Compaq CP-2W, can it act as a network bridge?

[Dan Goempel]

Hello,

I picked up 2 CP-2W's from Office Depot after seeing the claim of "roaming" when using two CP-2W's.

I want to connect my toshiba network server upstairs to the first CP-2W, and have the first CP-2W connect via wireless to the second CP-2W downstairs, through which the downstairs ethernet network could access the toshiba network server upstairs.

Is this possible?

Thank you, for any help.

[Dan Goempel]

Specifically, I need to know if this wireless access point supports point to point bridging.

TIA

[Roger Faucher · Accepted solution]

Dan:

Here is the link for the documentation: http://www29.compaq.com/falco/doc_result.asp?Model=3573&Os=0

It seems to indicate that it will work but info is hard to find.

I have e-mailed a request for info to Compaq (HP). I'll let you know!

Roger

[Dan Goempel]

Believe it or not, I've actually heard a response from HP support.

---
Dear Dan,

Thank you for contacting HP Americas Consumer eSupport for Compaq
Products.

I understand that you want to know whether CP-2W supports point to point
bridging.

For more information on CP-2W, please contact our HP Presario Support
Technicians.

Our support technicians
provide the necessary solution.

I am sorry that I could not really help you this time. If you need any
assistance or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
We are here round the clock to serve you.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Regards,

Sreejith Sivakumaran N
HP Consumer eSupport
---

My guess is, it does not.

There isn't any supporting information in the documents, merely references to wireless roaming, and no solid information on how to implement it.

I suspect I'd need to purchase a wireless router/bridge capable of making a point to point connection, and at this point, I intend to return a CP-2W and do just that.

Thanks for your help.

Dan

[Roger Faucher]

Thanks for the points. I got the impression that it would work but at least 2 changes needed to be made in the 'setup'. One had to do with the mode of operation and the second was to change the IP address of one of the CP-2Ws.

Most of what I've been reading leads me to believe that these devices are pretty retarded in terms of how far they'll communicate.

Best wishes to you.

Roger

[Joel_20]

What you have to do is:
Yes, set one AP's IP to something else like 192.168.1.2.
Set one of them to AP mode or both if you have a DHCP server.
Connect with a CAT5 the one in AP mode via 1 of the 4 ports on the first one to 1 of the 4 on the second - not the internet port on the second AP.
Make sure the SSID and encryption are the same. If the APs are far enough away from each other or signal drops off to medium/low then radio channel can be the same. If not change the second AP's channel to 3+ or - the other's. This will prevent broadcast storms and conflicts on the same channel. The only problem with a different channel is that when switching automatically, any transfers may encounter packet loss. In my experience they do continue, just not as intended. Try to pause any work until you're sure you've switched.

On second thought - looking at your request again it looks as though you want to bridge point to point not roam.
This is not technically possible with the current firmware for the CP2W. You'll need to get the Linksys WAP11 which does have the function. Basically you put in the MAC address of each other into the other one and they forward all packets directly there and that's it. You cannot use AP functionality while bridging.

Hope that helps.


Joel