Originally posted by: Madwand1
Yes, for WDS bridging, both sides of the link have to have a compatible WDS implementation.
However, you can use some Linksys and other wireless routers in client bridge mode using DD-WRT or similar third-party firmware, which gets around this limitation -- they connect as standard wireless clients, so the main router / AP doesn't have to have any special support.
Thanks. I updated my WRT54G v3 to DD-WRT f/w and use Client mode w/ same SSID as the first and diff. subnet 192.168.2.1 instead and it connects fine, boosting download speed from 80-90KB/s to 300KB/s But.... I have to connect by wire to the Linksys. I changed to the Client Bridge mode like you said and it wouldn't connect, even when I keep subnet the same and start at 192.168.1.100 instead (to avoid conflict with the Netgear starting at 192.168.1.1) I believe to have wireless clients connect to the Linksys and a jump pad to the Netgear, both routers have to support WDS and I have to change back to the normal AP mode, and add MAC addr of each router into the other one's list. Here's the help on each mode from DD-WRT:
Wireless Mode
The wireless part of your router can run in different modes:
AP mode ? This is the default mode, also called Infrastructure mode. Your router acts as an central connection point, which wireless clients can connect to.
Client mode ? The radio interface is used to connect the internet-facing side of the router (i.e., the WAN) as a client to a remote accesspoint. NAT or routing are performed between WAN and LAN, like in "normal" gateway or router mode. Use this mode, e.g., if your internet connection is provided by a remote accesspoint, and you want to connect a subnet of your own to it.
Client Bridged mode ? The radio interface is used to connect the LAN side of the router to a remote accesspoint. The LAN and the remote AP will be in the same subnet (This is called a "bridge" between two network segments). The WAN side of the router is unused and can be disabled. Use this mode, e.g., to make the router act as a "WLAN adapter" for a device connected to one of its LAN ethernet ports.
Ad-Hoc mode ? This is for peer to peer wireless connections. Clients running in Ad-Hoc mode can connect to each other as required without involving central access points.
NoteNote that WDS is only available in AP mode.