Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2019 19:40 Post subject: WDS Station recommendation
I currently have an R7800 w/R41586 installed as a WDS AP. I have an area in the house where there is a lot of brick and cement so the wireless signal is very poor. I was thinking of adding another WDS station to improve the signal quality in this area.
I have two questions for the experts:
(1) What router would you recommend? I figure it needs to have adjustable/replaceable antennas and an Atheros chipset compatible with my R7800 WDS AP. Only need 2.4Ghz 802.11N so I can buy a cheaper model. I thought of a WNDR3700v2 but it has built in antennas..WNDAP350 doesn't seem to have DD-WRT support... I assume some of the old radios (during draft days) might not be up to par. What do you folks recommend?
(2) What happens to bandwidth when I add a 2nd WDS Station to the WDS AP? Is there any downside other than the potential for addtional wireless traffic to the AP? Am I going to expect less performance even when there is no competing traffic?
Joined: 21 Jan 2017 Posts: 1783 Location: Illinois Moderator
Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2019 20:22 Post subject:
TBH, Try and find another R7800 on ebay between $70-$100 and or keep your eye's peeled for an amazon deal. You just missed the $120 deal for a new R7800 on amazon.
I would look for something with a wifi 5- wave 2 chipset, or better. The R7800 is using the QCA9984:
Are you sure? I did not see anything about performance impact when adding a 2nd station. I apologize If I missed it but I don't see it.
msoengineer wrote:
TBH, Try and find another R7800 on ebay between $70-$100 and or keep your eye's peeled for an amazon deal. You just missed the $120 deal for a new R7800 on amazon.
I would look for something with a wifi 5- wave 2 chipset, or better. The R7800 is using the QCA9984:
EDIT: Unfortunately it seems DD-WRT isn't supported on basically the entire list except R7800/R9000.. lol
Even at $120 (nice deal, agree) I really don't want to spend that much money on an AC1200 router, a N router is all that is needed for this location (can get for like $20).
I guess I could always buy an N router and benchmark the performance but didn't want to have buyer's remorse. I am hoping someone could elaborate on the PROs/CONs relative to performance when adding a 2nd WDS Station, if any. Ty
Joined: 16 Nov 2015 Posts: 6435 Location: UK, London, just across the river..
Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2019 22:50 Post subject:
the essence of WDS is not like client/repeater mode
it doesn't cut bandwidth in half...thats y is more preferred, but its a hack that only compatible units will support and work with...
yep try Archer C7 v2, 3, 4
or TP link wr1043nd v2 or v3 both have Qualcomm-Atheros SoC that is compatible with R7800
well...at least i tried TP-L 1043v2 along with R7800,
you could probb find DIR 862l too, as it has the same SoC...... _________________ Atheros
TP-Link WR740Nv1 ---DD-WRT 55630 WAP
TP-Link WR1043NDv2 -DD-WRT 55723 Gateway/DoT,Forced DNS,Ad-Block,Firewall,x4VLAN,VPN
TP-Link WR1043NDv2 -Gargoyle OS 1.15.x AP,DNS,QoS,Quotas
Qualcomm-Atheros
Netgear XR500 --DD-WRT 55779 Gateway/DoH,Forced DNS,AP Isolation,4VLAN,Ad-Block,Firewall,Vanilla
Netgear R7800 --DD-WRT 55779 Gateway/DoT,AD-Block,Forced DNS,AP&Net Isolation,x3VLAN,Firewall,Vanilla
Netgear R9000 --DD-WRT 55779 Gateway/DoT,AD-Block,AP Isolation,Firewall,Forced DNS,x2VLAN,Vanilla
Broadcom
Netgear R7000 --DD-WRT 55460 Gateway/SmartDNS/DoH,AD-Block,Firewall,Forced DNS,x3VLAN,VPN
NOT USING 5Ghz ANYWHERE
------------------------------------------------------
Stubby DNS over TLS I DNSCrypt v2 by mac913
Joined: 21 Jan 2017 Posts: 1783 Location: Illinois Moderator
Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2019 22:55 Post subject:
Alozaros wrote:
yep try Archer C7 v2, 3, 4
or TP link wr1043nd v2 or v3 both have Qualcomm-Atheros SoC that is compatible with R7800
well...at least i tried TP-L 1043v2 along with R7800,
you could probb find DIR 862l too, as it has the same SoC......
The other option is the Archer A7v5... I got one for a buddy on ebay for $25+S/H... the downside is TX Pwr on the 2.4 won't go above 24 from what I recall because of the WiFi 4 limits in the chipset firmware... So YMMV using an older chipset...that's why I said stick to WiFi 5 chips... _________________ FORUM RULES
yep try Archer C7 v2, 3, 4
or TP link wr1043nd v2 or v3 both have Qualcomm-Atheros SoC that is compatible with R7800
well...at least i tried TP-L 1043v2 along with R7800,
you could probb find DIR 862l too, as it has the same SoC......
The other option is the Archer A7v5... I got one for a buddy on ebay for $25+S/H... the downside is TX Pwr on the 2.4 won't go above 24 from what I recall because of the WiFi 4 limits in the chipset firmware... So YMMV using an older chipset...that's why I said stick to WiFi 5 chips...
Thanks guys! Chasing down a C7 now, they seem to be fairly priced. Appreciate it! Assume v4 is the best, not sure how much that matters.
I've got the C7 v4 up and running with r41586. As I was configuring WDS I noticed Mesh 802.11s was now an option.
I am trying to learn about 802.11s in DD-WRT, is this still considered WDS? Is it more secure? The WDS Wiki didn't reference 802.11s.
Can anyone point out the difference between using WDS and using 802.11s in DD-WRT? In my case it will be with a R9000 and this C7 Archer. Which option would you recommend? Ty
tyvm