Repeating/extending multiple SSIDs with a single device

[mroek]

Hi all,

First time poster here, and I have tried searching for answers to my question, coming up empy.

My current network setup is simple, I have one Netgear WNDR3700 (v1) router running OpenWrt. On this router I have set up two wireless networks, a main network and a guest network. The guest network is then isolated (running a different IP range) from the main network.

These two wireless networks run the same channel and BSSID (being on the same radio), but has different ESSIDs (naturally). Both use WPA2 PSK, but the passwords are of course different.

Now, this setup works like a charm, but I need to extend the wireless range of both wireless networks, and I want to do this with just one additional wireless device. I am unsure if such a device exists. Regular repeaters/extenders seems to allow for only adding one particular SSID that you want to repeat/extend, but I want to extend both of these networks.

I could probably buy another router (that supports multiple SSIDs) and install a third-party firmware to it, but is there any standard device that could do the job? This one is advertised as supporting Multi-SSID, but I can't see from the docs if it is possible to do what I want with it:

http://www.tplink.com/en/products/details/?categoryid=239&model=TL-WA901ND

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[thiggins]

The WDS link works by linking BSSIDs, which are the MAC addresses of the radio. So, theoretically, once the link is up, all traffic should pass through.

But WDS is notorious for implementation quirks because of all the things that are not specified in 802.11.

I'd give it a shot and see if it works. But I'd use two of the same product. You don't need the hassle of introducing another variable into the mix.

The most reliable way would be to use two APs, linked via Ethernet or powerline, which both support multiple SSIDs.

 

[mroek]

Thank you for the answer.
I could probably try WDS, but I've read that it is notoriously quirky to get working properly, even with products from the same manufacturer (since chipsets can vary a lot, even within the same product range).

I could of course link the devices with an ethernet cable, but that would complicate setup a bit, since I want the guest network on a different IP range than the primary, but I still want my single main router to be the only DHCP server.

I could probably also buy two repeaters (one for each SSID), but that's kind of admitting a defeat.

I have tried setting up an old Asus WL500G (running DD-WRT) as a bridged repeater for my primary network (and it works, but it seems to need frequent reboots), but this router doesn't support multiple SSIDs, so it can only repeat one wireless network. Getting WDS to work between this old Broadcom-based router and the (newer) Atheros-based WNDR3700 is so unlikely that I don't think it is worth the effort.

 

[stevech]

perhaps this..
2nd WNDR3700. Configure WiFi portion same as main one.
Config WAN portion to be an access point (AP), not router. There's a FAQ on how to do this for any WiFi router. Essentially, disable DHCP server. Do not use WAN port. Connect LAN port to LAN port of main router. Make that connection via cat5 wiring if possible. If not, use HomePlug or MoCA to do the same.

 

[mroek]

perhaps this..
2nd WNDR3700. Configure WiFi portion same as main one.
Config WAN portion to be an access point (AP), not router. There's a FAQ on how to do this for any WiFi router. Essentially, disable DHCP server. Do not use WAN port. Connect LAN port to LAN port of main router. Make that connection via cat5 wiring if possible. If not, use HomePlug or MoCA to do the same.

That could possibly work, but I don't see how my guests would then be assigned an IP from my guest range. The main router would only be able to distinguish guests that are connected directly to it, I think. Guests connecting to the AP's guest network would be assigned IP's from the primary range, wouldn't they? Perhaps this could be fixed with VLAN-tagging, I'm not totally sure.

Anyway, I've now decided to order the TP-link AP that I linked to in the OP. It is cheap, uses an Atheros-based chipset (like my WNDR3700), and both OpenWrt and DD-Wrt runs on it. It also supports VLAN-tagging, so some way or another, I think I should be able to solve my problem.

Anyway, thank you very much for your help.

 

[Tim Nolte]

That could possibly work, but I don't see how my guests would then be assigned an IP from my guest range. The main router would only be able to distinguish guests that are connected directly to it, I think. Guests connecting to the AP's guest network would be assigned IP's from the primary range, wouldn't they? Perhaps this could be fixed with VLAN-tagging, I'm not totally sure.

Anyway, I've now decided to order the TP-link AP that I linked to in the OP. It is cheap, uses an Atheros-based chipset (like my WNDR3700), and both OpenWrt and DD-Wrt runs on it. It also supports VLAN-tagging, so some way or another, I think I should be able to solve my problem.

Anyway, thank you very much for your help.

I know this is an old thread but I actually have the TL-WA901ND and really need to extend 2 SSIDs and wondered if you actually got it working with that unit? What did your final solution look like?

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