Workgroup Bridge FAQ
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Q. What is a Workgroup Bridge?
A. A workgroup bridge (WGB) is a special mode on a Cisco access point that can associate to wireless access point as a client and provide wireless connectivity for wired devices that connect to its Ethernet port.
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Q. Can Workgroup Bridge associate with non-Cisco access point?
A. WGB sends Internet Access Point Protocol (IAPP) messages to the wireless access point to inform it about the MAC addresses of wired clients relayed through the workgroup bridge radio. When the access point is not a Cisco access point, these messages are not understood, so standard Workgroup Bridge cannot associate to non-Cisco access point, a special role of WGB – universal WGB was introduced to allow it to associate with non-Cisco access point.
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Q. What is an universal Workgroup Bridge?
A. The universal WGB is able to interoperate with non-Cisco access points using uplink radio MAC address, thus the universal workgroup bridge role supports only one wired client. When works as universal WGB, the universal WGB is transparent and is not managed.
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Q. What are the typical applications for a Workgroup Bridge?
A.
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Stretching wireless infrastructure to wired-only clients
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Deployments where it is not feasible or practical to run a cable to the wired device
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In-vehicle deployments, where the WGB provides connectivity from autonomous guided vehicles, mining trucks etc. to a wireless network
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Q. Which Cisco access point supports WGB today?
A. Cisco IW3702, Embedded AP803 module in IR829 are IOS based access points and support IOS WGB. The IOS WGB function can be running with an autonomous image, such as ap3g2-k9w7-tar.xxx.tar. Cisco 802.11ac wave2 APs (ESW6300, IW6300, 1560, 2800, 3800) and 802.11ax AP module (WP-WIFI6) are Cheetah OS (COS) based access points. The COS WGB function runs on image version ap3g3-k9w8-tar.xxx.tar, ap1g7-k9w8-tar.xxx.tar, or ap1g8-k9w8-tar.xxx.tar.
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Q. How many clients can be supported by a WGB?
A. A maximum of 20 wired clients are supported behind a Cisco WGB device, which is the max number allowed on wireless LAN controller (WLC).
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Q. Does a WGB support multiple VLANs in it?
A. Yes, it is possible to associate WGB (WGB BVI interface) as a Native VLAN and have wired clients configured behind a dot1q switch associated to different (non-Native) VLANs.
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Q. How is WGB mode different from bridge (mesh) mode?
A. Bridge (mesh) mode is only suitable for stationary use case, while WGB as a wireless client can be deployed for both stationary and on the move use case.
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Q. What are the key questions to ask before a Workgroup Bridge deployment?
A. A. In general, you should know the details of the application and WiFi infrastructure.
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What is the application that will run on top of the wireless infrastructure? Is it latency and jitter sensitive application?
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What is the needed bandwidth for the application?
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What is the roaming delay tolerance?
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Can the application handle properly network disconnections? Is there an additional backup mechanism?
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Can the application handle packet loss properly? (Even on the best wireless design, you must expect a percentage of packet loss.)
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Has site survey been conducted properly? Is the RF coverage good enough to support the required application bandwidth?
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