Extending my WiFi network - how?

[bunner bob]

I'm currently using an Asante Friendlynet 802.11b hub/base station, which is located in my basement office at one end of the house. The signal doesn't reach the upstairs at the other end of the house, probably due to having to pass through the floor, floor joists, ducts, etc. at a shallow angle. I want to set up another access point in the house. Ideally this would simply extend the existing network, rather than be a 'different' access point (requiring me to select it in the Airport menu).

I'm thinking what I need is a 'repeater', but maybe it's possible to set a second base station to be on the same 'channel' as the first one?? Wiring isn't an issue - the whole house is wired with Cat 5.

Or, perhaps the Mac is smart enough to sniff out the strongest signal and use that one automatically, in which case having two base stations on different 'channels' isn't an issue.

Any advice, thoughts, etc?

Thanks,
- Bob

 

[Gnomo]

Since you say that wireing is not a problem, I suggest you just buy a second base station and not worry about repeating the signal.

As long as the base stations are in the same broadcast domain (ie. same subnet) they can have the same SSID (network name) and use different channels (ie. 1, 6, 11, etc) and the client can wirelessly hop from one access point to another. The wireless client automatically associates to the one with the strongest signal and will switch channels accordingly.

I know you say that the signal does not come up through the floor, but just to be safe, placing the two access points on different channels will keep them two from interferring with each other. Note: there are only 3 non-overlapping channels in 802.11, 1, 6, & 11 (I believe).

 

[bunner bob]

OK - I've been looking at the Dlink DWL-700AP, which is an 'access point' and not a router - my existing base station is already a router.

It seems what I'll want to do is this:

I'll hook the access point to one of the ports on my router (in another room, via in-wall cabling). Tell the access point to determine its IP address dynamically (assigned by the router). Set the access point to be a DHCP server, with the same subnet as the router and a different range of IP addresses (to prevent overlap). Set the SSID of the access point to be the same as the router, and set a different channel on the access point.

On the other hand - I'd want the same IP number range on both devices, otherwise my laptop would need to change IP numbers when it hopped from one access point to the other. So perhaps I'm better off setting my IP numbers manually and skipping the DHCP.

Does all that sound right?

- Bob

 

[Gnomo]

That is pretty good. I would make a few adjustments.

1. Set the access point to have a static address (ie. 192.168.0.2)
2. Set the router and access points subnet masks (if not already) to 255.255.0.0
3. Set the routers DHCP server to serve addresses from 192.168.1.1 thru 192.168.254.254

So, what did that do? Well, we put the access point and the router in the same sub-subnet. All new access points (if you ever get any more) would fit in the 192.168.0.* range. We also reserved those addresses so that the DHCP server won't have problems with the static devices.

With this setup, you should have no problems moving a laptop from your basement to the first floor. You won't have to specify a new network name or get a new IP address. You should be able to move from access point to the next without any disruption in service.