Wireless AP Router HNW300APN2
User Manual 40
WDS (Wireless Distribution System)
WDS stands for Wireless Distribution System. It enables the Wi-Fi Routers (APs) to be connected wirelessly.
Integrated Access Device can also provide you services of WDS.
Note: Integrated Access Device that supports WDS does not support security systems like WEP, WPA or
WPA-Enterprise on a WDS network:
Sometimes you want to establish a multi-access point wireless network in your home or office, but you don’t
have Ethernet cabling running to the locations where you want to add the extra AP. After all, you may be
using wireless because you don’t have wires in place already.
One way to overcome this problem is to use a system built into Wireless Gateway that is known as Wireless
Distribution System (WDS).
WDS basically creates a mesh network by providing a mechanism for access points to “talk” to each other as
well as sending data to devices associated with them.
Note: WDS is based on some standardized 802.11 protocols, but there is no standardized way of
implementing it that works across different AP and router vendors. So if you have a Wireless Gateway in one
location and you want to create a WDS link to a other brand of router in another location (just to pick two
brands at random), you probably won’t be able to get it to work. You have your best luck when you use
equipment from the same manufacturer
Note: When you use WDS as a repeater system, as described below, it effectively halves the data rate for
clients connected to Integrated Wireless Gateway. That’s because every bit of data needs to be sent twice
(data is received by the AP and then retransmitted).
To configure WDS, you need to modify some settings on each AP within the network. Your exact steps (and
the verbiage used) will vary from vendor to vendor. Generally, you’ll see some settings like the following:
Main WDS station:
One of your WDS stations is the main base station for the WDS network. This AP is connected directly to
your Internet connection, or connected to your router via a wired connection. The main station is the bridge to
your Internet connection that all wireless traffic eventually flows through.
Repeater WDS stations:
In a simple, two-AP WDS network, the other “unwired” AP is a repeater. The repeater receives data from the
main base station and relays the data to the wireless clients associated to the repeater station (and vice
versa for data coming from the clients). If you have more than two APs, remote APs may be repeaters, or
they may be relays that provide an intermediate stopping point for data if the repeater is too far away from the
main station to communicate.
When you configure your main or base WDS station, take note of the channel you’re set to and the ESSID or
network name of your network. If your AP has any kind of channel auto configuration function that changes
channels based on network conditions, be sure to disable this feature. If your main WDS station is also your
network’s router, make sure it’s set up to distribute IP addresses in the network.
Note: Write down or otherwise take note of the MAC addresses of all of your WDS stations — many
configuration software systems require you to know these addresses to make the configuration settings
work. Write down the wireless MAC address (it’s often on a sticker) and not the Ethernet MAC address
Turn on the WDS functionality in your main station (it’s often labeled WDS, or may say something like Enable
This Base Station As a WDS Main Base Station — that’s the wording Apple uses for their AirPort Extreme
products). When you turn on this functionality, the configuration software may ask you to identify the remote
repeater(s). Have the MAC addresses of those repeaters handy in case you need them.
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