standard repeater mode. The
advantage is that the WDS repeater creates a transparent wireless repeated network where the connecting devices’
MAC addresses can successfully pass through the network and access to other network clients. As such, the WDS
repeater connection is ‘invisible’ to the network clients. It’s as if they were connected via a cable. On the other hand,
the universal repeater mode does not provide this transparency, and it is not guaranteed that all clients in the local
network can always properly see each other. Not only that, but when using a universal repeater in combination with a
wireless hotspot (such as Intellinet’s GuestGate MK II), the login or welcome page may not appear correctly for you as
most WiFi hotspot authentication solutions require capturing the MAC address of your tablet, smart phone or laptop
which may not successfully pass through the universal repeater. But WDS, as we heard before, has its own share of
problems: massive performance penalties, poor compatibility to other hardware and reduced security.