Multipoint bridge?

[ackbar345]

I want to connect a building across the street with a wireless bridge. To do this I think I need to hardwire an AP to my router, bridge that to another AP at the back of the warehouse and then also bridge that AP to the building across the street. Can a DLink 2100 AP do a three way bridge? It has multiple slots where you put in the bridging information, it will seem liike it could do this...however a little experience has taught me to ask rather than assume.

[umdivx]

could you go to the roof of each building? that way do don't need to do a multiple hop wireless setup.

- Josh

[marlehole]

Hello Ackbar345,

Welcome! the quick answer is, D-Link reports it will. Here is a link; http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=292; but there are others like this another link: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1205377&CatId=372; and still another; http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2787264&CatId=372; still others....

You get my drift!!!

[ackbar345]

Well I would have to run the cabling really far because the building is so long in that direction and taller than the other building that it would occlude any line of sight unless I ran it to the end of the building.

[umdivx]

unless your running smart access points that run 100% mesh mode, running multiple hop (man in the middle type setup) situations are never a good idea, unless you have the time to be supporting it 24/7

Say it goes down, your at home, and your the only one that knows how to support/configure it. Say the middle/relay ap can't get a connection to the main AP where the wired router is, then you'll have to hardwire into that middle ap and look at its configs to figure out why it won't connect.

Take it from personal expereince, I tired doing setups like these before, and I just ended up spending more time and wasting the clients money because I was always on site trying to get the setup to work.

My suggestion would be to run cat5 as long and as far as you can (within the 300 foot cat5 limit) , and then run the wireless bridge between the two buildings.

- Josh

[golfnut]

Just to add one more point and this eludes to what Josh is saying, a DLink 2100 would be the last product I would consider for a business environment bridge to link two buildings.

You will spend less time post-install if you start with quality products and if you have cable length limitations, use Mesh. Assuming this is in an area with other WiFi, you'll want to use a product that links via an 802.11a radio. Search Google for mesh equipment. Proxim is my personal favorite.

Greg

[M/Q]

I guess I will humbly agree with the fact that this situation appears to be a good candidate for a mesh network. So, just to add another possible, very simple to use option, you may want to look at Meraki Networks. The mesh software is unequaled in IMHO. You have one Internet based application that allows you to have complete control over each node. I am not affiliated to Meraki in any way. I have just been field testing several devices and have been extremely impressed.