Does Linksys WRT-1900AC have media bridge like RT-AC66U?

[njweb]

Does this have media bridge mode like the RT-AC66U?
I see wireless bridge mode is listed.

My goal is to get two of these to replace my two RT-AC66U
and use 5 GHz to connect the two in media bridge mode equivalent, if available on the WRT-1900AC, and extend the 2.4 GHz signal throughout the house without the loss of.speed of a range extender.

Any thoughts?

I did not want to put this in the 'first experiences' thread since
this is a question and wanted to keep a separate thread for this question which does not fall under the first experiences topic.

 

[thiggins]

Yes, it does, but it is a hidden under Connectivity > Internet Settings. And there is no site survey. You have to enter the SSID and encryption key. And when connected there is no link rate or signal level information displayed.

 

[claykin]

Looks like Tim has a WRT1900AC. Review coming soon?

Don't worry, I'm not expecting anything magical. Just curious.

 

[jalyst]

Looks like Tim has a WRT1900AC. Review coming soon?

Yeah, it's looked that way for at least a few days now...
Hopefully out soon, although I do hope he takes his time, given it's their very 1st device post Linksys acquisition.

 

[claykin]

Yeah, it's looked that way for at least a few days now...
Hopefully out soon, although I do hope he takes his time, given it's their very 1st device post Linksys acquisition.

I think its more up to Belkin and if they got their initial firmware right....

Still, I won't expect magic.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[njweb]

Thanks for confirming

Yes, it does, but it is a hidden under Connectivity > Internet Settings. And there is no site survey. You have to enter the SSID and encryption key. And when connected there is no link rate or signal level information displayed.

Thanks, Tim, for confirming!
Looking forward to your review, as always.


I picked two up at Best Buy earlier today.
They were not even on the shelves yet, but they had them in the back.

I don't know whether there is a restocking fee, but I am going to try one at my place and see how the range looks.
If range is expected to be good enough for the new bigger place my fiancée and I plan to move to, I may not bother with the second one.
However, I suspect that to maximize throughput we may want both, especially if we can't place the router in a central location...

 

[jalyst]

Still, I won't expect magic.

Yeah precisely, they're new at this sorta game, the learning curve will be a long & rocky one.

 

[njweb]

PS: Has anyone experimented with 'wireless bridge mode' on the WRT-1900AC (or other late model Linksys router) yet?
If so, was it straight-forward to configure the two routers? (I haven't been around to open mine yet).

I plan to only open one of my two boxes for now, in case two WRT-1900AC units aren't necessary in order to maximize wireless coverage.
In my case, I not only want to get a reliable wireless signal in the furthest reaches of my / our home, but also want to achieve maximum throughput at such locations.

Can't wait to try mine out (one of them at least, maybe both) when I get home.

 

[thiggins]

PS: Has anyone experimented with 'wireless bridge mode' on the WRT-1900AC (or other late model Linksys router) yet?
If so, was it straight-forward to configure the two routers? (I haven't been around to open mine yet).

I have configured both Wireless Bridge and Repeater mode and tested traffic for about four hours through the Bridge with no hiccups.

Configuration is very basic. You enter SSID and encryption key on the Bridge end. No site survey and no link quality, signal strength or traffic stats for the configured bridge.

 

[lexist2112]

Tim,

Your responses in the other thread several days ago hinted you had a test unit. So I knew testing was on the way.

Awaiting for the review and an incredible read!!!!!

In addition, I was debating whether of not to accept my 2nd one being delivered today. I guess I am.

 

[thiggins]

Review will post later today. The product is live in the Charts and Ranker now.

 

[njweb]

I have configured both Wireless Bridge and Repeater mode and tested traffic for about four hours through the Bridge with no hiccups.

Configuration is very basic. You enter SSID and encryption key on the Bridge end. No site survey and no link quality, signal strength or traffic stats for the configured bridge.

Thanks Tim.

I am going to open one up and try it out tonight.
If wireless performance is decent enough (will use LAN Speed Test in 3 difference locations in my home to test throughput), then I'll open the second box as well. I'll configure the second in wireless bridge mode (assuming I only need to set the second one to 'wireless bridge' mode and leave the 'main' router in 'router' mode).

 

[thiggins]

I'll configure the second in wireless bridge mode (assuming I only need to set the second one to 'wireless bridge' mode and leave the 'main' router in 'router' mode).

Yup. That's how you do it. No WDS, so no entering MAC addresses required. Configure the bridge end with an Ethernet connection so you don't get messed up when the router reconfigures itself into a bridge.

 

[njweb]

Yup. That's how you do it. No WDS, so no entering MAC addresses required. Configure the bridge end with an Ethernet connection so you don't get messed up when the router reconfigures itself into a bridge.

Great.
Thanks for the tip as well!

 

[njweb]

Being busy with some critical personal plans and not having been home long enough to test the WRT-1900AC, can anyone confirm which band(s) Linksys' 'wireless bridge' mode uses, as well as a bit more on how it works (high level summary is fine, not looking to get into the weeds here)?

(Linksys documentation is, currently at least, lacking to say the least).



For example, with the Asus RT-AC66U, my understanding of 'media bridge' mode is that you can use 5 GHz on the two routers (two RT-AC66U units) to establish the link between the two routers, thus extending your network, and leave 2.4 GHz free for your actual wifi connection communications.
The key benefit being that, unlike with range extenders, you don't lose about half your throughput when using this setup.


How does Linksys' 'wireless bridge' mode work given the dual band capability?
It sounds like it may differ from Asus' 'media bridge' mode, but perhaps I am overthinking it now, after initially assuming Linksys' 'wireless bridge' mode did essentially the same thing as Asus' 'media bridge', especially given nobody stated otherwise...

 

[thiggins]

Both Wireless Bridge and Wireless Repeater modes work like any non-WDS bridges / repeaters. The WRT1900AC is simultaneous dual-band and everything lives on the same router LAN. So in bridge mode, you can use one band as backhaul and the other to serve wireless clients without suffering the retransmission penalty.

 

[njweb]

Both Wireless Bridge and Wireless Repeater modes work like any non-WDS bridges / repeaters. The WRT1900AC is simultaneous dual-band and everything lives on the same router LAN. So in bridge mode, you can use one band as backhaul and the other to serve wireless clients without suffering the retransmission penalty.

Excellent, thanks for (re)confirming Tim.


You just raised a question for me (I searched online for wireless bridge examples [did find the Anandtech example below], searched Linksys' WRT-1900AC FAQ and looked at the high level user guide and it contained nothing about this):

So to first recap (before my real question about wireless repeater mode) my understanding of WRT-1900AC's 'wireless bridge' is just like Asus' Media bridge mode (which I have not tried yet - was going to use it in our next home).
In short this mode consists of using a pair of 'simultaneous dual-band' routers, capable of 'wireless bridge' mode, connected wirelessly (in this case over say 5 GHz) that then each supply separate wifi connectivity via the second band, allowing clients to connect (using two separate 2.4 GHz SSID's).

Asus cites the benefit as then being able to connect WIRED devices to the second router (the one in 'media bridge' mode).
http://support.asus.com/FAQ/detail....d=n/a&no=42392BBD-29F7-D0C7-6E04-BA444E44B750
Begin Asus Quote:
Setup the first RT-AC66U as router then configure the second RT-AC66U as 802.11ac Media bridge and you can simply connect PCs, Smart TV, game console, DVR, media player to Media bridge via Ethernet cable.
End Asus quote.

Here is an example from Anandtech that is more clear as to the other big benefit of media bridge mode (http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2300298):
Begin Anandtech Quote:
The bridge upstairs (meaning the router set into bridge mode of course) ties up the 5GHz channel to exclusively communicate with the router downstairs. It also at the same time has the 2.4GHz channel open, which runs wireless and can be connected to. The bridge also has a computer connected via ethernet cable and a printer connected via USB.
End Anandtech quote.



By contrast, my understanding of the router's 'wireless repeater' mode (I could be way off here having never used it either) is where you use the second router as a wireless access point with the same (single) SSID and thus would suffer the
afore-mentioned retransmission penalty (you're retransmitting a single signal ...
It is just a way of using the second router, configured as wireless repeater, as a range extender (in case you have extra hardware lying around).


Hopefully I answered my own question, but feel free to correct my understanding.

Long story short, wireless bridge mode is much better for my purposes (no retransmission penalty) and why I originally asked about it being available on the WRT-1900AC to extend wifi in a bigger home.

 

[njweb]

New useful link (not 100% clear but good nonetheless)

Linksys has posted an article on how to configure a WRT-1900AC in 'wireless bridge' mode.
http://kb.linksys.com/Linksys/ukp.a...he_Linksys_WRT1900AC_as_a_Wireless_Bridge.xml

The article by referring to the fact that this procedure is to "connect to your upstream router" confirms, implicitly, that the configuration is done on the second router (not the primary router).

I wonder how, when using the same standard IP address as the main router (192.168.1.1), one will be sure to be connecting to the second router and not the primary router when configuring wireless bridge mode.

I am finally home, so I will try them out today, time permitting (my fiancee is over at the moment).

 

[njweb]

I got wireless bridge mode running right before running off to vacation.

The instructions Linksys provided are a bit lacking / unclear, doubt the average mainstream user (i.e. not those who frequent these forums) will be able to do it quickly.

Anyway, so far it has really improved the range of my network.I essentially have my primary WRT1900AC router in one corner of the house (that is where the 'home office' / bedroom most suitable to house my computer and SageTV equipment is located).
The wireless bridge (second WRT1900AC) has been strategically placed close to the middle of the main floor, putting its wifi signal much closer to the downstairs corner room used primarily as a media / HT room.

The one interesting thing, apparently (have not had time to play with it since I just got back home), is that I still see the 5 GHz SSID from the main router, even though 5 GHz is the band being used to wireless bridge the two routers and extend the wifi network on 2.4 GHz.

So, while i was expecting to only see the (two) 2.4 GHz SSID('s), I see three SSID's:

SSID1 = 2.4 GHz emanating from primary WRT1900AC
SSID2 = 5 GHz emanating from primary WRT1900AC
SSID3 = 2.4 GHz supplied by secondary WRT1900AC [the router that is in 'wireless bridge' mode]
(5 GHz on secondary is 'locked', as expected, since I selected this band to be used for wireless bridge linking purposes).

The red part surprised me... It appears 5 GHz is only 'lock'ed on the wireless bridge router. I had expected it to be locked on both...Keep in mind this is my first time using wireless bridge with any router...


In short, this is where simultaneous dual band capability comes in very handy since it is what is needed to support / offer (this type of) wireless bridge config.
It is much better than traditional wifi 'range extenders' which impose approximately 50% of throughput penalty).


I would love to hear others' experiences with wireless bridge mode and its performance on the WRT1900AC.

 

[htismaqe]

What you describe is the behavior I've always seen when using client bridges. The downstream bridge appears like any other client connecting to the main AP.

Seeing 3 SSIDs sounds "normal" to me.