Routers with the same SSID

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reparto
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Routers with the same SSID

Post by reparto »

I have 3 wireless routers in the house (one for each floor) and they all have different SSIDs, would it be possible to set them all to the same SSID and then have the devices choose the best one?

Router configurations

Modem/Router provided by ISP -> Router 1 -> Powerline -> me
, |
, -> Router 2

People have been complaining about slow internet and I figured that its because the landlord didn't give us the details of the other routers (I am the only one who has them at the moment) and so people have to connect through ceilings and walls to connect to the main one rather than the closest one.
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Re: Routers with the same SSID

Post by bad_brain »

hm, it could be either very easy or a pain in the ass.
let's check the easy option first: have you checked the router config for the option to use it as a repeater? that way you could make all routers work like one with no extra config on the client sides needed.
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reparto
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Re: Routers with the same SSID

Post by reparto »

The router has WDS bridging which i think is the repeater setting. If I do set is a repeater will that mean that the router doesn't need an ethernet connection to the modem?
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Re: Routers with the same SSID

Post by bad_brain »

nope, only the first router needs a connection, the extended one don't. if I remember it right you will have to disable DHCP (if used) on the extended routers because the first router takes care of that. :-k
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reparto
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Re: Routers with the same SSID

Post by reparto »

The extended routers seem to work fine with DHCP on, but I have turned it off anyway.

There doesn't seem to be any change in signal strength but the channel the main router is running on is already congested and I haven't got the access details to it yet.
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Re: Routers with the same SSID

Post by bad_brain »

also make sure the LAN IPs are different ones on each router but in the same subnet... :wink:
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reparto
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Re: Routers with the same SSID

Post by reparto »

Well, after loads of benchmarking and signal strength testing it seems that using a repeater doesn't necessarily improve connection speeds. The signal strength of the main router is higher but it still has to compete with the signals from the other wireless routers which are forced onto the same channel by the firmware. I figured that it would make more sense to have each individual router operate on its own channel, it means you get a strong signal without interference but you need to configure for three routers rather than one.
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Re: Routers with the same SSID

Post by bad_brain »

hm, well, bridging is more for area coverage, of course the available bandwidth is limited then to the one the first router. using 3 routers also need some client side configuration so the AP with the best signal is picked automatically, downside is that the best signal does not automatically equals the one with the most free bandwidth....that's the "pain in the rear" option I was talking about in my first post. :lol:
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reparto
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Re: Routers with the same SSID

Post by reparto »

Yeah, I did some reading on bridging and thats exactly why I decided not to use it. In all honesty, we probably need faster internet anyway.

One thing I want to know is if there is another way of doing it because at uni there are cisco routers everywhere and devices stay connected whilst roaming around campus, how is it being done there? (Or the most likely method)
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