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3.10 Multiple AP Repeater Mesh Network
The range of a wireless network can be extended by allowing Access Points to behave as
repeaters and forward traffic to other Access Points. Access Point to Access Point com-
munications is also known as Wireless Distribution System (WDS). The RM-240 offers
very powerful WDS configuration, allowing for a
mesh
network with self-healing and
automatic node discovery. Alternatively, fixed AP to AP links can be configured for opti-
mized throughput.
WDS Access Points require IEEE802.11 4-address mode. 4-address mode may also be
used by RM-240 clients when Ethernet protocols other than IP are to be used – see sec-
tion “3.7 Normal Operation” for more details.
Each RM-240 Access Point supports up to 6 separate
interfaces
for WDS links to other
Access Points.
Current RM-240 firmware supports WEP encryption for WDS links – but does not
support WPA encryption. WEP keys should be the same for all Access Points that are
to communicate with each other.
Each WDS interface can be either a
bridge or router
interface (refer section “1.1 Network
Topology” for more information on bridge vs router). If you need a simple repeater net-
work, use a bridge interface.
A WDS
bridge
interface allows traffic to be bridged to another Access Point on the same
IP network. WDS bridge interfaces do not require additional IP Address configuration, as
they are bridged with the standard
wireless interface
that is used for connections to asso-
ciated clients. All 6 WDS interfaces on the one Access Point may be bridged if required.
RM-240RM-240WDS bridge interfaces have the advantage that redundant paths are
permitted when using the bridge Spanning Tree Protocol (see section “3.9 Spanning Tree
Protocol”), thus providing self-healing characteristics. Bridged networks are also not as
configuration intensive as routed networks. Since WDS bridge interfaces generally do
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