[peter_cph]

Friends,

I want to extend the range of a wireless network and it's causing me a lot of trouble. All hints and all help appreciated.



The setup is as follows:

Wall Socket (internet)
- Router (Speedstream provided by ISP)
- Switch (D-Link)
- Access Point (D-Link DWL 2100AP+)

The switch connects to our wired G4 desktop computers.

The Access Point provides our powerbooks with wireless Internet connection.

It works perfectly.

Now, we want to extend the range of the wireless network, so it covers some new offices across the street.

Now, there's plenty of signal close the the window over there, but if you move further into the building the signal rapidly fades.

We have the access point placed in the window facing the new offices across the street, and the idea was to set up a thing that could pick up the signal in the new offices and repeat it or amplify it or whatever it is called.

D-Link suggested their G710 Wireless Range Extender.

And if we place the range extender near the window in the new offices, it receives the signal with good signal strength, and the powerbooks in the new offices can connect perfectly to the range extender - also further inside the building.

So all is fine ... except ... if we connect to the range extender, we don't get an IP-address.

So ... the G710 range extender extends the range as it should. Nifty. Except since the computers that connects to the range extender aren't assigned an IP-address, the extended range is useless and the problem isn't solved.

Before you suggest an antenna, let me say that we have asked D-Link if an antenna on the Access Point would solve our problem. They say that an antenna will distribute the signal from the access point much further, but to make it work, the laptops should also be able to communicate back to the access point. So they didn't recommend that solution.

Now ... I have been i ncontact with D-Link regularly over the last couple of months, they claim it works. I say it doesn't. We have tried to reset the Access Point and the Range Extender and configure it all from the bottom up with a D-Link supporter on the phone. No luck.

Have tried with fixed IP-adresses, with or without WEP-encryption etc.

So ... have any of you trioed something similar? How did you solve it? Is D-Link simply not the stuff to buy? Any other good suggestions?

Thanks for your time

Peter

[ghporter]

It sounds like there's an issue with the range extender not allowing its own clients (PowerBooks in the second building) to join the network. One thing that could do it is encryption, but you've apparently ruled that out. It's important that ALL devices on a wireless network have exactly the same encryption settings, and that can keep a client from joining the network even with a perfect signal.

Can I assume you've made sure the SSID is correctly entered on the G710? I'm wondering if the device has its own DHCP server (I can't find a real manual for it, only installation guides), and if that's been considered.

[peter_cph]

The Access Point can give out IP's, but not the Range Extender. No built-ion DHCP-server. And the MAC filtering onthe Access Point is OFF.

Also, the Access Point is set to NOT hand out IP-adresses. The router does that ...

I'm close to beleive, the unit (G710 Range Extender) is defective.

[ghporter]

It does sound like it doesn't want to pass traffic.