Multiple Access Points + 1 SSID

[Mide]

I think this is possible but I've never done it before. I got this new job and we have 6 APs all with different SSIDs and WPA passwords. I think this is possible, but how would I configure the network such that it would be like how cell towers work. The goal is to have users only needing to input 1 SSID and 1 password but have free rein of the building.

1 SSID 1 Password. If I wander around the office with a laptop, I will connect to the closest AP, but if I wander to another section of the building, it will auto-connect to another AP.

The configs that the APs have are called WDS and Multi-SSID. From reading I don't think it is the Multi-SSID one, but can someone educate me on this?

 

[JackMDS]

Use the same SSID but configure to different channels.

You would some sort of roaming, but it will not be perfect.

 

[Mide]

Yeah I just tried it with 2 of the furthest APs from each other... a ping -t showed that as one AP lost the connection/latency shot up, the second AP with the same SSID took over.

What would be an ideal configuration if this isn't 'perfect'?

 

[JackMDS]

It not not a matter of configuration it is a matter of buying expensive Wireless hardware that was built for this purpose.

 

[Mide]

Ah I understand, thanks for the help.

 

[spidey07]

Are these Cisco APs? If so you can setup seamless routing and the client won't lose any connectivity or have to rekey or get an IP address again. Provided they are on the same IP subnet. Every manufacturer does WDS differently and what it means so I'd check the manual or post the make/model of AP.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

For your situation that's the best way as long as it's setup securely. With 6 you might have some issues though. You might need to seperate it into two sites, one ssid for each side of the building.

 

[spidey07]

For your situation that's the best way as long as it's setup securely. With 6 you might have some issues though. You might need to seperate it into two sites, one ssid for each side of the building.

Not really. That only makes things more complicated and troublesome. One SSID, with the same credentials is fine for thousands of access points. The client will simply need to go through the association process, establish a new key/authentication and it's fine.

This can take several seconds though as the client moves from one AP to the next and isn't ideal, but it works. This is why there are roaming solutions out there that cache the authentication/key phases so ALL APs have knowledge of the client and the switch is under 50 ms.

 

[theevilsharpie]

I'm assuming that getting dedicated wireless roaming equipment is out of the question, so the best way to configure semi-seamless roaming without spending a bunch of time or money on infrastructure is to configure your access points as RADIUS clients with PEAP authentication.

 

[Mide]

We have a bunch of D-link DWL-3200APs

I just tried to configure 3 APs with the same SSID and put them on very separate channels. The results are less than stellar. If I wander from one AP that is very far away from the other, then yes it does lose connectivity for a few seconds but then reconnects to the closer AP. But when I did the same thing to 2 APs that kinda overlap each other in terms of range, the Wifi card kept on dropping one AP and hopping onto another. I tried to manually specify the Intel software to connect to the AP on a specific channel, but to no avail, it just kept on looping the drop/reconnect process.

The D-Links have WDS but I'm not sure how they work. From researching a bit, it looks like a method to put wireless repeaters in action while bandwidth suffers depending on how many jumps. All of our APs have a dedicated Ethernet connection so that is not needed, unless I am mistaken in my knowledge of WDS which is indeed a possibility.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

You can typically lock the association to a single mac address(AP) since the channel way isnt working, but by the time you've done that you could just as easily do:

SSID1
SSID2
SSID3

Besides, when you lock it to a single channel or MAC it defeats the purpose of why you want to keep them the same since it will only change to the next AP if there is no signal at all

 

[kevnich2]

WDS drops bandwidth to about half speed. What your trying to do should work - I have multiple AP's in my house and all use the same SSID and my laptop just switches between them with no issues. Your AP may need newer firmware - my AP's are max of about 2 years old.