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Knowledge Base > Bridge mode: an 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless access point

Bridge mode: an 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless access point

The CDRouter Cookbook

Wireless access points typically have a single Ethernet interface which is connected to another switch or gateway. The access point then provides network connectivity to clients connected via 802.11 a/b/g/n.

Test Setup

In this example the DUT is an 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless access point. CDRouter's WAN interface (eth1) is directly connected via Ethernet to the DUT's WAN/Ethernet port. Likewise, CDRouter's LAN interface (wlan0) will associate and connect to the DUT's 802.11 a/b/g/n network. A simple CDRouter configuration based on the following assumptions is provided below.

  • Management interface IPv4 address: static, 192.168.1.50
  • Management interface IPv6 address: not supported
  • Wireless mode: 802.11g
  • Wireless security: none (basic wireless)*
  • TR-069 support: no

* NOTE: CDRouter supports a wide range of wireless security schemes. Please see this Knowledge Base article for more information.

CDRouter Configuration

# Enable forwarding mode within CDRouter
testvar forwardingMode        bridge

# LAN IPv4 configuration
testvar lanInterface          wlan0
testvar lanType               802.11g
testvar lanSSID               bridge_AP
testvar lanWepKey             off
testvar dhcpClientStart       192.168.1.2
testvar dhcpClientEnd         192.168.1.7 

# WAN IPv4 configuration
testvar wanInterface          eth1
testvar wanMode               static
testvar wanIspIp              192.168.1.10
testvar wanIspAssignIp        192.168.1.50

# IPv6 configuration
testvar supportsIPv6          yes
testvar ipv6WanMode           none
testvar ipv6WanIspIp          3001::1 
testvar ipv6WanIspPrefixLen   64

In this example CDRouter will automatically enable its internal DHCP server using the address range specified by the testvars dhcpClientStart and dhcpClientEnd. Once associated with the DUT, CDRouter's LAN client will obtain an IPv4 address from within this range. In addition, CDRouter will send NDP Router Advertisements on the WAN based on the address and prefix length specified by the testvars ipv6WanIspIp and ipv6WanIspPrefixLen, respectively. These Router Advertisements will be forwarded by the access point to all associated clients thereby allowing CDRouter's LAN client to obtain an IPv6 address as well.

Requirements

  • CDRouter or CDRouter-Multiport
  • CDRouter IPv6 (optional, if IPv6 testing is required)
  • CDRouter TR-069 (optional, if the DUT supports TR-069)
  • One dedicated Ethernet network interfaces
  • One dedicated 802.11 a/b/g/n network interface
  • One 802.11a/b/g/n wireless access point

Benefits

  • Allows 802.11a/b/g/n wireless access points to be tested directly
  • Can be used to verify the forwarding functionality of an 802.11/a/b/g/n access point for IPv4 and IPv6
  • Great for identifying issues between different wireless technologies and security schemes
  • Great for verifying the stability and robustness of the access point over time
  • Test setup can be expanded by installing multiple wireless clients in the CDRouter host system
  • Requires only one dedicated Ethernet interface in the host system (WAN)

Additional Information

Please see this Application Note for more information on bridge mode testing with CDRouter.

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