User guide

Enterasys Wireless Standalone 802.11n AP User Guide 5-1
5
Configuring WDS
AWirelessDistributionSystem(WDS)enablesyoutoexpand thewirelessnetworkby
interconnectingAPsthroughwirelesslinksinadditiontothetraditionalmethodof
interconnectingAPsthroughawirednetwork.ThischapterdiscussestheWDScapabilitiesofthe
AP,deploymentoptions,andhowtocreateandconfigureaWDS.
For information about... Refer to page...
About WDS 5-1
WDS WLAN Services 5-3
Key Features of WDS 5-6
Before Configuring WDS Services 5-9
Configuring a WDS Service 5-10
About WDS
WDSservicesrepresentagroupofAPsorganizedintoahierarchyforpurposesofprovidinga
wirelessdistributionservice.Thistypeofserviceisinessenceawirelesstrunkingservicerather
thanaservicethatprovidesaccessforstations.Assuch,thistypeofservicecannothavepolicies
attachedtoit.
AWDSdeploym
entisideallysuitedforlocationswhereinstallingEthernetcablingistoo
expensive,orphysicallyimpossible.
TheWDScanbedeplo
yedinthreeways:
•SimpleWDS Config
uration
•WirelessRepeaterC
onfiguration
•WirelessBri
dgeConfiguration
Simple WDS Configuration
Inatypicalconfiguration,theAPsareconnectedtoanEthernetnetwork,whichprovides
connectivitytoclients.
However,whenanAPisins
talledinaremotelocationand cannotbewiredtothedistribution
system,anintermediate APisconnectedtothedistributionsystemthroughtheEthernetlink.This 
intermediateAPforwardsandreceivestheusertrafficfromtheremoteAPoveraradiolink.
Theint
ermediateAPthatisconnectedtothedistributionsystemviatheEthernetnetworkiscalled
theRootAP,andtheAPthatisremotelylocatediscalledtheSatelliteAP.
TheFigure5‐1onpage5‐2il
lustratestheSimpleWDSconfiguration.