[PLUG] WAP networking (learned at clinic)

[John Meissen]

Russell Senior  said:
> While helping set up Rich Shepard's Linksys acess point, I was
> somewhat astonished to find that the wireless network was essentially
> bridged with the inside interfaces (the hub side) of the device. 
....
> Do all WAP's behave like Rich's Linksys? 

The short answer: yes.

The design goal of most access points is to add one or more systems to
the LAN without stringing wires. Most consumers want the systems to be
able to talk to each other for file/printer sharing. Putting them on
different networks makes that a lot more difficult.

However, where you put the access point in your LAN can make a difference.
In your example you showed an AP/router that manages a private network.
If your wired LAN is on a different hub/switch, then hanging the AP off
one of those connectors can essentially put the wireless connections
on a separate network:

  OUTSIDE                   INSIDE

                                         ((*))
           +---------+            +---+   / \   wireless
           |         |            | A |    |
 to        |    r    +------------+ P |----+   192.168.1.0/24
 cable/dsl |    o    |            |   |
     ------+    u    +---   LAN   +---+
           |    t    +---
           |    e    +--- 192.168.0.0/24
           |    r    +---
           |         |
           +---------+

Note that this only works for AP's which act as routers. My WAP-11, for
instance, is just a bridge.

A lot depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Conceptually there's
no difference between the wired/wireless connections to the AP, especially
if most of your connections are wireless.

john-