Treating Workgroup Bridges As Infrastructure Devices Or As Client Devices - Cisco M10-RM Software Manual

Understanding Workgroup Bridge Mode
Figure 19-2
Figure 19-2
Workstation

Treating Workgroup Bridges as Infrastructure Devices or as Client Devices

The access point to which a workgroup bridge associates can treat the workgroup bridge as an
infrastructure device or as a simple client device. By default, access points and bridges treat workgroup
bridges as client devices.
For increased reliability, you can configure access points and bridges to treat workgroup bridges not as
client devices but as infrastructure devices, like access points or bridges. Treating a workgroup bridge
as an infrastructure device means that the access point reliably delivers multicast packets, including
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) packets, to the workgroup bridge. You use the
infrastructure-client configuration interface command to configure access points and bridges to treat
workgroup bridges as infrastructure devices.
Configuring access points and bridges to treat a workgroup bridge as a client device allows more
workgroup bridges to associate to the same access point, or to associate using an SSID that is not an
infrastructure SSID. The performance cost of reliable multicast delivery—duplication of each multicast
packet sent to each workgroup bridge—limits the number of infrastructure devices, including workgroup
Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Aironet Access Points
19-14
Chapter 19
shows an access point in workgroup bridge mode.
Access Point in Workgroup Bridge Mode
Access Point
(Root Unit)
Laptop
Configuring Repeater and Standby Access Points and Workgroup Bridge Mode
Wired LAN
Hub
1X 2X
ETHE RNET
3X 4X
SPEED
LED
100Bas eTX
SOLID 1 2 3
10Base T 4
BLINK
5 6 7 8
5X
6X 7X
8X
MDI
MDI-X
Workstation
Workstation
OL-14209-01