Wireless Bridge
The Wireless Distribution System (WDS) allows you to connect multiple WAP devices. With WDS, the WAP devices communicate with one another wirelessly. This provides a seamless experience for roaming the clients and managing multiple wireless networks. You can configure the WAP device in point-to-point or point-to-multipoint bridge mode based on the number of links to connect.
In the point-to-point mode, the WAP device accepts client associations and communicates with the wireless clients. The WAP device forwards all traffic meant for the other network over the tunnel that is established between the access points. The bridge does not add to the hop count. It functions as a simple OSI Layer 2 network device.
In the point-to-multipoint bridge mode, one WAP device acts as the common link between multiple access points. In this mode, the central WAP device accepts the client associations and communicates with the clients. All other access points associate only with the central WAP device that forwards the packets to the appropriate wireless bridge for routing purposes.
The WAP device can also act as a repeater. In this mode, the WAP device serves as a connection between two WAP devices that may be too far apart to be within cell range. When acting as a repeater, the WAP device does not have a wired connection to the LAN and repeats signals by using the wireless connection. No special configuration is required for the WAP device to function as a repeater, and there are no repeater mode settings. The wireless clients can still connect to an WAP device that is operating as a repeater.
Before you configure WDS on the WAP device, note these guidelines:
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All Cisco WAP devices participating in a WDS link must have the following identical settings:
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Radio
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IEEE 802.11 Mode
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Channel Bandwidth
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Channel (Auto is not recommended)
When operating bridging in the 802.11n 2.4 GHz band, set the Channel Bandwidth to 20 MHz, rather than the default 20/40 MHz. In the 2.4 GHz, 20/40 MHz band, the operating bandwidth can change from 40 MHz to 20 MHz if any 20 MHz WAP devices are detected in the area. The mismatched channel bandwidth can cause the link to disconnect.
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When using WDS, be sure to configure WDS on both WAP devices participating in the WDS link.
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You can have only one WDS link between any pair of WAP devices. That is, a remote MAC address may appear only once on the WDS page for a particular WAP device.