Howto configure as client

Hello all,

i flashed my first OpenWRT box today, a Archer C7 V5. Flashing went ok and i can access LuCi.
But i still don't understand, howto configure client mode.
I have a PC w/o wifi, that i want to connect to my home network where i have a FritzBox 7590 as router and Wifi AP.
Previously i used an old Apple Airport Express, which was able to join the wifi as a client and transparently bridge to its ethernet port, where my PC was connected. Unfortunately the APE has become unreliable and is quite slow.

So, on the C7, i went to Wireless Overview and tried to configure the Qualcomm Atheros QCA9880 802.11nac as client.
Strangely, it still asks me for channel number and width, which should be governed by the master. Also, i am not sure where to specify SSID and key
of the master. There is only ESSID and BSSID and i can input a key on the "Wireless Security" tab.
This all still looks lile a master AP config.
Also the C7 does not join the Fitzbox's WiFi.

Can anybody shed some light on this? The docs are bit confusing for me, talking about WDS / Relayd / NAT ... which i all did not have to use with the APE.

Thanks in advance,

Heinrich

you probably want https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/relay_configuration

Why use separate networks and relayd when simple bridging would do the trick?

-Heinrich

They're not in a separate network, look at the picture.

Then do wifi->scan->join instead, and hope it works.

No need to sign your posts, the name is on top of them anyway.

ESSID is also known as SSID-- they are the same function.

The wifi standard doesn't allow for a true bridge to a regular client. Every device that appears to do this is actually running something like relayd behind the scenes.

If you only need Internet access, the NAT routed client which results from the join button is acceptable. It also allows the PC to initiate connections to devices on the upstream LAN such as a printer or a NAS. The IP address of the service device will need to be manually configured into the PC as auto-discovery systems don't work across networks.

Symmetric routing is the next step up, which eliminates NAT in the wifi client so that the PC(s) downstream can be reached by their IP on the client's LAN. This requires installing a static route in the upstream main router so it knows the gateway to the other network is your wifi client router.

A true bridge results from WDS (4 address) mode, or 802.11s mesh mode. These require the AP to operate in that mode, which generally means it needs to be running OpenWrt.

Thanks for the in-depth explanation, Mike!
@frollic: Thanks for the hint about joining. Worked immediately.
What I still do not quite understand: Why can't I bridge the Wifi interface to the LAN interface?

I finally used a layer 2 tunnel. Works Ok, but, of course, needs a second system serving as the other tunnel endpoint.
I have full connectivity (Bonjour etc), same subnet on both sides, as if connected by cable.
I really wonder how the APE handles this, without a tunneling counterpart.