Bridge or WDS or Mesh

Installing and Using OpenWrt
#1

I have a Linksys WRT 3200ACM and been using openwrt for a while without any issues. I would now like to extend WiFi coverage to another part of the house. I have run a cable to the other room and purchased a GL.iNet GLB-1300. Question now is :

  1. Should I use WDS for the setup? Some of the discussions mention it to be an old method and slow. Will this even work with the hardware combination I have?
  2. Or should I use mesh networking as the second radio on the WRT3200 is sitting dormant which I could use for the uplink? The Ethernet cable run would go to waste I’m guessing with this option and I’m not sure if the clients would be able to use the 5GHz radio on the GL.iNet AP since it is being used for uplink.
  3. Or should I simply use bridge mode in some shape or form? I read somewhere that the second AP simply needs to have identical WiFi config and clients will attach to the strongest signal.

Thoughts/suggestions/ideas?

#2

Using wired Ethernet is the best option since you have the cable. Bridging the wired interface with the wireless interface is done automatically by openwrt when you choose "Bridge interfaces" in Physical settings, and you use the interface as network in the wireless configuration.

I think you are looking for fast BSS transition (802.11r).
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/basic

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#3

Thanks for the response. So if I understand it correctly, use wired uplink with identical wifi config on both APs and turn on 802.11r?

#4

Use cable connection and dumb AP configuration on your slave device(s)

Not exactly. Same SSID but different frequency channel.

#5

Hi,
I have netgear r7800 and extender Netgear_EX6150v2.

I was wondering how can i extend r7800 wifi AP using extender... (i dont want to plug ethernet cable to extender).

Does latest openwrt supports mesh? I was thinking that extender connects to r7800 AP as client, and will extend wifi with the exactly same SSID as r7800 AP. Is that possible / doable?

Thanks!

#6

"Mesh" can easily be achieved using 802.11r in openwrt.

#7

@frollic i was told that mesh is 802.11s, does it have to be supported by HW or SW?

#8

There are several ways to achieve mesh, I've always used r, since it's very simple to setup.

AFAIK it's a SW thing.

#9

@frollic thanks, do you mind to share some url where its described how to do it? so what is difference between s vs r?

#10

No idea, since r worked for me, I've stuck with it ,)

I followed this when I set it up a long time ago.

Everything you need to do is here, assuming you've replaced the hostapd or wpad (or was it both?)

Screenshot_20201213_141022
Screenshot_20201213_1410221200×2480 325 KB

#11

No, r has nothing to do with mesh.
s is for mesh, i.e. for AP interconnection, r is for clients to better switch between APs, regardless of how APs are interconnected.

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#12

@andrewZ thx for confirmation, is there any howto - how to setup 802.11s between AP netgear r7800 and extender netgear ex6150v2? thanks

#13

Generally, we setup a mesh between 2 or more OpenWrt devices, so we abstract from specific device models.
Since both mentioned devices are supported by OpenWrt, you can start from this: https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/mesh/80211s

#14

Hence the " "....