EAP225 for bridge- did I buy wrong model?
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I need to connect the networks in two buildings about 200' apart with a bridge. The network in the second building is the same as the first, and the DHCP server is in the first. I was using a pair of devices from another vendor but never getting more than 20mbps between buildings. So I bought two EAP225-Outdoor. However looking at the config menus I can't find that it does this- there's no mention of 'bridge' anywhere. Did I buy the wrong thing? Thanks.
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Hey
Let me try and break it down a bit more for you. What you have purchased is an Access Point, namely its designed to provide WiFi access to clients all around it. For that reason it has an Omni Directional antenna, namely it broadcasts in all directions (like a sphere)
The CPE range is different, its primary purpose is to send signal over a long distance and subsequently it has a sectorized antenna. Sectorized antenna send the signal in one specific direction at a specific angle to maximize range, anyone outside of this "direction and angle" wont get a signal.
With that in mind let me break it down a bit more. One thing about WiFi is don't believe the speeds, they are like MPG for your car.. you will never get what is stated. The EAP225 outdoor states 866mbps top speed and likely Windows / Android etc will tell you that its connected at 866.. in reality speeds will be around 50% of that.
This is not a fault, or lies or anything like that. Its simply the nature of WiFi, when you add in Signal Loss, contention, interference, frequency, encryption etc etc these all slow the maximum speeds and on average its 40/50% of what is stated.. its the same for all vendors. EAP225 in reality should get ~400/450mbps with a strong signal.
However.. as stated you have an AP with a Omni Directional antenna, therefore its firing the signal in all directions. The stats claim again 100m of range, that's... optimistic.... i would say at 200feet / 60m you are likely at the maximum range of this antenna in the real world. If you have a clear line of sight from A to B then its likely going to work, but may not be as fast as you want with real transfer speeds pf ~100/150mbps despite it saying connected at 600 or whatever..
That is why I suggested a CPE may be a choice for you, the CPE510 is 300mbps but designed specifically for this purpose, namely send data between A and B over Kilometers of range, so 60m is a breeze for it. Such a short distance may not suffer any real loss in signal and get you 150mbps or higher solid.. The CPE710 (as shberge recommended) is even faster still but the increased price.
Solid slow signal (CPE) or strained fast signal (AP), without testing you wont know for sure. If I was in your scenario... i would choose the 2x CPE as you are not serving clients of this WiFi, only sending data from A to B...
In answer to your Mesh question - The only way to connect these over WiFi is via Mesh, that will allow you to communicate between A and B. If you don't give out the SSID password having only the APs on the air that would work in theory, APs are not Bridges sadly but in MESH they do become nodes and communicate. As for speed of that connection, honestly its near the maximum range of that AP so I'm guessing anything between 100 to 250mbps in "real tests" (file copy, iperf3 etc).
I hope that helps!
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Hello and Welcome!
200 Feet (60m) is likely doable with the devices you have, however you might need to set this up as a MESH system and therefore will require a controller (OC200 or software), the OC200 is pretty cheap!
Setup the OC200 on the primary site as you need (SSID, Password and enable MESH / Fast Roaming) then cable in and adopt the primary EAP225 Outdoor.. Once its working power on the other EAP225 Outdoor in the secondary building, this should appear as a MESH AP and allow you to adopt it via WiFi (Mesh), you will notice a small symbol beside its name.
Traffic should now flow between the APs and connected switches, technically its a MESH you have created.. but its also a bridge :)
OPTION 2..
Should you want the MAX speed and range out of that link... buy 2x Pharos CPE devices and point them at each other.. they are designed for connecting sites up to 10km away so 200feet is child play for them
https://www.tp-link.com/uk/business-networking/outdoor-radio/cpe510/
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@Philbert The EAP225 says it's more than twice as fast as the CPE510. That's one reason I chose the EAP225.
If I configure a mesh network I won't be using the EAP225 to connect devices via wifi (other than each other). I just need to connect existing ethernet networks in both buildings. What would the speed in this case with a mesh network configuration be?
Thanks
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If you only ned a link from A to B this is probably this you should have. same link speed as EAP225-Outdoor.
https://www.tp-link.com/uk/business-networking/outdoor-radio/cpe710/
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Hey
Let me try and break it down a bit more for you. What you have purchased is an Access Point, namely its designed to provide WiFi access to clients all around it. For that reason it has an Omni Directional antenna, namely it broadcasts in all directions (like a sphere)
The CPE range is different, its primary purpose is to send signal over a long distance and subsequently it has a sectorized antenna. Sectorized antenna send the signal in one specific direction at a specific angle to maximize range, anyone outside of this "direction and angle" wont get a signal.
With that in mind let me break it down a bit more. One thing about WiFi is don't believe the speeds, they are like MPG for your car.. you will never get what is stated. The EAP225 outdoor states 866mbps top speed and likely Windows / Android etc will tell you that its connected at 866.. in reality speeds will be around 50% of that.
This is not a fault, or lies or anything like that. Its simply the nature of WiFi, when you add in Signal Loss, contention, interference, frequency, encryption etc etc these all slow the maximum speeds and on average its 40/50% of what is stated.. its the same for all vendors. EAP225 in reality should get ~400/450mbps with a strong signal.
However.. as stated you have an AP with a Omni Directional antenna, therefore its firing the signal in all directions. The stats claim again 100m of range, that's... optimistic.... i would say at 200feet / 60m you are likely at the maximum range of this antenna in the real world. If you have a clear line of sight from A to B then its likely going to work, but may not be as fast as you want with real transfer speeds pf ~100/150mbps despite it saying connected at 600 or whatever..
That is why I suggested a CPE may be a choice for you, the CPE510 is 300mbps but designed specifically for this purpose, namely send data between A and B over Kilometers of range, so 60m is a breeze for it. Such a short distance may not suffer any real loss in signal and get you 150mbps or higher solid.. The CPE710 (as shberge recommended) is even faster still but the increased price.
Solid slow signal (CPE) or strained fast signal (AP), without testing you wont know for sure. If I was in your scenario... i would choose the 2x CPE as you are not serving clients of this WiFi, only sending data from A to B...
In answer to your Mesh question - The only way to connect these over WiFi is via Mesh, that will allow you to communicate between A and B. If you don't give out the SSID password having only the APs on the air that would work in theory, APs are not Bridges sadly but in MESH they do become nodes and communicate. As for speed of that connection, honestly its near the maximum range of that AP so I'm guessing anything between 100 to 250mbps in "real tests" (file copy, iperf3 etc).
I hope that helps!
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@Philbert Thanks! This is very complete info that's really helpful.
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