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I am looking for some information on this feature/ standard.
The new CWNA book does not use this term, so I find it hard to understand if the information on wireless bridging/repeating is related to WDS or not.I have searched in these forums, but also could not find anything.
Is the WDS feature in an AP the same in all products or are there implementation differences?

All help is appreciated.
thanks!

The WDS you are referring to is Wireless Distribution System. Lets say you have two AP's in your network. In a non WDS scenario, they two AP's are connected over a wired network. That is a normal way. In a WDS, the AP's are providing connectivity to clients, but also communicate with each other wirelessly.

If you want to see a diagram, go to google, then images, type in wireless distribution system. The first picture that comes up is a diagram of a WDS at work.

Hope this helps.

GT Hill

P.S. Is wirelessly a word? :)

Hi Sacim of Milano:

Wireless Distribution System (WDS) is fundamentally a part of the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example the 802.11 MAC header defines four MAC address fields, and the fourth one exists only for WDS.

However, much about WDS is not specified by the IEEE and WDS appears not to have been on the Wi-Fi Alliance's interoperability lists. Thus each vendor's WDS implementation, if it exists at all, often has only worked with that vendor's equipment, and sometimes is not even called WDS in the vendor's literature.

Many vendors have made up their own WDS terms that have no IEEE 802.11 counterparts, such as bridge (virtually all IEEE 802.11 access points with 802.3 Ethernet ports are IEEE bridges between the two data-links), root bridge (an IEEE 802.1 spanning tree concept not applicable here), and repeater (an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet concept also not applicable here). One vendor (Cisco) even appropriated the acronym for its own invention that has nothing to do with IEEE 802.11 WDS - Wireless Domain Services. Confusion anyone?

As cool as WDS is, in most cases it remains a far second choice to running Ethernet between access points. Using WDS requires that adjacent access points use the same channel which increases contention and reduces throughput. But if you just can't get the cable there, and bandwidth is plentiful, WDS is there for you. Enjoy.

This forum has several references to WDS, and (although I do not have the book with me) the CWNAv3 book should as well.

I hope this helps. Thanks. /criss

In Cisco APs, WDS means Wireless Domain Services.

Essentially, this means allowing an AP to act as a proxy RADIUS server to lighten the network traffic load going to the ACS (RADIUS server) during authentication in a large network.

When you use WDS in a wireless network to connect APs together to extend coverage without cables, are clients "roaming" when they move from one AP to the other, or is the term roaming only correct when the APs are connected via a wired distribution system?
thank you.

Hi Sacim:

The short answer is yes, roaming is roaming regardless of the type of distribution system (DS) used by the access points (AP).

A client typically makes the decision of when to give up its association to one AP and either associate or reassociate to a subsequent AP. A client that has moved its association is said to have "roamed" to the subsequent AP regardless of whether the client has physically moved.

Client configuration that controls association and reassociation is typically no more than a list of one or more acceptable SSIDs. No check is required that the subsequent AP uses the same DS, or same type of DS, as the former AP, or is even in the same IP subnet.

I hope this helps. Thanks. /criss

hii Sacim

I think all our frnds have explained very nicely .i would like to add that wireless bridges, wireless workgroup bridges and repeaters are used for WDS.

Mesh routers also form WDS.

Thanx
Vinay Saini