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Airport Extreme WDS help

coledog

coledog

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 14, 2006
622
1
Roanoke, VA
We have 2 Airport Extreme base stations (non-N) set up with WDS enabled.
From what a friend and Apple told us WDS is the way to cover a house so you can just walk around and not lose internet.

Our problem is that when you walk from one end of the house to the other (from one base to the other essentially) we lose internet because it seems that the laptops (2 MBs and 1 MBP) aren't switching to the other base station. There are no error messages or problems so it seems. Just no internet.

Any ideas?? Thanks!
 
If you're certain the base stations are using WDS, then make sure the second AirPort is close enough to the original one to be able to pick its signal up. Just to check, how did you set up your WDS network? :)
 
With the Airport utility. Yes, the Airports can see each other just fine.
It happens when I walk from the coverage of one Airport to the coverage of the other Airport...nothing seems explain why it disconnects.
 
Enabling WDS is one thing, but is one a main station and the other set as a remote base station? Also when it disconnects, does your computer show that there's no reception or is it just that the internet drops out? Sorry for all the questions. :)
 
Everything is connected, it's just that the internet drops out.
And one is the remote and the other is the base.
 
I think it is normal, is WDS supposed to handle such handover issues smoothly?

Just reconnect and you will be fine, you are not running your own GSM network at home ;)
 
No. It's not normal. The computer should connect to whichever station has the stronger transmission and the internet should stay connected throughout.

Would you mind testing something for me? Start copying a large file from one machine to another via the wireless network. Pick up one of the machines and walk around the house. Does the transfer stop where the internet would normally continue?

Also, does it seem like it's only the remote station that isn't connected to the 'net?
 
I know that when I was running a 802.11g Extreme UFO (3rd floor) with two Express (2nd floor and ground floor) units, in order for it to work smoothly, the UFO was the master, the 2nd floor a relay and the ground floor a remote. Transition was definitely seamless (with a couple of hiccups as the signal from one got low, before it switched off to a closer signal).

The (potentially) good news is that the 802.11n Extreme pizza box (on my 3rd floor) has a stronger 802.11g signal in my living room than the Express sitting next to my couch.
 
Well, I ran the test MadJew suggested...
The first time it didn't switch to the other base at all. Just lost all signal and effectively disconnected.
The second time I still had internet but the file transfer disconnected.
The third time the same thing.

Not quite sure what it all means, but I hope someone has the answer.

Thanks!
 
Yea...I'll play around a bit more then give that a shot. It really bugs me to go from one end to the other and have to RESTART my MBP to get it to like it.
YES, i have to restart to get it to see the internet normally...I'm not sure if i included this in the previous posts...weird huh?
 
Here are screenshots of most of the Windows available in the Utility.
Something that has been like that originally is the "Ethernet Unplugged".

Also, not sure if this means anything, we were told to use the router in the DSL modem rather than the routers in the Airports because otherwise they fight each other.
 

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coledog said:
Also, not sure if this means anything, we were told to use the router in the DSL modem rather than the routers in the Airports because otherwise they fight each other.
Click to expand...


Maybe that's it! They should be fine so long as they have different addresses. For example, my router fires out 192.168... addresses but my AirPort fires out 10.0... addresses.
 
The only problem is that we ARE using the modem as the router...


Here are the same pics but from the OTHER Airport.
 

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Ok here's what I did:

On my router I only have a IP range of .1 - .2 usable for the Airport.
On my Base Airport I made it have an IP range of .3 to .20 for computers and the other Airport.
The 2nd Airport is only if "Bridge mode" so it isn't trying to distribute IPs too.

I have all computers correctly connected and accessing the internet but when I walk to the other end of the house the wireless cuts out and then once it reconnects there isn't any internet. If I walk back it does the same thing until I turn off my wireless and then start it up again on my laptop...

Any more ideas? Did I do something incorrectly??

Thanks!!
 
Do you need the routing abilities at the modem? I ask because I think turning it off may help. The multiple IP routing may be confusing the secondary base station... I don't know for sure though, I just think it might be worth a try. :)
 
Well, I got rid of the routing on the DSL modem. Still seem to be having the same problems though...

Interesting note: I brought my MBP from sleep this morning and when it turned on my dad lost the internet on his MB. They were connected to different Airport Extremes. MB on Base and MBP on remote. Kinda strange...
 
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