Solution: To set-up Repeater-Bridge or WDS on Airlink 670W

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bbb_forever
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Oct 2009
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 17:26    Post subject: Reply with quote
chpyeung wrote:

Basically the wireless setting for both routers are the same, except that I have to set the security of the WDS SSID of WRT54G to Disabled. (But the security of WDS SSID of DIR-300 can be WPA2 Personal, I really wonder if there is encryption at the WDS link or not?)


Test: If a wireless client without no security encryption settings can connect (or join) to the WRT54G, then your WDS network is NOT secured nor encrypted.
And your network connection is basically "Open" for the world to use.

If a wireless client cannot connect, then it's probably a bug in the DD-WRT GUI interface or firmware build for one of the routers.

Did you perform the 2 routine tests?
1. Clients on both routers can access the Internet?
2. Clients on both routers can shares files with each other via Windows File Sharing and Network Browsing?

Good luck!

_________________
.
.
Get off my channel, or face the wrath of my 2.4Ghz Wireless-N channel-bonded 40Mhz wide-band interference!

My routers:
- 1 Linksys E3000
- 4 Linksys E2000
- 4 Linksys WRT320n [DD-WRT svn13575 std-nokaid] working well in WDS setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Airlink AR670W [DD-WRT build 14537] working well in WDS setup, 2.4Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Netgear WDNR3300 [DD-WRT svn13577 std-nokaid] working well in AP-Repeater-Bridge setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- Airlink AR325W G-router and Belkin F5D7230-4 v1444 [DD-WRT v23 sp2 micro] working well in Repeater-Bridge setup, G-speeds only.
- D-Link DI-614+ B-router, sitting around, wanna buy it?

Recent fixes timeline:
http://svn.dd-wrt.com:8000/dd-wrt/timeline?from=01%2F11%2F2010&daysback=30&changeset=on&update=Update

Linksys 320n Path: Downloads › others › eko › V24-K26 › svn13575

Airlink AR670W Path: Downloads › others › eko › BrainSlayer-V24-preSP2 › 12-28-09-r13525 › airlink101-ar670w
Sponsor
bbb_forever
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Oct 2009
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 7:36    Post subject: Reply with quote
From:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1712291

Eibgrad wrote,
"Only thing that concerns me though is that WDS has a long history of incompatibility across brands. There isn't a standard WDS implementation and so interoperability can be an issue. When using WDS, it's best to stay within the same brand (sometimes even the same product line) to ensure compatibility. It may work across brands in some cases if you're lucky, but it's always an iffy proposition. Also, because implementation varies, you may encounter other limitations (e.g., won’t support anything but WEP). For these reasons, WDS can be tricky and is often poorly documented (not unusual for the manufacturer to not mention ANY of this, you only discover it after days of failure and frustration). Just beware."

I think he said it well enough.

_________________
.
.
Get off my channel, or face the wrath of my 2.4Ghz Wireless-N channel-bonded 40Mhz wide-band interference!

My routers:
- 1 Linksys E3000
- 4 Linksys E2000
- 4 Linksys WRT320n [DD-WRT svn13575 std-nokaid] working well in WDS setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Airlink AR670W [DD-WRT build 14537] working well in WDS setup, 2.4Ghz N-speeds only.
- 2 Netgear WDNR3300 [DD-WRT svn13577 std-nokaid] working well in AP-Repeater-Bridge setup, 5Ghz N-speeds only.
- Airlink AR325W G-router and Belkin F5D7230-4 v1444 [DD-WRT v23 sp2 micro] working well in Repeater-Bridge setup, G-speeds only.
- D-Link DI-614+ B-router, sitting around, wanna buy it?

Recent fixes timeline:
http://svn.dd-wrt.com:8000/dd-wrt/timeline?from=01%2F11%2F2010&daysback=30&changeset=on&update=Update

Linksys 320n Path: Downloads › others › eko › V24-K26 › svn13575

Airlink AR670W Path: Downloads › others › eko › BrainSlayer-V24-preSP2 › 12-28-09-r13525 › airlink101-ar670w
chpyeung
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 14:23    Post subject: Reply with quote
bbb_forever wrote:
chpyeung wrote:

Basically the wireless setting for both routers are the same, except that I have to set the security of the WDS SSID of WRT54G to Disabled. (But the security of WDS SSID of DIR-300 can be WPA2 Personal, I really wonder if there is encryption at the WDS link or not?)


Test: If a wireless client without no security encryption settings can connect (or join) to the WRT54G, then your WDS network is NOT secured nor encrypted.
And your network connection is basically "Open" for the world to use.

If a wireless client cannot connect, then it's probably a bug in the DD-WRT GUI interface or firmware build for one of the routers.

Did you perform the 2 routine tests?
1. Clients on both routers can access the Internet?
2. Clients on both routers can shares files with each other via Windows File Sharing and Network Browsing?

Good luck!


Yes. The WDS link should be unencrypted, so I have to use different SSID for WDS and set it hidden (not broadcasting). In addition, I have to add wireless MAC filter to WRT54G to limit the wireless client that can be connected to it as precaution.

For the two tests you have mentioned, the first one is YES. For the second one, I don't have laptop for testing yet, but I am confident that it should work because I can access my IP cams connected to both routers wirelessly from internet, my PC connected wired to my DIR-300, and from Nokia Wifi Phone.
RoboPhung
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 09 Sep 2009
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 21:23    Post subject: Why is wifi vlan necessary for wireless clients? Reply with quote
I didn't think creating a wifi vlan was necessary in a wds mesh network in order to connect wireless clients.

BBB, your instructions in post 4 says to create a vlan to connect wireless clients. My wds mesh consists of 3 routers and I have wireless clients throughout my home connect seamlessly to the main SSID (same SSID for all 3 routers), and all my wireless clients detect strong signal throughout so I am assuming that all my wds access points are working as advertised.

Is creating a vlan necessary, or is there some inherent benefit to separating wireless clients into a separate vlan? I've done a lot of searching regarding wifi vlans and its requirement in WDS setups and found nothing concerning it.

And assuming that it is beneficial for me to create a separate vlan, am I creating this vlan on the main host router, or on the separate wds client router closest to the location of the connecting wireless device? Thanks for your help.
bbb_forever
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Oct 2009
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 13:37    Post subject: Re: Why is wifi vlan necessary for wireless clients? Reply with quote
RoboPhung wrote:
I didn't think creating a wifi vlan was necessary in a wds mesh network in order to connect wireless clients.

BBB, your instructions in post 4 says to create a vlan to connect wireless clients. My wds mesh consists of 3 routers and I have wireless clients throughout my home connect seamlessly to the main SSID (same SSID for all 3 routers), and all my wireless clients detect strong signal throughout so I am assuming that all my wds access points are working as advertised.

Is creating a vlan necessary, or is there some inherent benefit to separating wireless clients into a separate vlan? I've done a lot of searching regarding wifi vlans and its requirement in WDS setups and found nothing concerning it.

And assuming that it is beneficial for me to create a separate vlan, am I creating this vlan on the main host router, or on the separate wds client router closest to the location of the connecting wireless device? Thanks for your help.


Creating a VLAN for Wi-Fi clients was mainly necessary in order to get the Repeater-Bridge mode working on the Airlink.

But it's NOT necessarily required for the WDS configuration.

If you got your Wi-Fi clients working in a WDS without creating a VLAN, then so be it. Leave it be.
klak
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 14 Feb 2010
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 6:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
bbb, thanks a lot for this excellent guide. With your help, I now have a solid WDS set up between 2x Airlink AR670W's.

It's a huge upgrade over the bridge I had set up with 2x old Belkin G routers, and the difference is noticeable on the Xbox 360 in the living room (which is the purpose of the WDS).

However, I'm still having issues with connecting wireless devices to the network. I've tried all combinations of Physical Interfaces and Virtual Interfaces that I can think of.

To start with: WPA2 Personal AES with the same SSID (mixed mode) on both routers for ra0 (this works for wired connections on AP1 and AP2).

At this point, I have no vlan. I can see the network in the list of connections on my laptop, but attempting to connect gets me a dreaded 169.254.* address and limited connectivity.

Next, add a vlan, different SSID, no security. I can see the new SSID in the list, but attempting to connect does absolutely nothing. "Windows was unable to connect to..." Doesn't even try to get an IP. Adding security, and even matching that security to the physical interface's security settings does nothing more for me.

I've tried the vlan on AP1 and AP2 separately, and then having it on both at the same time. No joy.

If I set the vlan SSID to be the same as my physical SSID, I get the same behavior as if I were connecting to the physical SSID in the first scenario before I had a vlan set up. So I'm thinking in this case, the vlan is just getting skipped over altogether as it tries to go for the physical.

I'm frequently rebooting both routers, with the Management -> Reboot Router link and by unplugging it, so I can pretty much rule out cached settings or something like that as the issue.

Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated, and I would love for this to be a simple fix, because my head is going to asplode if I bang it on my desk much more. :)

EDIT: A bit more info... I tried WDS first, ran into this issue, so I backtracked, started over and tried R-B (following your guide). R-B let wireless devices connect with no problems, and I could see the connection strength of my R-B router in the wireless list in the Status -> Wireless tab of my main router. However, no pings ever got across the bridge, and I noticed that my R-B router was showing in the DHCP Clients list as having a 192.168.1.122 address, instead of the .1.2 address that I assigned it. I fought with R-B for a while more, then gave up and tried WDS again, only to run into my original problem that I've posted above.
bbb_forever
DD-WRT User


Joined: 10 Oct 2009
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 19:48    Post subject: Reply with quote
klak,

Things to do or check:
1. Turn OFF WPA2 with AES on the router and laptop until you can get your laptop to connect wirelessly (WITHOUT encryption or security settings) to the router. That will remove one of the obstacles.

2. Be sure to check the laptop's wireless adapter's properties, and make all the relevant settings the same as the main router.

- Try same "Manual" channel number, not "Auto".
- Turn OFF wireless security.
- Use same SSID. Use one word and only letters to simplify things. No "space" or "_", or other restricted characters. Keep it short, like 8 letters or less (until you get everything working, then you can change it).

- Put the laptop within 3 feet of the router (until you get the wireless connection established and working) to rule out physical interference or barriers.
- Try Network Mode = G-Only or N-Only, instead of Mixed mode.
- Try manual settings (instead of "Auto" settings).

- State your laptop's brand and model. And read its website support page to see if there are any firmware updates.

- Make sure you only have one DHCP Server on your entire network. If your 2nd router is showing 192.168.1.122, but you set it as 192.168.1.2, then something is different or incorrect in your router settings somewhere.

- If no pings go across the R-B, you probably forgot to turn OFF "Block Anonymous WAN Requests (ping)" on the Security-Firewall tab on the R-B router. So it would block pings from the main AP router.

- You will probably need to setup the 2nd router as a DHCP Forwarder pointing to the IP of a DHCP Server on the main router.

- State the DD-WRT build number you're using on the routers. Use Build 13069 or whatever is the latest build.

- Do NOT use the "Recommended Build" 13064 in the Router Database. That build 13064 is messed-up.
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