Infrastructure Wireless Bridge - Enterasys RoamAbout RBT-4102 Installation Manual

Network Topologies

Infrastructure Wireless Bridge

The IEEE 802.11 standard defines a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) for bridge
connections between BSS areas (access points). The access point uses WDS to forward
traffic on links between units.
The access point supports WDS bridge links on either the 5 GHz (802.11a) or 2.4 GHz
(802.11b/g) bands, and can be used with various external antennas to offer flexible
deployment options. For external antenna information, refer to the RoamAbout RBT-4102
/ RBT-1602 Wireless Access Point Antenna Site Preparation and Installation Guide.
Up to six WDS bridge links can be specified for each unit in the wireless bridge network.
One unit only must be configured as the "root bridge" in the wireless network. The root
bridge should be the unit connected to the main core of the wired LAN. Other bridges
must configure one "parent" link to the root bridge or to a bridge connected to the root
bridge. The other five available WDS links can be specified as "child" links to other
bridges. This forms a tiered-star topology for the wireless bridge network.
When using WDS on a radio band, only wireless bridge units can associate to each other.
Wireless clients can only associate with the access point using a radio band set to access
point.
Wireless Bridge Links
Network
Between Access Points
Core
802.11g Radio
Root Bridge
802.11a Radio
AP Link
Bridge Link
802.11g Radio
Bridge
AP Link
802.11a Radio
Bridge Link
802.11a Radio
Bridge Link
802.11g Radio
Bridge
AP Link
802.11g Radio
Bridge
AP Link
4-5