Hello guys,

I just read many suggestions on WDS front, but I am not either understanding what WDS is good for, or I am misconfiguring my routers. Our company is about to implement warehouse management system, using barcode readers. We have one former warehouse implemented using Cisco Aironets, but as a new chief of IT, I would like to bring MT platform to our company

Well, I need warehousers to move freely around the warehouse, using wi-fi enabled barcode readers. I expect using RB133s, PoE powered, bridget ethernet and wlan card. But what I also want is kind of roaming, so that warehouser can move around the warehouse freely.

I checked manual, various topics, wiki, but I always can see AP + client setup (either wds-station or wds-slave). Can I have multiple APs bridged, taking my notebook with me, moving around the warehouse and not having my ping interrupted? Is that what is WDS for? Or am I looking for some other setup? I don't want one radio to be a master, another slaves, I want all APs, probably the same SSIDs and frequencies, and kind of roaming.

I wonder if it is possible with MT? I would like it to be possible, as it would be good chance for the platform to enter our company

Thanks a lot,
Petr

It sounds like each of your AP will have a seperate LAN connection (wired ethernet)?
I'm asking because you mentioned 'bridged ethernet and wireless'. If this is the
case then you will not need WDS at all. It would only be useful if you have some APs
that do not have their own wired uplink but instead can only link up to some other
nearby AP wirelessly.

--Tom

Yes, there will be wired etherned. It should be one flat network. RBs will be connected to switch and powered from that switch via PoE. So no need to WDS? Just a bridge? I need barcode readers to not lose the connection, when ppl will move around the warehouse.

-pekr-

Ok, then you do not need WDS. Roaming will be possible. Configure all access points to use the same SSID and the same security-profile (i.e. WPA or WPA2 or WEP or Open or whatever you need). But the roaming will probably not be completely seamless as it takes some time for a client to (re-) associate to another AP, so there will probably be a brief loss of connectivity for the client while this happens.

--Tom

OK, I think I can understand that, thanks for your reply. But - is there solution like "mesh networking" (if that is correct term) with MT? Simply imagine the case, if I would have wi-fi enabled cell phone, and would like kind of roaming. I cannot wait for the phone to reassociate to another AP, right?

Petr

I am working on a system that is using IP phones. The roaming issues is a big one and is NOT and probably CANNOT be addressed in an 802.11x environment. There will be dropped packets during the reassociation with a different access point. Big deal during a phone call, but probably tolerable with a roaming barcode scanner. Make sure your access points are on DIFFERENT frequencies so that the strongest signals at any one location are NOT on the same frequency.

I have worked hard to get as much coverage per access point to minimize the times reassociation is needed. High gain antennas and as sensitive as possible radios. Rumor has it that 802.11g reassociates faster than b so I have made sure that is setup.

I am wondering if Leaky Cabling and ONE access point might be the solution I need in my warehouse environment. http://www.systechtelecom.net/Spec_ST-Leaky.htm

Any clue where could I buy that kind of cable? Or some prices please?

Looks really interesting.

Cisco 1232s will do seamless roaming in repeater mode and you need only a single ethernet connection to the master repeater(other APs as slave repeaters have their ethernet ports disabled anyway). The Ciscos work flawlessly but I am looking for a cheaper solution to do this with. I have read up on WDS and it sounds like it will do seamless roaming. If not what the hell is the point? Will post more info after testing with WDS.

I setup 8 routerboards at my fathers house. Each connected via cat5 to a switch. Each had a single wireless card in standard AP mode. You can walk the entire house without dropping any packets. 802.11g. Same SSID - random frequencies I believe. WPA and WPA2 will not work seamlessly because if you hop to a new router your encryption will have to be renegotiated whereas WEP doesnt. Should work for your application.