Today I've been playing with setting up WDS (WiFi Distribution System) on the two DrayTek VigorAP 910C access points that beam the internet to the workshop. In principle this should enable them to function both as a point-to-point link between house and workshop, and function as access points for wireless devices nearby. For wireless devices in the workshop, this would mean that they could connect to the 910C in the workshop, and have that wireless traffic relayed to 910C in the house, and then onto the router and the wider internet.
Previously I'd used two different SSIDs for the networks on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, as I found it useful to know which band a device was connecting on. But the DrayTek website makes such a big thing about keeping the configuration of the 910Cs exactly the same, even down to the wireless channel they're using, that I decided to set up all of the SSIDs and pre-shared keys on each 910C the same. This would also enable them and the Vigor 2860ac router to use band steering, and bump any capable wireless devices onto the 5GHz band automatically. This in turn would keep the 2.4GHz band as clear as possible, which should all help with the bandwidth of the point-to-point link with the workshop, which is only in the 2.4GHz band.
Setting up the 910Cs for WDS was fairly straight forward in the end. After setting the Operational Mode to AP Bridge - WDS, the settings and rules used for Point-to-Point mode transferred over. But whereas previously wireless devices at the workshop couldn't see an access point, they can now. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that in WDS mode the 910C can internally route traffic from wireless devices connected on the 5GHz band to the 2.4GHz WDS link, just like the point-to-point mode. So there's still a hole in my WiFi coverage at the workshop, in the 5GHz band. Looks like that trench is inevitable.
Previously I'd used two different SSIDs for the networks on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, as I found it useful to know which band a device was connecting on. But the DrayTek website makes such a big thing about keeping the configuration of the 910Cs exactly the same, even down to the wireless channel they're using, that I decided to set up all of the SSIDs and pre-shared keys on each 910C the same. This would also enable them and the Vigor 2860ac router to use band steering, and bump any capable wireless devices onto the 5GHz band automatically. This in turn would keep the 2.4GHz band as clear as possible, which should all help with the bandwidth of the point-to-point link with the workshop, which is only in the 2.4GHz band.
Setting up the 910Cs for WDS was fairly straight forward in the end. After setting the Operational Mode to AP Bridge - WDS, the settings and rules used for Point-to-Point mode transferred over. But whereas previously wireless devices at the workshop couldn't see an access point, they can now. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that in WDS mode the 910C can internally route traffic from wireless devices connected on the 5GHz band to the 2.4GHz WDS link, just like the point-to-point mode. So there's still a hole in my WiFi coverage at the workshop, in the 5GHz band. Looks like that trench is inevitable.
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