What Is a Wireless Repeater?

Wireless technology offers the ability to transmit data over distances without the hassles of running cords and cables. In some cases, transmissions can become unreliable at the edge of a wireless base station's range. In these cases, a wireless repeater can solve reliability and signal strength problems.

When to Implement

Wireless repeaters are a good solution to the problem of signal attenuation over distance. A repeater has a radio that receives the wireless signal from the original base station and an additional transmitter to re-transmit the data. By placing the repeater near the edge of a base station's range, the network can be extended to the maximum range of the repeater.

Advantages

The obvious advantage of a repeater is extended range. Using extenders instead of additional access points has an additional advantage; computers and devices connected to the network will not have to hunt for a second access point, thus providing more reliable access.

Disadvantages

There is a performance cost with wireless LAN repeaters. Because a repeater must receive and re-transmit data, network performance is degraded. The problem compounds with additional repeaters.

Alternatives

The main alternative to installing repeaters is to move the location of the wireless access point to a more central location or install additional access points.