Thomson WDS Set up

My ADSL router is a THOMSON TG585 . I have managed to acquire a second THOMSON TG585, exactly the same model.
Looking through the WLAN settings/help pages on the router itself, it is possible to enable and set up WDS (Wireless Distribution System) on these, as long as they use the same channel and security key.

I was hoping I could therefore use the second wireless router as a means to extend the wireless range through the house.

Has anyone done this, and got it working?

I assume (maybe wrong) that I need to enable WDS on both routers and discover/enable each rotuer on the other one, if that makes sense?

The only drawback I see is this line in the help file "Only WEP is supported with WDS, not WPA".

So far, each router can see the other and all settings are the same. WDS is enabled on both sides. However, once a wireless PC has connected to router 2, any internet access fails and the standard page "yourDSL connection is down" is displayed. WDS doesn't seem to be mentioned in the user guide at all.

Thanks hopefully.

I have WDS setup using a 585 as my main router and an Apple Airport Express as the remote WDS extending the wireless range. It has been running very successfully for a couple of years.

As you say you need the same SSID, manually set channel and WEP key.

I think your problem is that each WDS station has to be setup to be a main base station, remote base station or a relay. The airport express has options to set this up in the GUI but the 585 does not and both yours will be defaulting to main base station mode. I expect it is possible using the CLI, but you will need to be considerably better than me to sort out how.

A remote WDS does not have an IP address, does not act as a DHCP server and knows to forward wireless data onto the main WDS station.

Sorry no real solution but maybe pointing you in the correct direction.

Good Luck

Tim.

Tim, thanks for your reply. I agree that the second router seems to be operating as a main base station as well.

Hi, maybe you could configure the second Thompson router as the wireless access point to extend the range.

http://i.dslr.net/pics/faqs/image93081.jpg

http://www.thomsonbroadbandpartner.com/dsl-modems-ga...

Hi Tim,

I am trying to extend my wireless network (O2 Wireless Box III) with an Apple AirPort, but I get a "The network you selected cannot be extended" message in the Airport Utility when I try to set it up.

From your post I understand it might be possible. Could you provide more information how to set up the Thomson router and the AirPort?

Many thanks

Its been a long time so some of the following may be lacking details and I don't currently have the Apple config utility installed. But here goes.

Leave the Airport turned off and connect to the Thompson router. Setup the wireless to a fixed wireless channel and 64bit WEP security (128bit WEP might be OK?). make a note of the SSID network Key Wireless channel and MAC Address.

Now turn on and factory reset the Airport express. Use the Config utility and connect to the Airport. Choose the option something like "Extend an existing network", setup the same SSID, channel and security settings. I am pretty sure that you also have to enter the MAC address of the Thompson somewhere. Also make sure that DHCP is turned off. When all is set up and you Apply these settings the Airport will reboot and try to connect using WDS to the Thompson.

You now have to connect your PC browser back to the Thompson. It is probably easiest to use an network cable to directly connect to the Thompson. Go to the WDS setup page and hit the "search for wireless acces points". the Airport should show up so connect to it and all should be setup.

Let me know if you need further details, if need be I can install the apple Config utility and go through it again.

Tim.

The problem is that I can't find a "WDS set-up" page when I go to web interface of my O2 wireless box III (Thomson TG585n), even though I log in as SuperUser. Am I overlooking it, or is it perhaps because I am using O2 firmware? In the latter case, is there anything I can do about that?

Edited by rblon (Sat 27-Jun-09 19:33:39)

On the standard thompson firmware it can be found

From home page
Hit Wireless under Home Network (bottom centre of page)
Hit configure Top left of page
Configure WDS is at the bottom of the page.

WDS can also be setup from the command line interface (telnet).

i have no idea if any of the above is relevant to the O2 firmware.

Tim

For the O2 585v7 it's:
Home Network>WLAN>Configure and right at the bottom of the page, Configure WDS.

You might need SuperUser access.

thanks for the reply.
My web interface doesn't mention WDS (even logged in as SuperUser).
Now, when I use telnet there is a "wireless->wds" menu, but when I try "config", I get the message: "The wireless interface is currently disabled, configuration is not possible now".
Not sure (yet) if this is because of O2 firmware disabling WDS or because of another reason. If I get it to work, what would need to be done to enable WDS?
Also, i guess it might be an idea to put standard Thomson firmware on it, but I don't have any experience with putting on new firmware. Any tips for that?

Ok i'm getting somewhere. Initially when using telnet I had wireless on the Thomson router disabled, hence the message...

So now that has been turned on and I have used the "wireless wds add" telnet command to add the MAC of my Airport Base station (which is a Time Capsule).

In the AirPort utility, I don't see the WDS error anymore, but I do have an Internet Connection error. Any idea what the settings should be in the "Internet Connection" section. More specifically:

Configure IPv4: "Using DHCP" or "Manually"
Connection Sharing: "Off (Bridge Mode) or "Distribute a range of IP addresses or "Share a public IP address"

And if not using DHCP (as suggested earlier) what IP address should I choose (and needs this be registered on the router?) and what DNS server?

I have been playing around to get it to work, but no success yet

Sorry to reply to my own posts, but i did get a step closer...
I also added the Ethernet MAC of the AirPort to the WDS list and now it works (also selecting "Manually" instead of "Using DHCP")
Only without security... WEP64bit doesn't seem to be supported by Apple for 802.11n, while I don't get WEP128bit or WPA2 working.
So might be able to downgrade to 802.11g and then use WEP64bit, but don't consider that a solution. Then I would prefer to use no encryption and MAC Access Control or so

Hi Tim
I have recently purchased an Airport express to extend the range of my Thomson 585. However, when the airport crashed the Apple help people told me that Airport will extend 3rd party wi fi.
I would appreciate if you could advise, or point me in the direction of, how I can set up my Thomson and my airport xpress to extend the range of my wi fi.
Thanks
Maximillian