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Author Topic: Bridge Mode vs Relay vs Access Point (AP)/Routers vs Dedicated Access Points AP  (Read 283576 times)

FurryNutz

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Bridge Mode vs Relay vs Access Point (AP) / Routers vs Dedicated Access Points (AP)

Green text are click-able links, please select them.

This is a quick informational post about how routers and dedicated access points are designed to work.

In general, most host wireless routers have built in wireless access points alone with wired services that’s tied to the router and provides wireless connections for wireless clients which can also be added too, extended(Access Point (AP) using a wired connection), or bridged or relayed(both using wireless connections).

Adding additional wireless to the built in wireless on the router can be done by adding additional Access Points (AP) via a wired LAN cable connection. Users can add a additional access point to help cover more range or add wireless services to an area where the main host wireless router may not be able to reach. This access point can use the same SSID and password as the main host router, however, the channels on the host router and the additional access point needs to be different. I.e. Main host router is set for channel 11, additional access point should be set for 8. Roaming is enhanced while connected and provides a seamless connection should a user need to roam between these devices with out connection or interruption to network resources.

Bridging means to provide a wireless connection to clients using a device that can wirelessly connection between itself and the host wireless router by means of using the wireless connection between the two devices. Users can add a additional bridges to help cover more range or add wireless services to an area where the main host wireless router may not be able to reach. Bridges also provide users a way to upgrade client hardware to provide newer features that older hardware may not provide. Wired LAN cable connections is not used between the host wireless router and the bridging wireless device being connected. Once the bridged connection has been established between the host wireless router and the bridging device, any client wired device could be connected to the bridging device for a network connection. Bridging is done generally by using the bridging devices on board step-by-step wizard software that helps users to easily scan and connect the device to the host routers wireless signal using the provided SSID name and password. Usually after the wizard is completed, the bridging device will successfully connect to the main host routers wireless signal and thus users should be able to connect any client device to the bridging device for access to network and internet data traffic.
Example: N or AC WiFi Bridge

Relay means to extend the range of the host wireless router by wirelessly connecting a relaying device to the host routers wireless signal and depending on placement of the relaying device and distance, will connect, relay and rebroadcast the same signal to the area where the relay device is placed in relation to the host wireless router. The relaying device is connected wirelessly to the host wireless router using the same SSID, password and channels. Relaying is done generally by using the relaying devices on board step-by-step wizard software that helps to easily scan and connect the device to the host routers wireless signal using the provided SSID name and password. Usually after the wizard is completed, the relaying device will successfully connect to the main host routers wireless signal and thus users should be able to connect any client device to the relaying device for access to network and internet data traffic when in range of the relaying device. Roaming is enhanced while connected and provides a seamless connection should a user need to roam between these devices with out connection or interruption to network resources.
Networking 101: When To Use (And Not Use) A Network Repeater

D-Link DIR, DSL and DGL series routers do not officially any support or offer any Bridging or Relaying options for Routers. Many users have asked why. For business and legal reasons, D-Link doesn't provide these options for these model host wireless routers.
However, D-Link does offer other devices that will work in conjunction to these host routers. D-Link DAP model devices. These are dedicated AP/Bridging devices and some have Relaying: 

D-Link DAP 1320, 1360, 1513, 1520, 1522, 1525, 1533, 1650 series are some of the home and small business class devices.

D-Link DAP 2### and 3###, 1665 , 2690, 2695 series are some of the corporate and enterprise class devices.

The following DIR models are officially Wireless Bridge featured and supported:
D-Link DIR-895L, 885L, 880L, 868L, 865L, 605L, 505, 505L.

All other D-Link DIR, DSL and DGL Series model routers do not have, offer, or do not support any form of wireless Bridging or Relaying!

D-Link DAP model devices, depending on model, have AP, Bridging and or Relaying modes that are designed as dedicated AP, Bridges or Relays. These devices work well and in some cases, should be used in place of using a dedicated host router. We've seen many cases where using ISP modems with built in routers and wireless connected to another external router such as a DIR/DGL series routers causes connection problems and is a big hassle to get the two working together properly. Sometimes there are incompatibility issues between ISP modem and external host routers that after all the troubleshooting and configuration, still will not work correctly.
Case in point:Arris Cable Modems and External Routers. Some ISP services do not allow any user to access the ISP modems web configuration page. In these cases, using a external host router is not recommended or not preferred, however using a DAP model device is and will probably work better as they don't have the additional router features and just mainly provide the wireless signal in which users are interested in using or needeing wireless connections.

Another consideration with using DAP model devices is that you can simply upgrade your xbox, PC or device with a LAN wired connection from 10Mb or 100Mb to 1000Mb by connecting these devices to the DAP LAN wired port. This also depends on the devices internal wired network card connection speed support as well. Most are 100Mb supporting. Newer generation devices are 1000Mb supporting. This option gives these devices wireless connection support should it be needed. Also if you have an older Laptop that has older generation WiFi adapters that don't support the newer generation N or AC class WiFi routers, you can connect the LAN wired port of the laptop to a DAP and use it as a external wireless adapter option. Thus turning OFF the older on board Wifi card as it will not be needed. Other USB DWA model wireless N and AC adapter options are available as well for Laptops and Desktop PC. DWA-160, DWA-162, DWA-171, DWA-180, and DWA-182 for example. For old generation xbox and 360s, connect the LAN port to the back of one of the DAP model mentioned above and you'll be connected at faster wireless speeds however just know that the maximum supported LAN connection speed on xbox currently is only supporting 100Mb. If a newer generation xbox is released, we can presume or hope that it will have and support LAN wired 1000Mb connection speeds in the future. Again, these suggested options gives older generation and new generation xbox better wireless flexibility and support. Suggested N or AC WiFi Bridge Upgrade

Users are highly encouraged to review and consider using D-Link DAP model devices in place of external host routers in these situations. Users can also review Turning a router into an AP or How to extend network without AP Mode using a Router. However users of this procedure need to understood that this is an wired Access Point (AP) mode solution only! Which means it needs a wired LAN cable connection to do this. There is no wireless solution for turning a router in to an access point using Bridging or Relay! Be aware that when turning a Router into an access point, most of the routers features will not or can not be used. So this is one reason why it's not recommended to go out and buy a dedicated router and use it as an access point as most of the features you may want to use, can not be used and is considered a waste of money doing this. If users are wanting a wireless Bridging or Relaying solution for there network, you are highly encouraged to review all D-Link DAP model wireless product information and find a D-Link DAP model wireless device that best suits your wireless network needs. How to Extend Your Network with a Wireless Bridge


Resources:
http://blog.dlink.com/category/buying-guides
http://blog.dlink.com/wireless-router-buying-guide
http://blog.dlink.com/powerline-buying-guide

Wiki:
WDS
DD-WRT Linking Routers Information

Good Luck.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2017, 10:18:31 AM by FurryNutz »
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