[TriLUG] Multiple wireless access points

[sjackson at radarfind.com]

OK.  You can do any of several things:

1.  Wait for products using the new chipset from WiDeFi
http://www.widefi.com to come out, and that will solve this common
problem ... Or

2.  Increase the attenuation between your two APs such that the portable
PC will 'see' only one and force a reassociation, ... Or

3.  Manually force the reassociation on the PC side ... Or

4.  Write a script that periodically bonks the association table in the
AP, if that command is available via SNMP in your AP ... Or

5.  Convert to APs that have a negotiating-association feature such as
AutoCell from  http://www.propagatenet.com/product/index.html ; an
example of a very good AP that does this is the Netgear WG302 :
http://www.netgear.com/products/details/WG302.php ... Or

6.  Install directional antennas .. Or

7.  Use just one AP but modify it for more range (I'm an RF guy so I
find this easy, but others may not) ...

  I could go on.  There are LOTS of ways to solve this problem.  It all
depends on how thorough a job you want to do, how much effort/$$, etc.

Cheers
Steve Jackson
RadarFind
RTP


>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: Steve Kuekes [mailto:steve at kuekes.homeip.net] 
>  Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2005 4:00 PM
>  To: trilug at trilug.org
>  Subject: [TriLUG] Multiple wireless access points
>  
>  
>  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
>  -- 
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