Multi location (more than one wireless bridge) setup

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careh
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Joined: 26 Feb 2010
Posts: 13

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 18:56    Post subject: Multi location (more than one wireless bridge) setup Reply with quote
Is it possible to have a multiple wireless bridge / AP setup? The situation is a spread out summer camp where running Ethernet cable between the various buildings is not possible due to the terrain.

What we would like to do is have a wireless bridge from one location where the main router is to a second location (we know that is possible as we have tried it in a test).

Then to have a switch at that second location that connects multiple AP's that have directional antennas to cover the area surrounding the second location AND then - on one of the switch ports - to have another wireless bridge going out to a third location... with another switch at that third location and more directional AP's connected to the switch to cover the area surrounding the third location.

Our equipment is all Buffalo WHR-HP-G54's inside outdoor directional antenna enclosures. The Buffalos are loaded with DD-WRT V24-SP2.

We have done a successful test of one wireless bridge - we could connect to it either wirelessly or wired and get to the Internet....

We were only partially successful when connecting a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 wireless AP to the switch at the second location. A computer connected via Ethernet cable to that AP could reach the Internet -going through the wireless bridge then through the router and then out to the Internet- but if we tried to connect via wireless to the AP at the second location - it took a long time to connect and then we could not ping the router 192.168.1.1 nor could we access the Internet. Once connected to the AP wirelessly, we still could ping and access the wireless bridge AP's.

If we connected to the main router back at the first location then we could access the AP at the second location so we suspect there is something we are missing in the setup of the AP for wireless.

We tried following the instructions in 'Wireless Access Point' for setting up the AP at the second location but we got the same 'no Internet' result.
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careh
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 26 Feb 2010
Posts: 13

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 20:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
..additional information.. In my first post I neglected to mention that my house setup - where I am doing the testing is:

A cable modem set in bridge mode
connected via Ethernet cable to my Asus main router
connected via Ethernet cable to a switch
connected via Ethernet cable to a Buffalo AP (call it #1)
that Buffalo AP #1 connects via wireless to Buffalo AP #2
Buffalo AP#2 is set to client bridge mode
Buffalo AP#3 is connected to Buffalo AP#2 via Ethernet cable.

and the issue I was having is that I could not get to the Internet through a wireless connection to Buffalo AP#3. I could by plugging my PC into Buffalo AP#3 via an Ethernet cable.....

I tried just now moving the Buffalo AP#1 off of my 'Cable modem / Asus Router / Switch' to a cellular Rocket Hub - which is a device that connects to the cell network and has a built in router. I *was* able to access the Internet from Buffalo AP#3 in wireless mode using that setup. This makes me wonder if there is a 'bridge' limit that is going to prevent me from having the second bridge 'hop' I was planning on.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 21:23    Post subject: Reply with quote
careh wrote:
and the issue I was having is that I could not get to the Internet through a wireless connection to Buffalo AP#3. I could by plugging my PC into Buffalo AP#3 via an Ethernet cable.....
Bridge limit -> no. Smile
Your map is a bit confusing; Client Bridge isn't an Access Point. So you have this (- is wired and ~ is wifi):
Modem(bridge mode)---Asus(GW router)---switch---G54_1(AP)~~~G54_2(CB)---G54_2(AP)

I'd guess the problem is your Client Bridge isn't set up right; do the optional steps, this is often the issue. Also make sure you didn't duplicate an IP or set the wrong GW/DNS address for all the devices.

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careh
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 26 Feb 2010
Posts: 13

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:12    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks!! - I tried a second bridge - and it works!!

Using: (- is wired and ~ is wifi) The sequence is:

Rocket Hub (GW router)---G54_1(AP)~~~G54_2(CB)---G54_3(AP)---G54_4(AP)~~~G54_5(CB)---G54_6(AP)

2 wireless bridges exist ...
~~~ between G54_1(AP) and G54_2(CB)
and
~~~ between G54_4(AP) and G54_5(CB)

G54_3(AP) and G54_6(AP) act as switches and local wireless access points ..and my plan would be to add additional AP's to these 2 locations for additional wireless coverage (for all those low power devices people have these days).

I re-tried this with my modem---Asus---switch--- setup and it still failed with wireless access not working to G54_3(AP) and G54_6(AP) - my guess is there is some issue /setting in the Asus but that is OK as we don't have an Asus out at the camp where this is going.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 2:25    Post subject: Reply with quote
careh wrote:
I re-tried this with my modem---Asus---switch--- setup and it still failed with wireless access not working to G54_3(AP) and G54_6(AP)
How is the bridged-mode modem set up? What is providing DHCP? The issue I usually see is from not setting DNS to point to the gateway ( #17 ). I'd also recommend setting WAN as LAN ( #18 ), as it makes needing to reset much easier to deal with.
_________________
# NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD # Repeater issues # DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo #
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
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|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
careh
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 26 Feb 2010
Posts: 13

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 21:10    Post subject: Reply with quote
I called the cable company & they said the modem had not been set up correctly for bridged mode - they made a change last night - I retried the test today - it still failed...(meaning I could not get Internet on the 2 wireless AP's along the bridge chain)


What question would I ask them about the bridge mode?

DHCP is done in the ASUS router.

I have all the Buffalo devices set with both DNS and Gateway pointing to the 192.168.1.1 Asus router.
jwh7
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 25 Oct 2013
Posts: 2670
Location: Indy

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 22:35    Post subject: Reply with quote
careh wrote:
DHCP is done in the ASUS router.

I have all the Buffalo devices set with both DNS and Gateway pointing to the 192.168.1.1 Asus router.
What WAN/Internet address does the Asus show? What are all the IP's of the LAN devices? You have all the G54's set to 'Routing' mode (not Gateway) in the Networking tab (I think)? And...you don't have any old scripts setup right; startup/firewall/...?
_________________
# NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD # Repeater issues # DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo #
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250
|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
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