Connecting a switch to a Wifi extender

[Tobias Duncan-King]

Can you connect a switch / hub to a wifi extender with multiple devices connected, or will that have the same effect as a switch on a switch?

Im running OPNsense router, with a switch connected to the router. An old router (DLink 850L) is set up as access point currently connected to the switch on the router. If i then have a WiFi extender connected to the AP with good connection, will another switch connected to the extender work?

 

[kanewolf]

Yes it will work. But all the devices on the last switch have to share that "good connection" WIFI bandwidth. They will be bandwidth and latency limited.

 

[Tobias Duncan-King]

Thanks. This is only a temporary solution and I have a fiber connection, so ajust If I make sure the extender has good wifi connection, the latency shouldn't be too jaw dropping.

 

[kanewolf]

Thanks. This is only a temporary solution and I have a fiber connection, so ajust If I make sure the extender has good wifi connection, the latency shouldn't be too jaw dropping.

The latency COULD be bad. If multiple devices on the extender are active. Each one of them will "interfere" with each other. WIFI is not full-duplex. A device can only receive OR transmit. So if two or three devices on that last switch are active, they will have to queue up to receive or transmit. That is latency.

What your WAN speed is (your fiber) doesn't matter in the case of the extender.

 

[Tobias Duncan-King]

It is only a temporary solution, and I have tried to be 3 gamers connected to the extender wirelessly, where the extender is 5GHz (Receive) > 2.4 GHz (Transmit).
This time it is with a ethernet connection, so it can only be better than connecting to the extender wirelessly.

 

[kanewolf]

If you have an ethernet connection back to your primary router, it is not an extender. It is an access point. You should put the switch before (in the same room) the access point, and any wired device connect to the switch. All the wired and wireless devices will share gigabit full-duplex connectivity that way. Make sure you change the operating mode of the extender to access point.