How to Set Up a Wireless Bridge

Wireless bridges are useful for making a wireless connection between two LAN segments. It is a radio based device that allows the communication between two networks, which are often at remote locations. There is a good reason to have some knowledge on how to set up a wireless bridge. Suppose a company has offices in two different buildings situated on opposite sides of a road. If the office computers need to be connected as one integrated network, a setup of wireless bridge can be a more convenient option that a layout of cables between both the buildings. It saves time, money and provides scope for easier maintenance. Wireless bridges are based on the 802.11 protocol and can be set up almost anywhere to transmit data to an access point that is wired to the main network. They have a built-in LAN switch which is useful for plugging in several devices.

The two segments of LAN should be in the same subnet for their connection with a wireless bridge. As the computers within the different subnets cannot communicate with each other directly, a NAT should be enabled between the wireless and the wired ports. The basic working of a wireless bridge involves the conversion of a data packet into a radio pulse for transmission. The other end of the network sends an acknowledgment to the transmitting radio, on receiving the radio pulse. Then the pulse is translated back into a wired ethernet packet and sent to the proper recipient. In the wireless bridge mode, all the devices which are connected to either router, are contained within one unified subnet.

Setting up a Wireless Bridge

A wireless bridge can be set up with the help of the following simple steps.

1. The first step involves the manual configuration of the IP address. For this purpose, open the Control Panel / Network Connections / Local Area Connection / Properties, and click on the Properties of Internet Protocol (TCP / IP). Set the IP address as 192.168.1.2, Subnet Mask as 255.255.255.0, and Default Gateway as 192.168.1.1.
2. Using an internet browser, connect to the router. Click Wireless / Basic Settings, and select the 'Client Bridge'. Set the 'Wireless Network Mode' according to the primary router.
3. For the security purpose, click Wireless / Wireless Security and select WEP, WPA or WPA2.
4. Select the Status/Wireless option and click on the button labeled 'Site Survey'. Now associate the router to the primary one, in order to create the bridge. To do so, click the 'Site Survey' button and the 'Join' button to create the association with the available wireless network.
5. The bridge is now complete and can be easily tested by setting the IP address back to automatic assignment, unplugging the network cable from the PC and reconnecting. After doing so, the PC should receive an IP address assigned by your primary router.
6. If the PC does not receive an IP address from the primary router, it implies that the bridge is not working. In such case, re-check the working of the secondary router and check out whether the primary router is configured to use MAC address filtering, as a secondary form of security.

Hopefully you have some idea now on how to set up a wireless bridge. Products like the Xbox are available in the market, which support specialized wireless bridges specifically made for this purpose. One can buy an Xbox and get done with the setup of a wireless bridge without any hassles.