Proper setup of two Aiport Express (802.11 g)'s in WDS?

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Proper setup of two Aiport Express (802.11 g)'s in WDS?

Hello Forum,

i have recently setup two Airport Express (802.11g) devices in a WDS, using the following document (and its supplement) as my instruction guide:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4262

- Instructions for using AirPort Utility 5.5.2 or later

The first device was designated as the WDS Main, is hard wired to a broadband cable modem via Ethernet, and has the following settings

under the Internet Connection tab of Airport Utility:

Connect Using: Ethernet

Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)

Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address

Allow Wireless Clients is enabled.

The second device was designated as the WDS Remote, and has the same settings as listed above.

Additionally, the Wireless Network name, password, Wireless Security and Channel all match, and I've added

the Mac Address of the complement device in the Main and Remote configurations respectively.

The Status indicators of both Airports are green, both on the physical devices as well as in Aiport Utility chooser window

and Summary page. There are no issues with internet access. Everything appears to be working flawlessly!

Upon discovering other options during the manual setup process, like "Distribute a Range of IP addresses" and "Off (Bridge Mode), my curiosity

made me dig deeper, especially since the document (above) that I referenced during the setup process does not cover how to properly set the

Connection Sharing settings.

My research in various forums and web articles have helped me to understand "Distribute a Range of IP addresses", and since I only

get one with my ISP, can safely rule out this option. But my understanding of "Off (Bridge Mode) is still somewhat fuzzy.

(1) What Connection Sharing setting should the WDS Main have?

(2) What Connection Sharing setting should the WDS Remote have?

(3) Is it better to use "Off (Bridge Mode) on either device in this setup?

(4) If Yes to item (3), could you explain why Bridge Mode is necessary?

On a final note, the primary purpose of creating the WDS, was to extend the range of the Wireless Network.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Posted on Dec 6, 2013 4:07 PM

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Answer 1

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Bob Timmons

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Dec 6, 2013 4:31 PM in response to bedmurphy

What Connection Sharing setting should the WDS Main have?

It depends on the type of modem, or modem/router that you might have that provides your Internet connection.

If you have a simple modem.....the WDS Main would be configured to "Share a single IP address"

If you have a modem/router.....the WDS Main would be configured in "Bridge Mode"

What Connection Sharing setting should the WDS Remote have?

A WDS Remote will be configured in Bridge Mode by default, and the Connection Sharing setting will be grayed out, indicating that Bridge Mode is the only setting that can be used on the WDS Remote

Is it better to use "Off (Bridge Mode) on either device in this setup?

See the two answers just above.

On a final note, the primary purpose of creating the WDS, was to extend the range of the Wireless Network.

That would be the only reason why you would want to use WDS settings, since they place a heavy penalty on the bandwidth of the network. As you know, when you add a WDS remote, the bandwidth (speed) on the entire network is cut in half.

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Answer 2

bedmurphy Author

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Dec 6, 2013 4:53 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Hello Bob,

Thank you for your quick reply! I believe I have a simple modem.

What's interesting is that when I set these devices up manually, "Share a public IP address" was not grayed

out after designating the second AE as the WDS Remote. (I'm guessing this is unusual?). As such, in my mind it was the logical choice since I wanted computers closer to the Remote to have internet access.

So, "Off (Bridge Mode)" then doesn't repurpose or repackage the ISP's IP address into several private IP addresses using DHCP, and I only ever need one device in the chain to do that, which in this case is the WDS Main...Is this correct?

Best,

Brian

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Answer 3

Dec 6, 2013 4:59 PM in response to bedmurphy

You only want one device handling DHCP and NAT on a network. That is the same settting as "Share a public IP address".

Any other AirPorts on the network must be configured in Bridge Mode so they can pass through the DHCP and NAT information from the "main" AirPort to connected devices.

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Answer 4

bedmurphy Author

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Dec 6, 2013 5:03 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Awesome.... it makes sense now. Thanks again for taking the time to post and explain.

Actually, when I posted the question I was hoping that you would see this and reply, and you did.

Cheers!

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