Repeating Mode Comparisons
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+ | '''''Wiki Path''''': [[Main_Page|DD-WRT Wiki Main]] / [[Tutorials]] / [[Linking Routers]] / '''Repeating Mode Comparisons''' | ||
__TOC__ | __TOC__ | ||
- | == ''WDS'' vs ''R'' (Repeater) vs ''RB'' (Repeater Bridge) == | + | == ''WDS'' (Wireless Distribution System) vs ''R'' (Repeater) vs ''RB'' (Repeater Bridge) == |
This is a summary of issues related to repeating using "WDS" vs "Repeater" vs "Repeater Bridge" modes. | This is a summary of issues related to repeating using "WDS" vs "Repeater" vs "Repeater Bridge" modes. | ||
- | Please note that some lines require | + | Please note that some lines still require confirmation ("TODO: Confirm"). |
- | If you experiment | + | If you experiment and your results differ from those indicated here, please add comments providing your HW and DD-WRT version. |
- | * On both WDS and R/RB (both R and RB), the repeater can broadcast | + | * On both WDS and R/RB (both R and RB), the repeater and base can broadcast different SSIDs. |
- | ** On WDS, both routers need to have the same SSID, which will be | + | ** On WDS with WPA, both routers need to have the same SSID (TODO: Confirm). |
- | ** On R/RB, the | + | ** On WDS, both routers need to have the same SSID, which will be broadcast by both routers (TODO: Confirm). |
- | ** On R, two | + | ** On R/RB, the base SSID will not only be used for joining the main-router, but also be repeated by the repeater (TODO: Confirm). |
- | ** After RC6.2, virtual interfaces have BSSID with MAC address 02:XX:XX:XX:XX:01 for R mode. If the main-router and the repeater broadcast a BSSID with the same MAC, they | + | ** On R, two SSIDs with the same name will collide (give problems) (TODO: Confirm). On RB, having the same SSID on the main-router and the repeater allows "roaming", ie. keeping a connection active ¿or reconnect? (TODO: CONFIRM) when a client switches to another router. |
- | * WDS and R/RB both will reduce bandwidth in half (but not | + | ** After RC6.2, virtual interfaces have BSSID with MAC address 02:XX:XX:XX:XX:01 for R mode. If the main-router and the repeater broadcast a BSSID with the same MAC, they probably will collide. For RB mode the MAC address is 00:XX:XX:XX:XX:01. - redhawk |
- | * WDS must be configured on both routers (requires access) and | + | * WDS and R/RB both will reduce effective bandwidth in half for all wireless clients (but not for wired clients). Wireless repeating means that each packet is repeated, ie re-transmitted, thereby taking twice as much air time. |
- | * WDS can support WEP, WPA, and WPA2 ( | + | * WDS must be configured on both routers (requires access) and requires a compatible WDS implementation. R/RB only needs to configure the repeater and doesn't rely on the main-router's HW or firmware version. |
- | * WDS supports building a network of routers, where each repeater can connect to multiple other "main-routers" (WAN-routers) at the same time (TODO: Confirm). R/RB only connects to one router at a time, by SSID. Both WDS and R support connecting multiple repeaters in series ("repeat a repeater"), however a RB must connect to a DHCP serving unit. | + | * WDS can support WEP, WPA, and WPA2 Personal (TKIP+AES) as of v24sp1 (and earlier?). [tested with wrt150n1.1 AP + wrt54g6 R] (TODO: test other hardware). R/RB support all encryption algorithms. |
- | * WDS does not perform MAC address translation (MAT). R/RB does translate MACs : the main-router sees all connections from | + | * WDS supports building a network of routers, where each repeater can connect to multiple other "main-routers" (WAN-routers) at the same time (TODO: Confirm). R/RB only connects to one router at a time, by SSID. Both WDS and R support connecting multiple repeaters in series ("repeat a repeater"), however a RB must connect to a DHCP serving unit (UPDATE - it is now possible to connect and RB through another RB unit now svn11296 tested 01/09/09- redhawk) (TODO: Clarify - does this have anything to do with DHCP, or does it mean "each RB will only connect to a wired (non-repeating) AP"? Clarification: Yes it has something to do with DHCP. It will connect to a regular repeater (R) just fine. See [http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=36197&p=208768#208768 here] for further info.) |
+ | * WDS does not perform MAC address translation (MAT). R/RB does translate MACs : the main-router sees all connections from clients which connects through the repeater belonging to the same MAC as the repeater. This causes problems with some applications which rely on a MAC address. | ||
==I'm still confused! Which mode should I use?== | ==I'm still confused! Which mode should I use?== | ||
Line 22: | Line 24: | ||
*Use [[WDS Linked router network|WDS]] if | *Use [[WDS Linked router network|WDS]] if | ||
- | **you have control over all routers '''and''' they each have compatible WDS implementations. | + | **you have control over all routers '''and''' they each have compatible WDS implementations(BCM to BCM or QCA to QCA; No mixing). |
**you want to repeat your wireless signal and/or connect multiple networks together. | **you want to repeat your wireless signal and/or connect multiple networks together. | ||
*Use R ([[Wlan Repeater|Repeater]]) if | *Use R ([[Wlan Repeater|Repeater]]) if | ||
Line 31: | Line 33: | ||
**your host router/access point doesn't support WDS. | **your host router/access point doesn't support WDS. | ||
**you want to repeat a wireless signal and have all clients on the same network (same subnet). | **you want to repeat a wireless signal and have all clients on the same network (same subnet). | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Router Mode Comparison Table== | ||
+ | {| style="font-size: 100%; text-align:center;" border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 class="wikitable" | ||
+ | |-style="background-color:#eee;" | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | WDS | ||
+ | | Client Mode | ||
+ | | Client Bridge | ||
+ | | Repeater | ||
+ | | Repeater Bridge | ||
+ | | Two routers (1 Client Mode, 1 AP Mode) | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Requires admin control over all routers, and the routers must have compatible WDS implementations | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Does not require control over host access point/routers; can connect to a host you don't control | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Supports multiple wired client devices | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' * | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' * | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Supports multiple wireless client devices | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' * | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Bandwidth is halved for wireless clients | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | n/a | ||
+ | | n/a | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | Not if you use two channels | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | All routers and clients share the same subnet | ||
+ | | in LAN mode | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Each router is on its own subnet with its client devices | ||
+ | | in P2P mode | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Creates a true transparent bridge compatible with all protocols | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Uses MAC address translation (MAT) (proxy ARP) (not compatible with some applications and protocols that depend on MAC addresses) (potential ARP problems) * | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' * | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' * | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Allows different SSID on repeated network | ||
+ | | depends on encryption choice | ||
+ | | n/a | ||
+ | | n/a | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Encryption support | ||
+ | | WEP, WPA2 (caveats) | ||
+ | | any | ||
+ | | any | ||
+ | | any | ||
+ | | any | ||
+ | | any | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Can repeat signal from a wireless ISP | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | | Can repeat a weak wireless signal in a hotel | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | | '''•''' | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | |||
+ | |} | ||
+ | |||
+ | '''*''' As some problems only surface when multiple client devices are connected, having only one client device is a way to resolve some compatibility issues. | ||
== See Also == | == See Also == | ||
- | + | Linking Routers Category below. | |
- | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Routing]] |
+ | [[Category:Wlan]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Linking Routers]] |
Current revision
Wiki Path: DD-WRT Wiki Main / Tutorials / Linking Routers / Repeating Mode Comparisons
Contents |
[edit] WDS (Wireless Distribution System) vs R (Repeater) vs RB (Repeater Bridge)
This is a summary of issues related to repeating using "WDS" vs "Repeater" vs "Repeater Bridge" modes. Please note that some lines still require confirmation ("TODO: Confirm"). If you experiment and your results differ from those indicated here, please add comments providing your HW and DD-WRT version.
- On both WDS and R/RB (both R and RB), the repeater and base can broadcast different SSIDs.
- On WDS with WPA, both routers need to have the same SSID (TODO: Confirm).
- On WDS, both routers need to have the same SSID, which will be broadcast by both routers (TODO: Confirm).
- On R/RB, the base SSID will not only be used for joining the main-router, but also be repeated by the repeater (TODO: Confirm).
- On R, two SSIDs with the same name will collide (give problems) (TODO: Confirm). On RB, having the same SSID on the main-router and the repeater allows "roaming", ie. keeping a connection active ¿or reconnect? (TODO: CONFIRM) when a client switches to another router.
- After RC6.2, virtual interfaces have BSSID with MAC address 02:XX:XX:XX:XX:01 for R mode. If the main-router and the repeater broadcast a BSSID with the same MAC, they probably will collide. For RB mode the MAC address is 00:XX:XX:XX:XX:01. - redhawk
- WDS and R/RB both will reduce effective bandwidth in half for all wireless clients (but not for wired clients). Wireless repeating means that each packet is repeated, ie re-transmitted, thereby taking twice as much air time.
- WDS must be configured on both routers (requires access) and requires a compatible WDS implementation. R/RB only needs to configure the repeater and doesn't rely on the main-router's HW or firmware version.
- WDS can support WEP, WPA, and WPA2 Personal (TKIP+AES) as of v24sp1 (and earlier?). [tested with wrt150n1.1 AP + wrt54g6 R] (TODO: test other hardware). R/RB support all encryption algorithms.
- WDS supports building a network of routers, where each repeater can connect to multiple other "main-routers" (WAN-routers) at the same time (TODO: Confirm). R/RB only connects to one router at a time, by SSID. Both WDS and R support connecting multiple repeaters in series ("repeat a repeater"), however a RB must connect to a DHCP serving unit (UPDATE - it is now possible to connect and RB through another RB unit now svn11296 tested 01/09/09- redhawk) (TODO: Clarify - does this have anything to do with DHCP, or does it mean "each RB will only connect to a wired (non-repeating) AP"? Clarification: Yes it has something to do with DHCP. It will connect to a regular repeater (R) just fine. See here for further info.)
- WDS does not perform MAC address translation (MAT). R/RB does translate MACs : the main-router sees all connections from clients which connects through the repeater belonging to the same MAC as the repeater. This causes problems with some applications which rely on a MAC address.
[edit] I'm still confused! Which mode should I use?
The following are just some general guidelines for helping you choose the proper repeater mode.
- Use WDS if
- you have control over all routers and they each have compatible WDS implementations(BCM to BCM or QCA to QCA; No mixing).
- you want to repeat your wireless signal and/or connect multiple networks together.
- Use R (Repeater) if
- you don't have control over the host access point/router.
- you want to repeat a wireless signal coming from your ISP.
- you're staying at a hotel and want to boost an otherwise weak wireless signal to your laptop.
- Use RB (Repeater Bridge) if
- your host router/access point doesn't support WDS.
- you want to repeat a wireless signal and have all clients on the same network (same subnet).
[edit] Router Mode Comparison Table
WDS | Client Mode | Client Bridge | Repeater | Repeater Bridge | Two routers (1 Client Mode, 1 AP Mode) | |
Requires admin control over all routers, and the routers must have compatible WDS implementations | | |||||
Does not require control over host access point/routers; can connect to a host you don't control | | | | | | |
Supports multiple wired client devices | | | * | | * | |
Supports multiple wireless client devices | | | * | | ||
Bandwidth is halved for wireless clients | | n/a | n/a | | | Not if you use two channels |
All routers and clients share the same subnet | in LAN mode | | | |||
Each router is on its own subnet with its client devices | in P2P mode | | | | ||
Creates a true transparent bridge compatible with all protocols | | |||||
Uses MAC address translation (MAT) (proxy ARP) (not compatible with some applications and protocols that depend on MAC addresses) (potential ARP problems) * | * | * | ||||
Allows different SSID on repeated network | depends on encryption choice | n/a | n/a | | | |
Encryption support | WEP, WPA2 (caveats) | any | any | any | any | any |
Can repeat signal from a wireless ISP | | | | |||
Can repeat a weak wireless signal in a hotel | | | | |
* As some problems only surface when multiple client devices are connected, having only one client device is a way to resolve some compatibility issues.
[edit] See Also
Linking Routers Category below.