point to point bridge setup

[drftnc240jm]

I have been reading on these forums for a few days and have come up with a setup that I believe will meet all my needs. If you could critique or improve my setup it would be greatly appreciated.

The goal is to use the the internet from Building A and extend it Building B. On top of that, I would like to create a WLAN between the two buildings. The buildings are roughly 250 feet apart.

NEEDS:
- Both building will have to be able to access the WHS that will be located in Building A.
- A guest account that is accessible in both buildings (only internet access)
- UPnP capable for the WHS
- Have WPA2-PSK or Radius encryption
- Hide WLAN SSID
- No WDS involved

SETUP:
Building A: modem provided by ISP---> Engenius ESR9850 (Router w/ WHS, Printer, and one client connected via gigabit switch)---> Engenius EOR7550 (AP connected using PoE)
Building B: Engenius EOR7550 (Client Bridge)---> Engenius ECB9500 (AP)

Hardware will have the same ssid, channel, and password for the main account. A second vlan will be setup following the same method for the guest account.

Questions:
- Will this work properly for what I am trying to do?
- Will I only need 1 antenna per EOR7550? (for 802.11a/b/g devices)
- Will the internal 6dbi antennas of the EOR7550s be able to reach each other as long as they are in line of sight of each other? (distance would be about 150 feet, this antenna is for 802.11n)
- Is there a way to add a gigabit switch to the AP in Building B for a client and printer? (I am assuming not since there is only 1 rj45 port on the back and it will be connected to the bridge)

Thanks for any help and advice you may be able to provide.

 

[thiggins]

A quick look says it should work. But with 11g, you should expect at best 20 Mbps throughput through the bridge and realistically maybe half that.

You could probably use a pair of EOC1650's and get the same result with no hassle of having to find and mount antennas.

A pair of Ubiquiti Nanostation M's might also give you higher throughput due to higher 802.11n bandwidth.

Yes, you can throw a switch onto the far end of the bridge.

 

[drftnc240jm]

Thank you very much for the quick reply. I have two quick questions. 1) To setup everything, will i be plugging it all into the router in Building A individually and going for the blinking lights trick and then bringing the hardware for Building B to its destination after it has been configured on Building A's router? 2) To add the switch in Building B will I just run a splitter off the bridge and run one cable to the switch and one to the access point? (sorry if that's a stupid question)

 

[thiggins]

Don't know what you mean by "the blinking lights trick". But it would be a good idea to set the bridges up locally before you try for distance.

What is a "splitter"? All you need to do is plug an Ethernet patch cable into the bridge port and a switch port.

 

[drftnc240jm]

Thanks for responding. I was referring to the flash all your LAN lights method that was in the bridging and repeating article, I couldn't remember the name of it at the time. It is wonderful to hear that it is that easy to add a switch to an AP. Thanks again for all the help, I appreciate it.

 

[keenanj]

You might want to use a pair of the new engenius ENH200 Outdoor 802.11n AP/ Bridges.

They have built in directional antennas and would be wetter for your application then the EOC7550.

more info here:

http://www.keenansystems.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=328

The EOR7550 has a simulated omni antenna on radio 2 802.11n this radio is more for client access around the unit than for bridging. Radio 1 is high power 802.11abg but requires a external antenna.

more info on the EOR7550 here:

http://www.keenansystems.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=279