Cheap Bridge Question.. Repeater and Client .. Is that same Booter and Bridge?

[DaveLembke]

 Netis WF2412 N150 Wireless Router provides a reliable 150Mbps Wireless N speed, coverage and performance for online gaming, video streaming, VoIP and surfing the Internet. Besides it being a Home Router the WF2412 provides various wireless solutions AP, WDS, AP+WDS, Repeater and Client to expand your wireless network.

The WF2412 will allow you to connect your wireless devices to your network or your high speed Internet within seconds by using the WPS Button. You can now have multiple networks for your guest when using the WF2412. The WF2412 supports Wireless Internet Service Providers "WISP" and with its 2 5dBi antennas the WF2412 will provide superior wireless coverage by allowing you to enjoy the wireless freedom around your home.

Here is the cheap hardware Im looking at

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA10V3634440

I am trying to set up a better wireless connection between my home and my barn. I have a 2004 year make model Linksys Access Point in attic of my home that is broadcasting Wireless B and in the barn I get 1 or 2 bars strength and occasionally packet loss.

Decided that I think I should get new hardware and a matched pair of hardware to act as a wireless bridge configuration so that wired network devices in the loft of the barn can communicate all over a wireless bridge to the homes wireless network.

Budget is $100 so I could spend more if needed. I saw these and figured that if they work, that might be a cheap solution.

But Repeater and Client is confusing as for I am expecting to see Range Booster or Repeater and Bridge vs client. So what is client if its not a bridge?

[Geek-9pm]

Me too.
Sad to say, it seems the confusion is deliberate.
Repeater should mean repeater. But that is not the case.

A Wireless Router is an Access Point.
But not any Access Point is a Router

A Client is a beneficiary, the system serves him. The client does not benefit  others. Often the Client is the end-user device.

However, you can flip router in being a client. Sometimes you do that to create a bridge whee you can not run an Ethernet cable between two points. In some jargon this kind of Bridge they want to call  a repeater.

Here is what most of us think a repeater should be. It would be something the overcomes the power limit of a  wireless communication .  It ought to be a single unit that does not require an Ethernet cable. It ought to be able to gather some packets and then repeat them. This would allow a distance client to get the repeated data.This kind of repeater zaps the bandwidth in half.

What  I have written  is dated. What is needed is clear, concise definitions fro the manufactures of what a device really does.

Thee is a new thing called 802.11ax and the implication is that to get the full benefit, most or all of your devices have to comply.


What is 802.11ax WiFi

The easiest way to think of 802.11ax is to start with 802.11ac — which allows for up to four different spatial streams (MIMO) — and then to massively increase the spectral efficiency (and thus max throughput) of each stream. Like its predecessor, 802.11ax operates in the 5GHz band, where there’s a lot more space for wide (80MHz and 160MHz) channels.

If you have a lot of bandwidth, you can waster it.

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Footnote: There is a thing called 'Ad-Hoc' and 'Mesh-Network' that changes the rules. This has been used in cases where real people need  something simple that just works. In a classroom with mesh network, every kid can uses resources from any other kid. And it effectively extends the range of coverage. But low bandwidth.

Does that help any? A little bit?   

[jason2074]

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater_Bridge

A wireless bridge connects two LAN segments with a wireless link. The two segments are in the same subnet and look like two ethernet switches connected by a cable to all computers on the subnet. Since the computers are on the same subnet, broadcasts reach all machines. DHCP clients in one segment can get their addresses from a DHCP server in the other segment.

Use a wireless bridge to transparently connect computers in one room to computers in a different room when you cannot—or don't want to—run an ethernet cable between the two rooms.

A standard wireless bridge (client bridge) connects wired clients to a secondary router as if they were connected to your main router with a cable. Secondary clients share the bandwidth of a wireless connection back to your main router. Of course, you can still connect clients to your main router using either a cable connection or a wireless connection.

The limitation with standard bridging is that it only allows wired clients to connect to your secondary router. Wireless clients cannot connect to your secondary router configured as a standard bridge. Repeater bridge allows wireless AND wired clients to connect to a the repeater bridge router, and through that device wirelessly to a primary router. You can still use this mode if you only need to bridge wired clients; the extra wireless repeater capability comes along for free however you are not required to use it.