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Linksys WET11: Bridge 30 Devices To Any Wi-Fi Network

Posted by timothy on from the dreamcast-or-whatever dept.

eggboard writes "The Linksys WET11 lets you bridge a wired network with up to 30 devices to any wireless access point that uses Wi-Fi. The utility is enormous: you could build a pseudo-mesh network by pairing cheap Wi-Fi APs with this cheap ($129) Wi-Fi bridge. Before this, the only generic Wi-Fi bridge was proprietary: you'd buy a bridge from Alvarion that paired with one of their hubs, and spend several hundred each. Even the dual-WAP11 bridge approach of last year was wonky and required extra gear (although it can handle more devices than 30 since it's a protocol bridge, not a MAC bridge). I review the WET at O'Reilly's wireless developer's site."

3 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Wireless ISP Uses by gabeman-o · · Score: 4, Informative

    I hang out at the WISP message board on broadbandreports.com ( http://www.dslreports.com/forum/dslalt ) and it seems that many WISPs are using these to connect customers to their wireless network. The WET11's antenna is detachable, so you can use an external one. It can also be configured to use POE (power over ethernet) by changing two jumpers.

    There have been some cool mods like:
    http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,4220 109~roo t=dslalt~mode=flat

    http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,4123612~r oo t=dslalt~mode=flat~start=0

  2. Weather-proof? by Quixote · · Score: 4, Informative
    This does not appear to be ruggedized for outdoor installation, so I wonder how useful it'll be for bridging the 'last mile'.

    I have been looking for a WiFi bridge to help a friend get cablemodem access: the cable company will not lay the cable to his house (cost > $1K), and it is about 300' from the road. One possibility I am considering is to use a pair of WiFi APs to bridge the gap. But they need to be rugged, to withstand temperatures from -30F to +100F, and rain/snow. None of the cheapo units comes in a weatherproof enclosure. Anyone know of any? I've looked around. Of course, the cost can't be more than $200 or so (each); the .com days are gone. :-(

  3. I bought one by DirkDaring · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's a great little unit. Been playing around with it for about a month. It can use an external antenna (RP-SMA connector) also. It's also 70mW, which helps out on the transmissions.

    There are a few current threads about the WET-11 for Wireless ISPs here:

    http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,4123612~r oo t=dslalt~mode=flat

    http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,3915738~r oo t=dslalt~mode=flat

    Dirk