Best solution for bridging with AX-class APs?

tgl

I have a need to bridge two wired LAN segments wirelessly (running a cable just isn't very practical) and also allow wireless clients access to both segments.  I did this for years with a couple of Apple Airports running in bridge mode, and it worked, but now that I have gigabit-speed internet service I want to upgrade the whole affair to Wifi 6.  I've tried Netgear and ASUS consumer-grade AX mesh kits, and been pretty unhappy with their bugs and unstable performance.  It was suggested that I look at Zyxel gear, so here I am.  I looked at the NWA210AX and WAX610D, which seem awfully similar according to their spec sheets, but I found a couple of documents indicating that only the WAX610D can be used to bridge LAN segments.  Is that accurate?

I'm also wondering about what performance I'd get.  Since there's not a separate radio for backhaul, I suppose that a lot of cases would involve double wireless transmission on the same channel (wireless client->AP->other AP->wired client) and so at best half of the nominal performance.  How well will that work out?  Should I consider a different topology, that is just one wireless AP and then separate units doing nothing but bridging?  If so, what gear would work well for the bridging part?

Thanks for any advice.

Zyxel_Bella

Hi @tgl

 

The feature for your scenario to implement is the Wireless bridge, and the WAX610D supports wireless bridge but NWA210AX doesn’t.

 

Also, the WAX610D output power is larger than NWA210AX and WAX610D has dual-optimized antenna that would be configurable to meet user’s deployment needs especially mesh environment.

 

We’ll suggest you to use Nebula to manage and build mesh with wireless bridge because the configurations will be easier and another plus is WAX610D sold with bundled license for Nebula.

 

[Nebula] How to extend wireless coverage with smart mesh?

https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/10160

 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

Thank you

 

 

Regards,

Bella