WDS link and security

Hello group,

Not sure it is the right group for this, but it seems to be the best one
my newsserver has to offer.

I discovered that my old router (Dlink DGL-4300) and new router (Dlink
DIR-655) support WDS linking, also called "repeater mode".

However, WDS linking doesn't work with WPA, only with WEP, which isn't
secure enough.

Is there a workaround? Or should I wire access points to my router ?

Lorenzo

Repeater mode halves the signal since it has to repeat in both
directions. The 655 (Draft N) here has a much better range than the
4300. What is the environment you are trying to cover?



On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:24:21 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Hello group,
>
>Not sure it is the right group for this, but it seems to be the best one
>my newsserver has to offer.
>
>I discovered that my old router (Dlink DGL-4300) and new router (Dlink
>DIR-655) support WDS linking, also called "repeater mode".
>
>However, WDS linking doesn't work with WPA, only with WEP, which isn't
>secure enough.
>
>Is there a workaround? Or should I wire access points to my router ?
>
>Lorenzo
--

Barb Bowman
MS Windows-MVP
Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

Barb Bowman wrote:
> Repeater mode halves the signal since it has to repeat in both
> directions. The 655 (Draft N) here has a much better range than the
> 4300. What is the environment you are trying to cover?

That is what I thought too, but it is not what I observe. My house has 2
floors, and the DIR-655 is upstairs. The signal downstairs is reported
as 300Mbps and "good", but when looking at the "Status" page in the
router's configuration page, the downstairs WLAN clients are in
36-54Mbps mode, with a signal ranging from 15 to 35%, sometimes lower.

I still haven't solved my problem. When I plug a D-link 108Mbps WLAN
card in my laptop, I get 54 Mbps (as expected) and tranfer rates of 2.5
MB/sec from an upstairs computer (wired to the router). When I replace
the old NIC with the DWA-645 NIC, my connection speed is reported to be
300Mbps, but transfers are slow as hell, 500-800kb/sec, from the same
computer as before, in the same spot.

I am still waiting for my DWA-652 to arrive, assuming the DWA-645 is
faulty, but when in a short range upstairs, the DWA-645 is able to
transfer up to 25MB/sec or more, so it's working correctly.

The DGL-4300 gave me excellent coverage on both floors (with a M60AT
antenna), with 108Mbps signal rated "good" also, and up to 6MB/sec
downstairs, so 10 times better than my 802.11n draft setup.

I thought I could give a try at using it as a range extender for downstairs.

Lorenzo


> On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:24:21 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Hello group,
>>
>> Not sure it is the right group for this, but it seems to be the best one
>> my newsserver has to offer.
>>
>> I discovered that my old router (Dlink DGL-4300) and new router (Dlink
>> DIR-655) support WDS linking, also called "repeater mode".
>>
>> However, WDS linking doesn't work with WPA, only with WEP, which isn't
>> secure enough.
>>
>> Is there a workaround? Or should I wire access points to my router ?
>>
>> Lorenzo
> --
>
> Barb Bowman
> MS Windows-MVP
> Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

What kind of construction is your house? You say two floors, but
what else is there? HVAC ducts? concrete? big metal objects?

Be sure you get the latest drivers from Windows Update. The newest
one is from 5/11 for Vista.

On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:01:24 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Barb Bowman wrote:
>> Repeater mode halves the signal since it has to repeat in both
>> directions. The 655 (Draft N) here has a much better range than the
>> 4300. What is the environment you are trying to cover?
>
>That is what I thought too, but it is not what I observe. My house has 2
>floors, and the DIR-655 is upstairs. The signal downstairs is reported
>as 300Mbps and "good", but when looking at the "Status" page in the
>router's configuration page, the downstairs WLAN clients are in
>36-54Mbps mode, with a signal ranging from 15 to 35%, sometimes lower.
>
>I still haven't solved my problem. When I plug a D-link 108Mbps WLAN
>card in my laptop, I get 54 Mbps (as expected) and tranfer rates of 2.5
>MB/sec from an upstairs computer (wired to the router). When I replace
>the old NIC with the DWA-645 NIC, my connection speed is reported to be
>300Mbps, but transfers are slow as hell, 500-800kb/sec, from the same
>computer as before, in the same spot.
>
>I am still waiting for my DWA-652 to arrive, assuming the DWA-645 is
>faulty, but when in a short range upstairs, the DWA-645 is able to
>transfer up to 25MB/sec or more, so it's working correctly.
>
>The DGL-4300 gave me excellent coverage on both floors (with a M60AT
>antenna), with 108Mbps signal rated "good" also, and up to 6MB/sec
>downstairs, so 10 times better than my 802.11n draft setup.
>
>I thought I could give a try at using it as a range extender for downstairs.
>
>Lorenzo
>
>
>> On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:24:21 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
>> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello group,
>>>
>>> Not sure it is the right group for this, but it seems to be the best one
>>> my newsserver has to offer.
>>>
>>> I discovered that my old router (Dlink DGL-4300) and new router (Dlink
>>> DIR-655) support WDS linking, also called "repeater mode".
>>>
>>> However, WDS linking doesn't work with WPA, only with WEP, which isn't
>>> secure enough.
>>>
>>> Is there a workaround? Or should I wire access points to my router ?
>>>
>>> Lorenzo
>> --
>>
>> Barb Bowman
>> MS Windows-MVP
>> Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/
--

Barb Bowman
MS Windows-MVP
Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

Nope, wood construction. Only big object is the fireplace and the chimney.

But again:
- DGL-4300 and the DWL-G650 card, I get 6Mb/sec
- DIR-655 and the DWA-645 card, I get 600kb/sec
- DIR-655 and the DWL-G650 card, I get 2.5Gb/sec

Same house, same location for computers and routers. Using Windows XP
with latest updates, no firewalls, and WPA2.

Lorenzo




Barb Bowman wrote:
> What kind of construction is your house? You say two floors, but
> what else is there? HVAC ducts? concrete? big metal objects?
>
> Be sure you get the latest drivers from Windows Update. The newest
> one is from 5/11 for Vista.
>
> On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:01:24 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Barb Bowman wrote:
>>> Repeater mode halves the signal since it has to repeat in both
>>> directions. The 655 (Draft N) here has a much better range than the
>>> 4300. What is the environment you are trying to cover?
>> That is what I thought too, but it is not what I observe. My house has 2
>> floors, and the DIR-655 is upstairs. The signal downstairs is reported
>> as 300Mbps and "good", but when looking at the "Status" page in the
>> router's configuration page, the downstairs WLAN clients are in
>> 36-54Mbps mode, with a signal ranging from 15 to 35%, sometimes lower.
>>
>> I still haven't solved my problem. When I plug a D-link 108Mbps WLAN
>> card in my laptop, I get 54 Mbps (as expected) and tranfer rates of 2.5
>> MB/sec from an upstairs computer (wired to the router). When I replace
>> the old NIC with the DWA-645 NIC, my connection speed is reported to be
>> 300Mbps, but transfers are slow as hell, 500-800kb/sec, from the same
>> computer as before, in the same spot.
>>
>> I am still waiting for my DWA-652 to arrive, assuming the DWA-645 is
>> faulty, but when in a short range upstairs, the DWA-645 is able to
>> transfer up to 25MB/sec or more, so it's working correctly.
>>
>> The DGL-4300 gave me excellent coverage on both floors (with a M60AT
>> antenna), with 108Mbps signal rated "good" also, and up to 6MB/sec
>> downstairs, so 10 times better than my 802.11n draft setup.
>>
>> I thought I could give a try at using it as a range extender for downstairs.
>>
>> Lorenzo
>>
>>
>>> On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:24:21 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
>>> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello group,
>>>>
>>>> Not sure it is the right group for this, but it seems to be the best one
>>>> my newsserver has to offer.
>>>>
>>>> I discovered that my old router (Dlink DGL-4300) and new router (Dlink
>>>> DIR-655) support WDS linking, also called "repeater mode".
>>>>
>>>> However, WDS linking doesn't work with WPA, only with WEP, which isn't
>>>> secure enough.
>>>>
>>>> Is there a workaround? Or should I wire access points to my router ?
>>>>
>>>> Lorenzo
>>> --
>>>
>>> Barb Bowman
>>> MS Windows-MVP
>>> Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
>>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>>> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/
> --
>
> Barb Bowman
> MS Windows-MVP
> Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

and you have applied the 1.03 firmware to the 655 router?


On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:36:24 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Nope, wood construction. Only big object is the fireplace and the chimney.
>
>But again:
>- DGL-4300 and the DWL-G650 card, I get 6Mb/sec
>- DIR-655 and the DWA-645 card, I get 600kb/sec
>- DIR-655 and the DWL-G650 card, I get 2.5Gb/sec
>
>Same house, same location for computers and routers. Using Windows XP
>with latest updates, no firewalls, and WPA2.
>
>Lorenzo
>
>
>
>
>Barb Bowman wrote:
>> What kind of construction is your house? You say two floors, but
>> what else is there? HVAC ducts? concrete? big metal objects?
>>
>> Be sure you get the latest drivers from Windows Update. The newest
>> one is from 5/11 for Vista.
>>
>> On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:01:24 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
>> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>> Barb Bowman wrote:
>>>> Repeater mode halves the signal since it has to repeat in both
>>>> directions. The 655 (Draft N) here has a much better range than the
>>>> 4300. What is the environment you are trying to cover?
>>> That is what I thought too, but it is not what I observe. My house has 2
>>> floors, and the DIR-655 is upstairs. The signal downstairs is reported
>>> as 300Mbps and "good", but when looking at the "Status" page in the
>>> router's configuration page, the downstairs WLAN clients are in
>>> 36-54Mbps mode, with a signal ranging from 15 to 35%, sometimes lower.
>>>
>>> I still haven't solved my problem. When I plug a D-link 108Mbps WLAN
>>> card in my laptop, I get 54 Mbps (as expected) and tranfer rates of 2.5
>>> MB/sec from an upstairs computer (wired to the router). When I replace
>>> the old NIC with the DWA-645 NIC, my connection speed is reported to be
>>> 300Mbps, but transfers are slow as hell, 500-800kb/sec, from the same
>>> computer as before, in the same spot.
>>>
>>> I am still waiting for my DWA-652 to arrive, assuming the DWA-645 is
>>> faulty, but when in a short range upstairs, the DWA-645 is able to
>>> transfer up to 25MB/sec or more, so it's working correctly.
>>>
>>> The DGL-4300 gave me excellent coverage on both floors (with a M60AT
>>> antenna), with 108Mbps signal rated "good" also, and up to 6MB/sec
>>> downstairs, so 10 times better than my 802.11n draft setup.
>>>
>>> I thought I could give a try at using it as a range extender for downstairs.
>>>
>>> Lorenzo
>>>
>>>
>>>> On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:24:21 +0300, Lorenzo Sandini
>>>> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hello group,
>>>>>
>>>>> Not sure it is the right group for this, but it seems to be the best one
>>>>> my newsserver has to offer.
>>>>>
>>>>> I discovered that my old router (Dlink DGL-4300) and new router (Dlink
>>>>> DIR-655) support WDS linking, also called "repeater mode".
>>>>>
>>>>> However, WDS linking doesn't work with WPA, only with WEP, which isn't
>>>>> secure enough.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there a workaround? Or should I wire access points to my router ?
>>>>>
>>>>> Lorenzo
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> Barb Bowman
>>>> MS Windows-MVP
>>>> Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
>>>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>>>> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/
>> --
>>
>> Barb Bowman
>> MS Windows-MVP
>> Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/
--

Barb Bowman
MS Windows-MVP
Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

Hi
The Buffalo's line of Wireless Router does WDS, and can be fitted with
firmware that does WPA in WDS mode
It is also providing very stable strong signal (it has special high power RF
amplifier), and it is less expensive than other quality End-User hardware.
Or keep your system as is and configure the second Router as an Access
Point. Connect one long Cat5e between the two, and place the second Wireless
Router and the best location for extended wireless support. In most cases it
is a much better solution than WDS/Repeater.
Wireless Router as an AP - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html
Otherwise.
Extending Distance - http://www.ezlan.net/Distance.html
Wireless Router as an AP - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html
Wireless Bridging - http://www.ezlan.net/bridging
Hi Gain Antenna - http://www.ezlan.net/antennae.html
Jack (MVP-Networking).

"Lorenzo Sandini" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hello group,
>
> Not sure it is the right group for this, but it seems to be the best one
> my newsserver has to offer.
>
> I discovered that my old router (Dlink DGL-4300) and new router (Dlink
> DIR-655) support WDS linking, also called "repeater mode".
>
> However, WDS linking doesn't work with WPA, only with WEP, which isn't
> secure enough.
>
> Is there a workaround? Or should I wire access points to my router ?
>
> Lorenzo

hi,


I have just finished configure the second Router (Linksys WAG300N) as an
Access
Point. Connect one long Cat5e between the LAN1 of the Acc. Point & LAN of
the WiFi Router(Wireless-G) , and place the second Wireless Router at the
best location for extended wireless support.

The only problem with this setup is that the signal is too low is the
distance is greater than 6-7 meters (first floor LAN &WiFi LAN & basement
office Wifi card(Wireless-G Plus) LAN PC)

The online connection speed however is extrememly good & rock solid.

cheers


"Jack (MVP-Networking)." wrote:

> Hi
> The Buffalo's line of Wireless Router does WDS, and can be fitted with
> firmware that does WPA in WDS mode
> It is also providing very stable strong signal (it has special high power RF
> amplifier), and it is less expensive than other quality End-User hardware.
> Or keep your system as is and configure the second Router as an Access
> Point. Connect one long Cat5e between the two, and place the second Wireless
> Router and the best location for extended wireless support. In most cases it
> is a much better solution than WDS/Repeater.
> Wireless Router as an AP - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html
> Otherwise.
> Extending Distance - http://www.ezlan.net/Distance.html
> Wireless Router as an AP - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html
> Wireless Bridging - http://www.ezlan.net/bridging
> Hi Gain Antenna - http://www.ezlan.net/antennae.html
> Jack (MVP-Networking).
>
> "Lorenzo Sandini" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Hello group,
> >
> > Not sure it is the right group for this, but it seems to be the best one
> > my newsserver has to offer.
> >
> > I discovered that my old router (Dlink DGL-4300) and new router (Dlink
> > DIR-655) support WDS linking, also called "repeater mode".
> >
> > However, WDS linking doesn't work with WPA, only with WEP, which isn't
> > secure enough.
> >
> > Is there a workaround? Or should I wire access points to my router ?
> >
> > Lorenzo
>
>
>