not sure. from my experiences of WDS & WPA, its a no go area. unless some advances have been made within WDS & WPA framework in the last 12 months, i will stand corrected.

I'm fairly sure that's no longer a requirement, Draytek's FAQ pages, showing a WDS link between an AP700 and 2820n are using WPA2 suggest that if it's a problem, theyre not aware of it. Maybe it's a limitation of the 2600's WDS though?

hi voodle

it may not be a problem for the AP-700 or other 'N' capable devices providing they are using 'Pre-Shared WPA/WPA2 keys'. like i said i may be wrong and yes it willjust be a limitation of the 2600 using WPA over WDS.

google WDS & WPA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Distribution_System#Technical

Two disadvantages to using WDS are:

The maximum wireless effective throughput is halved after the first retransmission (hop) that is made. For example, in the case of two routers connected via WDS, and communication is made between a computer that is plugged into router A and a laptop that is connected wirelessly using router B's access point, the throughput is halved, because router B has to retransmit the information during the communication of the two sides. However, in the case of communications between a computer that is plugged into router A and a computer that is plugged into router B, the throughput is not halved since there is no need to retransmit the information.

Dynamically assigned and rotated encryption keys are usually not supported in a WDS connection. This means that dynamic Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and other dynamic key assignment technology in most cases can not be used, though WPA using pre-shared keys is possible. This is due to the lack of standardization in this field, which may be resolved with the upcoming 802.11s standard. As a result only static WEP or WPA keys may be used in a WDS connection, including any STAs that associate to a WDS repeating AP.

That makes it a difinitive definite no go with a Wireless-G device such as the 2600G in my eyes.

Thanks for that, looks like I will need a AP700. I was uncomfortable using WEP anyway, although we are in the middle of the fields 1/2m from a public road I do have 3 other neighbours with WIFI and teenage kids!
Although I suppopse I could install some permanent cat5 to create the bridge which would double the speed. One thought though is would 2 wireless n access points (with the same SSID) reduce the connection speed as it is my understanding that wireless n reduces its connection speed if it detects another AP in range?

hi howard,

speed shouldn't be a problem with same ssid's so long as you ensure the AP's are on different channels that dont overlap. take a look at this http://www.draytek.co.uk/support/kb_vigor_wlanchannels.html
curious though are the same ssid's both your devices or do some belong to someone else, if so i would seriously change yours to something unique.

the speed should only be impacted by distance and local interferance but theoretically you should be able to achieve cat5 speeds or greater with wireless n.

i would agree that wep is not the best but unless these kids have access to hacking tools then so long as your at 128-bit with a pretty good key you should be ok.

All the access points with the same SSID are mine so thats not an issue.
Of course when using WDS the access points have to be on the same channel hence half the throughput rate. So thats a good reason for not using WDS and using a cat5 cable as a link instead. Guess thats means up with the floor boards! I also can see it will improve performance if i can get the access points on different chanels. The reason I want to get n working is to stream video wirlessly to a proposed new sony telly from my NAS box (when she who must be obeyed agrees). The telly location is difficult to get a cat5 cable to.