Enterasys Networks RBT-4102 manual Infrastructure Wireless Bridge

Network Topologies

Infrastructure Wireless Bridge

The IEEE 802.11 standard defines a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) for bridge connections between BSS areas (access points). The access point uses WDS to forward traffic on links between units.

The access point supports WDS bridge links on either the 5 GHz (802.11a) or 2.4 GHz (802.11b/g) bands, and can be used with various external antennas to offer flexible deployment options. For external antenna information, refer to the RoamAbout RBT-4102 /RBT-1602 Wireless Access Point Antenna Site Preparation and Installation Guide.

Up to six WDS bridge links can be specified for each unit in the wireless bridge network. One unit only must be configured as the “root bridge” in the wireless network. The root bridge should be the unit connected to the main core of the wired LAN. Other bridges must configure one “parent” link to the root bridge or to a bridge connected to the root bridge. The other five available WDS links can be specified as “child” links to other bridges. This forms a tiered-star topology for the wireless bridge network.

When using WDS on a radio band, only wireless bridge units can associate to each other. Wireless clients can only associate with the access point using a radio band set to access point.

Network	Wireless Bridge Links
	Between Access Points
Core

802.11g Radio		Root Bridge
AP Link			802.11a Radio
			Bridge Link
			802.11g Radio	Bridge
			AP Link
		802.11a Radio
		Bridge Link
			802.11a Radio
			Bridge Link
802.11g Radio	Bridge
AP Link
			802.11g Radio	Bridge
			AP Link

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