Bonding question.

English Network/Internet
#1

I am looking at installing another wireless nic card and bonding them together to get better through put. But I have a question.

The system uses ethernet. So each interface listens until there is no traffic to send a packet. AT lest I assume that is how it is witha wireless because that is what happens on a wired connection.

Now I have one AP so the AP only handles one request at a time. SO if I bond two nics how will there be an increase in through put if they are waiting for a clear to send? Or do I need two APs and point each wireless nic at one of the APs. This I can see working to increase through put but I’m not clear on how it works with only one AP.

Can anybody educate me on this?

Thanks for the help

#2

Well gee if you don’t know the answer how about an opinion and the reason for your opinion.

#3

Ah, correct answers are free, provided I know them. Even incorrect answers are free, come to think of it.

Opinions I charge for. :wink:

Have you done a web search to see if it indeed makes sense to bond two wireless devices? Try the technical term “link aggregation”. As I recall in Ethernet bonding, both NICs get the same MAC. Wouldn’t that confuse the AP, two WNICs with the same MAC? I dunno, maybe you can nut it out.

#4

Using two cards with the same AP is pointless. The AP can only send to one card at a time, so the limiting factor is the wireless transfer speed. Any one client can utilize the available throughput capacity.

If you can set this up with separate APs, it would provide a benefit. You can use non-interfering channels (1,6,11), which would effectively double the transfer rate.

#5

Sounds like you read th same paper from intel on channel bonding that I read: Wireless - What is channel bonding?

The problem is how do you get two separate APs to know that they are talking to a bonded channel? Here is a link to a good example of what an IP header looks like:
IP, Internet Protocol

Notice there is only one destination address. I not clear on how packets that have the same destination address will be routed to different APs so that band width is shared.

I could see it working if the APs where bonded using something like Hostap for the prism chip sets. But the way to use two independent APs escapes me. Maybe that’s why I’m having such a hard time finding documentation about how to get it to work properly, it escapse everybody.

I’ll keep looking and if I find a way I will post it back to the forum.