Using 2 access points

[Fritz]

I keep reading conflicting info on this. One point of view says give both AP's the same SSID and password and you increase the coverage of your WiFi network. Another says put them on different channels to avoid collisions. Another says even if you use multiple AP's you won't have a mesh. Like all questions you ask on the Internet, the answer will depend on the answerer. Truth is nowhere to be found.

I want to extend the range of my WiFi by adding a second AP. Of course the hand off from one AP to another needs to be transparent. So what's the truth? I only need 2 AP's, do I need to invest in a mesh?

TIA

EDIT - One more question. I assume both AP's need to use the same subnet, right?

 

[prdtabim]

To extend the range in the most simple way:
- all access points use the same SSID and password
- all access points use different channels, in preference with 3-4 channels interval between them
The different channels are needed to avoid interference by yourself .
The same SSID and password makes simple to register stations/smartphones.
The last think, if possible, is set the minimum signal to disconect the client to force it to connect to another. If the AP support fast roaming better.

The same subnet is not required for the APs. You can configure 1 station in the AP ip range to management.
You must use only one active DHCP server. Unless that you use multiple ssid with VLAN separation ( not the case ).

 

[Tom5051]

Ubiquiti APs do full mesh.

 

[Fritz]

I'm using a Ruckus ZoneFlex 7372. It allows me to assign all wireless clients their own subnet and thus keep them from accessing the LAN. I spent a considerable amount of time figuring out how to do this with my previous TP-Link AP. Ended up that it wasn't capable, i.e. can't get there from here.

The Ruckus was cheap and works extremely well. I ordered another to place at the opposite corner of the house thus giving me an excellent signal no matter where I am. In my quest to figure out how to do this I found no one who had a freaking clue but everyone had a guess. That's the way the Internet is, full of opinions but rare on facts.

I took a chance and ordered the Ruckus thinking maybe it had this feature since it was commercial grade. It was cheap so I wouldn't be out much if it didn't.

 

[klui]

If you can hardwire your APs don't mesh. You can't get transparent handoff if they have different SSIDs. You can set different channels per AP to avoid interference.

 

[Fritz]

The second Ruckus has arrived and is up and running.

Ruckus #1 has DHCP server enabled, Ruckus # 2 has DHCP server disabled. Clients are pulling their IP from Ruckus # 1 as they should.

How can I tell which AP a client is actually connected to?

 

[Stephan]

Stage 1: I'd set up both APs with same SSID and password, put them into same subnet and give devices where it matters a static DHCP lease. Do not disable beacons ("hidden AP") or mess with beacon intervals (~10/sec), because devices will otherwise have trouble picking the strongest AP. If a device travels around, like you going from basement into attic with a laptop, it will simply switch to a different AP with stronger signal without you doing anything.

If you live downtown with many APs and got Android F-Droid store, get the very good open source "WiFiAnalyzer" from VREM Software Development to gauge band congestion. Depending on Android version, later versions might throttle wifi scanning to conserve battery. There is a developer menu setting on all but Android 10 I believe where you can turn that throttling off. The app will probably notify you though. If you live more like in the countryside and need 2.4 GHz for devices, look at this graph: List of WLAN channels - Wikipedia At 40 MHz channel width the entire 2.4 GHz spectrum is basically full with two APs, one at channel 1 and the other at channel 13 (11 for US, then it overlaps already a bit). If you'd put both APs on same channel, with same side-channel, you'd essentially half (or worse... wifi air link is fairy magic) throughput.

Stage 2: Devices might still reset IP connections on re-association, but keeping the DHCP lease static is the best you can do. On Linux there is a systemd-networkd setting called "IgnoreCarrierLoss=" see systemd.network which allows you to specify say 10 seconds so the IP stack will keep its stuff together and not reset running IP sessions, if you travel between SSIDs and the card in the laptop takes a moment to associate to that other AP.

Stage 3: If you want to go overboard, install a Radius and read up on "IEEE 802.11i/RSN/WPA2 Pre-authentication", e.g. see en:users:documentation:hostapd [Linux Wireless] This will connect both APs so they will be able to exchange authentication information.

You only want anything meshy if you have no ethernet cable to where a bridge AP lives and you want to extend range beyond the last ethernet connected AP. In that case a small directional antenna for the uplink part will be advisable depending on AP-AP distance.

Or, see what you can achieve with a directional antenna on that one AP. There's a metric ton of simple to build but highly efficient antenna designs out there on the web, search for wifi antenna + (yagi,biquad,dual loop,cantenna). Might even get away with a larger stacked dipole. But keep the cable short and high quality, with low loss at f=2.4 GHz at or below 0.5 dB/meter.

 

[klui]

Looks like you can go to Status > Wireless. But I'm not sure if you'd need to do it for every AP for these older devices or it will show you all APs with the same SSID. My guess is you need to do it for every AP. Just compare BSSID.

Do yourself a favor and create a login at support.ruckuswireless.com. It's free and you can download manuals and firmware. I am looking at the Release 100.1.0 User Guide.