In WDS Mode, the UltraWAP has no Site Survey button on the available menus. But there is still a way of checking received signal strength!
When deciding the location of an UltraWAP in Wireless Distribution System (WDS) mode you must check that the signal level from the partner WDS unit is high enough to be reliable. This is the SINGLE most important step of the whole process.
There is an easy way to do this, which doesn't require altering any configs such as setting the unit from WDS to Station Infrastructure, and then back again.
The trick is to have the remote partner unit to which you are connecting to also be in WDS mode. WDS mode is effectively simultaneous Bridge and Access Point (AP) mode. The remote partner could be:
Now you can't see bridges in Site Survey, as they are invisible, but you can see AP's.
So this is what you do:-
- Locate the WDS UltraWAP where you plan to install it - but don't install it yet, in case the received WiFi signal is not of the required strength. Connect it to your laptop with a LAN/CAT5 cable.
- Edit the IP address of your laptop. See page 6 of the UltraWAP manual.
- On the laptop browse to http://192.168.2.1/wlsurvey2.asp (assuming the UltraWAP WDS IP is 192.168.2.1)
- You should now see the UltraWAP 'Wireless Site Survey' page. Click 'Refresh' and you'll see the partner AP and its signal level.
- Make sure the signal is no lower than 10; preferably above 20.
No configuration changes are necessary; the WDS UltraWAP config is the same as when you set it up and tested it was connecting to the partner WDS before you took it to the install site.
It is recommended that you bookmark the http://192.168.2.1/wlsurvey2.asp page on your browser for future WDS installs.
