WLAN Bridge connected over WLAN to the internet

Question

I need to establish a WLAN Bridge over a distance of approximately 400m. I found this equipment: https://www.ligowave.com/products/apc-propeller-2

As I understand it needs to connect over LAN to the internetrouter. In this case i am not able to lay a cable to the outside from the internetrouter. So I need to connect over WLAN. The logical construct will be something like:

internetrouter (from ISP) <---WLAN----> WLAN Bridge <---400m distance---> WLAN Bridge <---LAN or WLAN ---> access point or end devices (like Laptop, samrtphone,...)

What kind of equipment do I need and how is this scenario called?

Answer 1

You need a point-to-point link. This means 2 directionnal WIFI antennas looking at each other and providing the transport between the two sites.

With two PtP devices in 5Ghz band, you can acheive like 100Mbps speed over 400m, more with the AC version (maybe 200Mbps, 300Mbps.. depends on many factors)

The device you link on your post is the same kind, but works with 2.4Ghz band, which is much much more crowded than 5Ghz, you have big chances to get a less reliable link with 2.4Ghz than 5Ghz.

As for the transport method, you can use

• bridging as you suggest, so both sides of the link will be in the same subnet, really easy to set up.

• routing (different subnets on both sides).This is preferred because you won't have unwanted traffic like broadcast or multicast "pollute" your link, but it's more complicated to set up than bridging and may require configuration on clients.

Answer 2

WiFi Bridging, you need a wireless bridge. Basically, you purchase 2 wireless bridges which are a type of access point with a directional antenna.

Typically, each wireless bridge device will have a wired port (in addition to the wireless interface) that plugs in to the wired network. However, there are dual mode access points that can both bridge and provide WLAN access.

The wireless bridge typically needs to be placed with line of sight to the other bridge and are usually installed external (outside the building).