Wireless Point-to-Point

[DiscoLando]

Greetings all...

We have a wireless 802.11g point-to-point setup we're having difficulty setting up.

Here's the basics of our network -

Point A has the firewall, dhcp, and file servers, and we need to get Point B connected with them.

At both ends we have a LinkSys wireless 802.11g ethernet bridge with a really nice Yagi antenna for signal strength.

What we need to know is do we need something other than a bridge at each end? How will the bridge on Point B get an IP through dhcp?

This is the first time we've attempted a setup like this and we've had a hard time finding resources to help up. Any help here would be greatly appreciated!

[Midknyte]

The ethernet bridges were really meant to connect wired computers to a wireless access point. if anything, you would have to set both of them to adhoc mode (peer to peer). I would use static IPs if I were you. Just use 2 IPs that are out of the range of the DHCP server. make sure both are using the same SSID and channel.

you could have gotten 1 wireless access point and 1 bridge. You can use 2 access points in bridging mode, but that would prevent you from using other wireless clients on either AP.

here are a couple of links to get you started:
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/

[kwebb]

What you have are workgroup bridges. As midknyte explained, used more for getting wired clients on via a wireless link back to the AP. SOHO based. If you really want to setup a reliable bridge in a corporate environment then you should buy capable bridges. Cisco, Proxim, RadioLAN, and several others. You can certainly give those a try, just put them in Ad Hoc mode and they may work well for you. They will be DHCP clients just like any other LAN host, however I would agree that static IP's are the MUCH better choice. You may have to use a X-over cable to get to the GUI. CHeck your manual for configuration change instructions.

[DiscoLando]

Thanks for the info so far. We were recommended the LinkSys routers because they should work for our needs and within our budget.

Point B's bridge is running directly into a switch, which then goes to about 15 other stations. Should we use a crossover cable for that connection?

[DiscoLando]

errr... LinkSys bridges, not routers. Sorry... :p

[Midknyte]

It shouldn't matter because there is a little switch on the bridges to convert from cross to patch. use whatever position lights up with LAN connection light. :t

[DiscoLando]

Thanks for all the help... everything is up and running beautifully now! :D

[Midknyte]

could you please elaborate on your solution? future sysopters would benefit from it. Thank you. :cool:

[DiscoLando]

Sure... we used two basic LinkSys Wireless Ethernet Bridges, one connected to the switch at Point A, and the other to the switch at Point B (we used straight-through cables for both). The detail that was eluding us was rather silly, we had just forgotten to give each bridge the same SSID.

We used Yagi directional antennas, with an RP-SMA to N-Type connector to replace the cheap antennas that came with the LinkSys bridges.

All in all, we paid about $400 to replace an aging Point-to-Point T1, eliminating the costly monthly lease with a permanent connection that is actually faster.