[TriLUG] Multiple wireless access points

[Steve Kuekes]

I've got a problem using multiple wireless access points in my house.

For some reason I can't get signals from one end of my house to the other from my downstairs access point.  So I decided to solve the problem by installing an additional access point upstairs connected by wire to my main network downstairs.

So my configuration is one access point downstairs on channel 11 with essid=down and another access point upstairs on channel 6 with essid=up.

My problem scenario is: 

I use my laptop downstairs and connect to the downstairs access point.
Then I power my laptop off and move upstairs and connect to the upstairs access point, I cannot get any network traffic.  I am sure that I am connected to the upstairs access point as I can check my wireless essid, and I can look in the log on the upstairs access point and I see my mac address connected.  I cannot get any response to my DHCP request for an address.  Even if I hard code a valid IP address I can't get any traffic.

It seems that the problem is that the downstairs access point still is collecting packets for my mac address even though I am no longer attached there.

Is there some trick to getting multiple access points on the same network to work properly.  I'm running dlink dwl-900AP+'s for both of them.

I tried configuring the upstairs AP as a repeater, but I couldn't find a location where it could see all the upstairs and have a good signal to the downstairs AP.

Thanks for any help

Steve Kuekes