Home > Ask the Mobile Computing Experts > Wireless Networking with Lisa Phifer Questions & Answers > What's the expected range on a pair of Belkin 54G routers in wireless bridge mode?
Ask The Mobile Computing Expert: Questions & Answers
EMAIL THIS

What's the expected range on a pair of Belkin 54G routers in wireless bridge mode?

Lisa Phifer EXPERT RESPONSE FROM: Lisa Phifer

Pose a Question
Other Mobile Computing Categories
Meet all Mobile Computing Experts
Become an Expert for this site


Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us   


>
QUESTION POSED ON: 14 March 2005
What's the expected range on a pair of Belkin 54G routers in wireless bridge mode? What frequencies are used in Belkin's bridge-to-bridge mode? I assume it may not be standard because Belkin's bridge mode only works with other Belkin WAP's. Also can I replace one of the stock omni-directional antennas with an antenna to use along the bridge line of sight?

>
Like many vendors, Belkin implements bridging based on the Wireless Distribution System (WDS) defined in the 802.11 standard. WDS uses standard 802.11 wireless to forward traffic between APs, as an alternative to Ethernet or another wired distribution network. In effect, WDS turns a pair of APs into a pair of wireless bridges or repeaters. An excellent tutorial on WDS and how to configure it can be found at Tom's Networking.

WDS is based on the 802.11 standard, but is not fully specified by that standard, so WDS links often work only between same-vendor APs (or APs using the same chipset). However, WDS uses not only the same frequency band, but exactly the same radio channels, as other 802.11 products. In this case, Belkin 54G bridges transmit on the 2.4 GHz ISM band and channels defined for use by 802.11b/g. There are a few nice illustrations of WDS and channel assignment dependencies for bridges and repeaters in this Proxim document (PDF).

According to Belkin specs, the 54G router has an indoor range of 200-300 feet and an outdoor range of up to 1800 feet. Belkin does not publish specs for bridge-to-bridge mode, but with AP-attached dipole antennas, signal is distributed in a roughly circular pattern around the AP. That means you are looking at perhaps 150 feet from the AP in a given direction (indoors). From what I can see, this router's dipole antennas are not intended to be removable / upgradeable, but here is a forum post that I found on how to replace factory-installed antennas for another Belkin wireless router.


Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us   



RELATED CONTENT
Wireless Networking with Lisa Phifer
Wireless signal penetration
Wireless bridges
Wireless LAN QoS
Advice for setting up a WLAN
How can QoS be maintained on 802.11?
I'm about to embark on a CWNA course, and I'm wondering how in-depth the RF math is?
How many computers can each access point support?
What would be the best security design for a campus environment, EAP or LEAP?
Implementing WPA over WDS links
What sort of range does a typical 802.11g 2.4GHz router have?

RELATED RESOURCES
2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems
Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts
Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary



Search and Browse the Expert Answer Center
Search and browse more than 25,000 question and answer pairs from more than 250 TechTarget industry experts.
Browse our Expert Advice



Mobile Device Management and Synchronization
HomeNewsTopicsITKnowledge ExchangeTipsMultimediaWhite PapersProducts
About Us  |  Contact Us  |  For Advertisers  |  For Business Partners  |  Site Index  |  RSS
SEARCH 
TechTarget provides technology professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective purchase decisions and managing their organizations' technology projects - with its network of technology-specific websites, events and online magazines.

TechTarget Corporate Web Site  |  Media Kits  |  Site Map




All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2003 - 2009, TechTarget | Read our Privacy Policy
  TechTarget - The IT Media ROI Experts