Networking Question - Bridge to a Bridge?

david_jr

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May 7, 2007
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Hancock, MA - The Berkshires
I am not a network tech by any stretch. Our church recently had Internet (Spectrum) installed and we are using their equipment for modem and wireless router. We are using a Gigabit switch to run some hardwired connections around the (150 year old) building for the main computer and future surveillance cameras. We have recently started streaming our Sunday Worship services to Facebook. This took a while because we are a small congregation with limited resources and many of our elderly members who stopped attending in person due to Covid do not have the Internet at home anyway, but we chipped away at it and got it done. Now moving on to step 2. Getting internet to our Fellowship Hall across the street. We plan to stream Bible studies from that building and there is also an office that needs Internet in that building. So we have purchased the EnGenious ENH500 Kit Amazon product ASIN B083JRFQ24. This system is supposed to be able to be used as a bridge from one building to another at up to 867 Mbps at 5 GHz at distances up to 5 miles. So we would be hard wired from our main building router to the sending unit and plan to go hard wired from the receiving unit to a second router in that building set up in bridge mode so access would be to the router in the first building. There is a lot of information and videos out there about setting these up, but not much on what can be plugged in on the other end. Keep reading the word client. So that makes me think a computer or such. Shouldn't I just be able to go hard wired out of the receiving unit into another wireless bridge? I'm sure this is more complicated than I think, like I said, I am not a network tech and don't understand all of the techno lingo.
 
Unless there is some reason to keep the buildings on separate networks, just plug the Fellowship Hall receiver into a switch. A router will likely only make things more difficult.

If you need Wi-fi, either disable the router features or use wireless access points.
 
I am not a network tech by any stretch. Our church recently had Internet (Spectrum) installed and we are using their equipment for modem and wireless router. We are using a Gigabit switch to run some hardwired connections around the (150 year old) building for the main computer and future surveillance cameras. We have recently started streaming our Sunday Worship services to Facebook. This took a while because we are a small congregation with limited resources and many of our elderly members who stopped attending in person due to Covid do not have the Internet at home anyway, but we chipped away at it and got it done. Now moving on to step 2. Getting internet to our Fellowship Hall across the street. We plan to stream Bible studies from that building and there is also an office that needs Internet in that building. So we have purchased the EnGenious ENH500 Kit Amazon product ASIN B083JRFQ24. This system is supposed to be able to be used as a bridge from one building to another at up to 867 Mbps at 5 GHz at distances up to 5 miles. So we would be hard wired from our main building router to the sending unit and plan to go hard wired from the receiving unit to a second router in that building set up in bridge mode so access would be to the router in the first building. There is a lot of information and videos out there about setting these up, but not much on what can be plugged in on the other end. Keep reading the word client. So that makes me think a computer or such. Shouldn't I just be able to go hard wired out of the receiving unit into another wireless bridge? I'm sure this is more complicated than I think, like I said, I am not a network tech and don't understand all of the techno lingo.
I used to set up wireless bridges all the time at work when we had some temporary work areas set up for special projects. I have no experience with EnGenius’ networking products, but they make awesome rugged phones. :)

This is my writeup to my nitwit boss at the time in simple terms how to configure our Cisco SMB wireless access points, in case I was out of the office and he needed to set this up.

- Plug in WAP #1 into a switch that connected to network inside of main location and configure it, make sure to manually select a wireless channel to tx/rx on
- Plug in WAP #2 into a switch that connected to network inside of main location and configure it, make sure to manually select the same channel as you selected on WAP #1 wireless channel to tx/rx on
- Access GUI for WAP #1, find the Wireless Bridge option, enter MAC address of WAP #2
- Access GUI for WAP #2, find the Wireless Bridge option, enter MAC address of WAP #1
- Get a switch for secondary location, plug it into power
- Connect WAP #2 to that switch via ethernet

Vuh-la! That WAP is now providing wifi coverage in the secondary location, as well as providing an uplink for additional hardwired devices that are plugged in to that switch.
 

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This is my writeup to my nitwit boss at the time in simple terms how to configure our Cisco SMB wireless access points, in case I was out of the office and he needed to set this up.
I had more of a vision of plugging in the church-side transceiver to the church switch and the hall-side transceiver into a switch or WAP in that facility. Getting Cisco involved in anything on this scale has a very high cost/benefit ratio for no practical advantage.
 
I wasn't suggesting Cisco, just using them as example since that's what I am familiar with from work and home. The WAP581s I have aren't really that expensive, we paid around $200 for them, but here they are not correct for the use case. Outdoor rated and long range is what is needed, and if EnGenius' networking hardware is anything like their portable phones, it should be they out perform expectations.

I have never used their networking hardware before, I have no idea you can set them up using a traditional web interface, or if it's some 'cloud' crap. In the event you set it up via a traditional web based GUI running on an internal web server, setting up a wireless bridge between two APs is very easy no matter the brand. That was my point. Enable it, place both on the same channel, enter each others MAC address and done.
 
Thank you so much for the replies!! Ok so if I am understanding you correctly, I put a switch at the second location across the street, connect ethernet from the EnGenius into a switch and then connect a WAP to the switch? The goal would be to have church folks be able to connect with their wireless devices (phones tablets and in some cases laptops) the same as they would in the main church building. There is also a network printer in the Fellowship Hall that could be connected by ethernet to the switch. Could I get a router with say 4 or 5 ethernet ports and use that as a switch and use it's bridge mode to create the WAP in that building? Or am I thinking this all wrong? The building is standard cinder block construction from the 50's. Large open hall say 30 X 50ish, with an office and some Sunday School rooms on either end of the open hall. Here is the video from EnGenius to set up bridge mode on the ENH500: . It's 7:50 long. These are the units that I have. Much appreciate the guidance!
 
Could I get a router with say 4 or 5 ethernet ports and use that as a switch and use it's bridge mode to create the WAP in that building?
Certainly!

Routers are often cheaper than WAPs but four ports is rarely enough to answer the call for wired Ethernet.

Unmanaged switches require no setup nor maintenance and you can't misconfigure them (outside of cabling ports together).
 
Certainly!

Routers are often cheaper than WAPs but four ports is rarely enough to answer the call for wired Ethernet.

Unmanaged switches require no setup nor maintenance and you can't misconfigure them (outside of cabling ports together).
Thanks for that. We could add a switch later if we need to expand.
 
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