bridging wireless - belkin f5d7632 and f5d7130 wireless range extender access point

1529 hits since 24 January 2008 | Author: Tom Chambers

To extend the coverage of your wireless network using this range of kit you will need the Belkin F5D7130 wireless access point / range extender and a compatible wireless router. Models of wireless router known to work with the F5D7130 are the Belkin F5D7632 and F5D7633.

Connect the F5D7130 to the wireless router, for our tests we used the Belkin F5D7632uk-4A via ethernet cable. Open your favourite web browser on a computer connected to the wireless router (either wirelessly or via ethernet cable) and in the address bar type http://192.168.2.254 to go the the control panel of the F5D7130. You may be asked to login - the default password is blank so just click the submit button.

Enter the following wireless information taking careful note as you will need to set the same settings in the wireless router: channel, SSID and security encryption settings. Please note that the F5D7130 does NOT support WPA encryption when being used as a bridge. If you want to use WPA encryption in bridging mode you will need a F5D7132.

Ensure that Turbo Mode is set to 'Frame Bursting Mode'.

When you have entered these settings and applied them you should logout from the control panel of the F5D7130 wireless range extender.

Now login to the wireless router control panel by entering http://192.168.2.1 into the address bar of your web browser and press enter. You may be asked for a password, again its blank by default so just click submit.

In the wireless settings enter the same information that you put in the control panel of the wireless range extender for channel, SSID, turbo mode and security. Apply the settings.

Enter the control panel of the F5D7130 (http://192.168.2.254) and select Wireless Bridging from the left hand menu, select AUTO and wait a short while a table showing nearby access points should appear, tick the entry that matches the mac address of the wireless interface of the wireless router. Apply and then log out of the wireless range extender control panel. Log into the control of the Belkin F5D7632 wireless router and again select Wireless Bridging from the left hand menu. Choose AUTO and after a short period a table should appear showing nearby access points. Tick the entry that matches the mac address of the wireless interface of the wireless range extender. Click apply and log out of the control panel.

Restart the Wireless Range Extender and the Wireless Router. You should now have wireless bridging up and running and have extended the coverage of your wireless network. Move the F5D7130 into position and plug it in. Please note that it must be within the coverage area of the wireless router in order to 'extend' the wireless coverage.

Questions:

Q. Can I use more than one F5D7130 with the wireless router?
A. Yes. We've carried out installations with three F5D7130's connected to a single F5D7632uk-4A. A good tip is to setup one F5D7130 and when its up and running with all the settings made then save the settings as a .conf file to your computer then plug in the next one and restore the saved settings to this one.

Q. How many F5D7130's can be used with the wireless router?
A. Belkin give a clue as if you set the access manually under the Wireless Bridge option in the router there are only four wireless bridge mac addresses that can be entered. We would certainly guess 4-16, perhaps Belkin could shed some light on this? Its possible using the AUTO option the table may show up more than four mac addresses, we only had three F5D7130's in our installation so are unable to confirm any higher than four. We found three F5D7130's worked very well giving good coverage well beyond the range of the wireless router.

Q. What about security?
A. Its a pain that you cant WPA the wireless in bridging mode. This may be a limitation of the hardware as Belkin report this is possible with the F5D7132. We also had problems trying to secure the F5D7130 with WEP128, each time a hex key was entered the control panel would lock up, this was even with the latest firmware, V4.05.04 (at the time of writing). Yes, there is plenty of views about the flaws of WEP but its better than leaving the wireless unsecured. We still see wireless routers from large well known ADSL ISP's still secured with WEP. The other option would be to upgrade the hardware.

Q. Why use Wireless Range Extenders? Wouldn't it be cheaper to switch to Pre-n hardware which has greater coverage?
A. True it *MAY* be an option. In some cases pre-n will offer and advantage. Things to bear in mind - Pre-n is still quite new and therefore the kit is still quite expensive. At the time of writing a pre-n wireless adapter is just under £50. Pre-n uses multiple channels so in a densly populated area it may be that the bandwidth is already crowded. We think each installation should be judged on its own merits with consideration given to the results of the site survey done during the planning phase.

Q. What about directional ariels?
A. The F5D7632 and F5D7130 both have fixed ariels, therefore you cannot detach the ariel and replace with one of a higher gain or directional. You could get a good point to point range using two alternative wireless adapters having a directional antenna connected to each. However the case of the wireless range extenders is to give a blanket coverage extending that of the wireless router rather than a long distance point to point link.

Q. Will this setup work with Vista / AOL / XP / Laptops / USB Adapters?
A. In summary yes. The Wireless Bridging mode should just be thought of as simply 'repeating' the wireless signal to pass on the wireless signal to an area outside the coverage of the wireless router itself. As far as any connected computer is concerned its a standard wireless connection.