Replacing AP and setting up a N-bridge

[enderzero]

First off, great site Tim and others. Tons of helpful info here.

I just read through this thread and some others but still have some questions about how best to setup what I'm trying to do.

In one room I have a network with a Linksys WRT160N V3 as my main AP/Router. I am buying a NAS (found with the help of your great reviews) and therefore want to replace the 160N with a router that has a gigabit switch.

I will then move my 160N to a nearby room where I want it to act as a bridge to get a few wired devices I have there on the network.

Will this work? The 160N V3 supports DD-WRT which I imagine I would have to use to get the bridging to work - but does the main router/AP have to support anything in particular then as well?

I am not concerned about the 160N rebroadcasting, are there other problems I might run into with this setup?

Any idea what the best router to make my main AP in this situation? Money is a big concern so the cheaper the better. There are a number of other N and G devices on the network as well. Does that complicate things?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[DaveMcLain]

While I have not used the WRT160N specifically I've used the client bridge mode in DD-WRT a lot and it works well. Early build versions of the firmware didn't do so hot in this mode and had trouble passing DHCP information but that's old news.

There is also a mode that's called repeater bridge where it allows the box to not only act as a wireless bridge feeding wired clients on it's switch but also to accept wireless clients and act as an AP, all in one box. I've had this working but I never could get it to remain stable for more than a few days. Maybe some of the newer builds support this feature more reliably. I've just added a second box to work as an AP but from the sound of your setup client bridge mode will be sufficient.

Having additional wireless clients besides the client bridge connecting to the main AP will not cause problems. Also mixing various brands of hardware will not cause trouble either as it often does when using WDS. Throughput will also be good.

Check out this thread where I posted some information about doing exactly what you're wanting to do using client bridge mode in DD-WRT. The hardware is different but the concept is the same.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=3052

 

[thiggins]

Dave, to clarify, does DD-WRT's bridge mode require WDS running on the bridge partner?
Or does it also have a client mode that allows it to associate with any AP/router?

 

[DaveMcLain]

DD-WRT does not require WDS to be running on the main AP in order for client bridge or repeater bridge mode to work. In fact once the firmware is installed it seems to be largely "hardware agnostic" in that it works well together irregardless of the brand. For instance right now I have working together boxes from Linksys, Netgear, Engenius, D-Link etc and it doesn't care. I believe that WDS tends to be quite brand specific or certainly must be used with chipsets from the same vendor.

 

[thiggins]

Thanks for the info, Dave.

WDS is a standard, but it can be a bugger to get working, mainly due to user interface oddities and limitations.

 

[enderzero]

Thanks for the responses guys. So I it sounds like no matter what I replace my main AP with the 160N will bridge nicely. What's the current inexpensive Gigabit N router of choice around these parts?