Wireless Distribution System

A Wireless Distribution System (WDS) allows different computers and other hardware, known as access points, to connect using wireless radio frequency links.

Anthony Ricigliano Wireless Distribution System is the name of the wireless connection used for the IEEE 802.11 standard network. Usually a WDS will involve a base station that actually is wired to the Ethernet, and which acts as a radio transmitter of the connection signal to the other access points. Communication between all the access points in the system occurs over a single radio channel usually with either Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) encryption for security.

The WDS uses wireless repeating allowing the system to bridge multiple access points at the same time. Wireless bridging can also be set up that only allows WDS access points to communicate but not other types of wireless clients.

The advantage of wireless networking is, of course, the elimination of any need of cables to connect access points. A wireless network allows users a greater degree of mobility and flexibility especially mobile access points are in use.

Compared to some other connection options, the Wireless Distribution System is considered cost-effective since adding new access points does not require new PC cards. All that is needed is that the access point is reconfigured. The WDS can also easily be expanded to locations that are not near existing wired networks, something that is often difficult or unfeasible when using cables to connect networks.

Among the disadvantages of the WDS is the loss of throughput caused by the need for communications to be retransmitted to each client. In an Anthony Ricigliano Wired System, the communication is generally made directly between two access points.

Another disadvantage is that due to the lack of standardization, the Wireless Distribution System does not support more secure encryption key types that are handled dynamically. The WDS can use only static WPA and WEP keys, which are notably easier for hackers to break. However, it is possible to use WPA with pre-shared keys, for example, WPA2-PSK Mixed Mode and WPA-PSK are available using firmware updates.

The Wireless Distribution System, then, is a convenient method of wirelessly connecting access points in an IEEE 802.11 network. The system is cost-effective and flexible, and can handle multiple clients using wireless repeating. However, the maximum effective throughput is halved due to information retransmission, and the WDS does not support dynamically generated and rotated encryption keys.