michaelS DD-WRT Novice
Joined: 06 May 2012 Posts: 1
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 0:11 Post subject: RT-N13U client bridge |
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I have been reading in this forum that client bridge mode is not supported by the Ralink SOC, but only the repeater bridge mode is supported.
That seems mostly fine, except for the possible loss of some wifi bandwidth.
Given that, is it possible to achieve a similar effect by configuring as a repeater bridge, then bringing down the ra0 interface:
Code: |
ifconfig ra0 down
ifconfig apcli0 down
rmmod rt2860v2_ap
# correct region and country code info
perl -i -pe 's{(CountryRegion=)\s*\d+}{${1}0};s{(CountryCode=).*$}{${1}US};' /tmp/RT2860.dat
insmod rt2860v2_ap
ifconfig ra0 0.0.0.0 up
ifconfig apcli0 0.0.0.0 up
brctl addif br0 apcli0
sleep 1
ifconfig ra0 down # leave down to diable wireless AP connections!
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Traffic continues to pass through apcli0.
Will that achieve the same as a client bridge without the loss of bandwidth? It seems to in my application, but my wifi is a little slow to begin with. |
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ch1291 DD-WRT Novice
Joined: 09 Aug 2012 Posts: 3
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 12:56 Post subject: Edimax BR-6574n as client bridge |
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Thanks for your tip. I have an Edimax BR6574n (Ralink RT2880F) and want a client bridge too. The Edimax factory firmware is supposed to support it (hence my purchase), so I do think client bridge is supported on Ralink chips. Also, these guys https://www.flashrouters.com/blog/2011/07/21/featured-dd-wrt-vpn-router-review-of-the-day-airlink101-670w think so too.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to work, so am trying DD-WRT, but as you found out "Client Bridge" is simply missing from the drop down list of modes, which lead me to your post.
Being in mainland europe, I didn't bother with the country/region code fix and simplified your startup command to "ifconfig ra0 down". This seems to work fine on DD-WRT (R17201) as you found out. BTW: I ignored the vitual interfaces setup in the repeater bridge instructions, why bother? Anyway, DD-WRT brings up an AP with the same SSID as your primary AP, whether you like it or not - no choice. The virtual interface is yet another AP, as you will see with any WiFi scanner.
I now have some performance test results. I'm using 802.11n (only, not mixed), 2.4GHz, dual channel (40MHz/300Mb)), WPA2/AES. My primary router and AP is a Linksys E3200 running the factory firmware. I have ~9" of reinforced concrete floor between the E3200 and the BR6574n (which is why I want a wireless bridge - no cable route practical). I used iperf between a notebook wired to the E3200 and a desktop wired to my new WLAN bridge. I achieved speeds of 22-31Mb, depending on the bridge's antenna orientation and location in the room.
Previously, I had a Powerline setup and only got ~15Mb. Since my ISP (cable) is a reliable 25Mb I wanted more speed in my home LAN, also for my NAS. I have also tried the Linksys WET610N ethernet bridge (my first attempt), but I could only get ~17Mb out of it anywhere, very disappointing - I later figured out the antennae gain (only 1dBi) is probably to blame. So I'm now a fan of external antennae with 3dBi minimum gain!
As a comparison, my notebook (also dual channel) achieved ~37Mb in the same location, so I'm happy enough.
I hope that helps you. |
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