"John" wrote in message ...
> Went out today, returned range expander for same model(exchange was
> allowed), now 2 blue lights are indicated on top of range expander- not
> one red and one blue like on model I returned(may be slightly different
> model)
> Well had absolutely no problem setting up, connection is great and I
> notice that when I hold pointer over connection icon in system tray, it
> always says signal strength excellent, 54Mbps, not 48 or 36 like in
> linksys range expander I returned today.
> So maybe I had defective range range expander, time will tell-
> John
> (A Happy Ending I hope-)
>
> [previous post> I don't understand what you are referring to in your
post, could you
> please explain it to me?
Hi,
I'm glad your "new" repeater is working like it should. Perhaps the first
one was made on a Friday... :^)
I apologize if my language in my reply was a little fuzzy.
This is just FYI stuff, since it looks like you are now up and running like
should be. If everything is working, you don't have to be concerned with
this. All of this should be going on "behind the scenes", without your
intervention.
Your first post caught my eye because you had mentioned that you were using
Linksys' proprietary turbo and having problems repeating.
The following applies to DLink, which I'm more familair with, but I am going
to assume probably applies to Linksys as well.
The proprietary rates "do their magic" by using multiple channels, instead
of just a single channel. Generally, the proprietary rates are similiar
with different manufacturers, but each has their own variant. This is why
to take advantage of them, you need hardware from the same manufacturer. A
DLink router/AP needs to be talking to DLink client hardware (capable of the
proprietary rates), Linksys with Linksys, ect. All of them are also
capable of falling back to standard 802.11[a/g/b], unless you config them
not to. This is so different manufacturer hardware can talk together by
falling back to vanilla 802.11 standards. The different manufacturers all
claim various big numbers that their proprietary rates are capable of, but
in the real world the performance increase is ~20 percent.
Consumer repeaters, at least DLink, are not capable of repeating the
"proprietary" turbo rates, as it would mean repeating across multiple
channels. They are taxed to the limit repeating just standard 802.11 rates,
as repeating means transmitting and receiving. In fact, the standard rates
get cut in half going through repeaters. If you only use your wireless
network for internet traffic, you won't even notice the pipe being cut in
half though. (Unless of course you are lucky enough to have a T2 or better
at home!) If you want to see the drop, try doing some comparison between
using the repeater and not using it while transfering some files around
locally. Your little Linksys client icon isn't going to going to change
either. Mine always (DLink) says I'm at 108 Mbps (ha!).
But, you shouldn't have to turn off the "proprietary" turbo rate on the
originating router/AP before setting up a repeater. The way the
"handshake" should work, seamlessly and behind the scenes is, after your
point your repeater towards an intended SSID or MAC to repeat is basically:
--
[Repeater comes to life and finds the originating SSID/MAC that you configed
to repeat]
[Reapter]: "Hey, AP, I'm configed to work with you! Want to work together?"
[AP]: "Sure! Sounds good, but I'm in configed in a "propriertary" rate
right now. Let me fall back to standard 802.11(whatever)."
[Repeater]: "Ok. I'll look for ya when you fall back and come back to
life."
[Repeater sees AP again]
[Repeater]: "Hey, AP, I'm configed to work with you! Want to work
together?"
[AP]: "Sure! Sounds good and I'm in a mode that can do this. Lets do this
thing!"
They both say, "I do", and go on life together...
--
Now, playing with my DLink stuff, I found that after this marriage takes
place, I can go into the originating AP and manually enable the proprietary
rate again -- but it won't break up the marriage! What happens, however, is
that the originating AP tries to go into the proprietary rates, kicking off
the repeater, falls back into standard vanilla, gets the repeater back, ect.
Basically, it get stuck on stupid. Its not smart enough to sign a new
marriage license and goes into an idiot loop.
The end result is behavior very similiar to what you noted: signal levels
always remain strong, but the repeater keeps frequently getting "bumped
off".
I watched this take place with ultra high-end, regularly calibrated,
spectrum analyzer; the client utility on one of my $30 DLink DCF-660W CF
cards. (This is a joke, of course, but the client utility does crudely
show stuff in the air, even non-802.11b signals from microwaves and cordless
phones, which can be somewhat useful. Well, at least it is pretty to look
at.)
What I see is multiple channels in the air when the AP is in proprietary
turbo, but after bringing a repeater up and it does the handshake, it falls
to just a single channel. Then when bumping the AP, it gets stuck in
stupid.
Sounds like your rockin' now though!
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