SonicOS 7 Internal Wireless

Settings > Access Point & WDS Station
Table of Contents

Access Point & WDS Station

When two or more hosts have to be connected with one another over the 802.11 protocol, and the distance is too long for a direct connection to be established, a wireless repeater is used to bridge the gap.

SonicWall wireless security appliances have access point and bridge mode. While in Access Point & WDS Station mode, one virtual access point is created as station and can connect to another access point. Other virtual access points works as normal access points. That is to say the unit configured as an Access Point & WDS Station works in repeater mode. In this mode, we can also set the virtual interface which the station virtual access point used as a WAN interface.

Access Point & WDS Station Wireless Settings

When setting up the wireless appliance as an access point and station, you are responsible for complying with all laws prescribed by the governing regulatory domain and/or locale regarding radio operations.

  1. Navigate to DEVICE | Internal Wireless > Settings.

  2. In the Radio Role field, select Access Point & WDS Station from the drop-down menu.

  3. Toggle Enable WLAN Radio to enable it. This provides clean wireless access to your mobile users. The WLAN radio is enabled by default.

  4. In the Schedule field, select the time that WLAN radio is active from the drop-down menu. The Schedule list displays the schedule objects you create and manage in the OBJECT | Match Objects > Schedules page in addition to the system-supplied options. The default value is Always on.

  5. In the Country Code field, select the country in which the appliance is being used. The country code determines which regulatory domain the radio operation falls under.

  6. In the Radio Mode field, select your preferred radio mode from the drop-down menu.

  7. Toggle Enable WDS AP option to enable it. This allows the WDS client to connect to this device as an access point.

  8. Validate that the SSID field is filled in correctly. It is given a default value of sonicwall- plus the last four characters of the BSSID; for example, sonicwall-C587. The SSID can be changed to any alphanumeric value with a maximum of 32 characters.

  9. Click Accept to save the settings.

Wireless Virtual Access Point

If using wireless virtual access points, select a Virtual Access Point Group from the drop-down menu in the Wireless Virtual Access Point section. Or you can select a VAP group previously defined.

When done with all Access Point settings, click Accept to save the settings.

Station Setting

To configure the station settings:

  1. In the DEVICE | Internal Wireless > Settings page, with the Radio Role set to Access Point & WDS Station, scroll down to the STATION SETTING section.
  2. Toggle Enable Station Mode to enable it.
  3. Enter the AP SSID in the field provided. This is the access point name that users will see when connecting.

  4. Select the AP Authentication Type from the drop-down menu. Choose from:

    • OPEN
    • WPA2-AUTO-PSK
    • WPA3-PSK
  5. If a WPA authentication type is selected, type in a Pre-Shared Key.
  6. Select a VLAN ID from the drop-down menu. To appear in the list, the VLAN ID must already have been created. The VLAN allows the internal wireless radio to identify which traffic belongs to this subnet. You can create VLAN interfaces in the NETWORK | System > Interfaces page by clicking Add Interface at the top of the Interface Settings screen.
  7. Toggle Use Wireless Interface as WAN to enable access outside your local network. This option changes the wireless interface to a WAN zone interface that can provide WAN access.
  8. Click Accept to save the settings.