I have a plan to build a WDS setup in my area , now I'm using MT on PC , and a standalone AP ,but when i came to the WDS i saw many options to build such a setup , one of them using RouterBoards as NODES , the whole AP's will be MT at the end , I know it will be more easy to manage and to control such network , but i need a guide to build MT WDS , I have many questions I cant find the answers , I need suggestions what model of RB i should use , what Wireless card , how can i setup the nodes , if there is any place that i can find the complete setup , or could MT themselfes guide me to do that and sell me the equipments , or any body had success running WDS setup of MT routerboards with at least 3 Nodes can guide me , I'll be very gratefull for this help .. thanks

Sounds like a good reason to take a training or visit MUM. Or both?

Eugene , normis , that was really a great help thanks alot ..

but there's some details not written there ,like what if I'm using RouterOS on PC as the main WDS-AP ? what type of card I need to handle high number of users ? i'd like to know how did the MT users succed in building thier WDS if they dont mind to share thier experience here ..

i will build my WDS as soon as i know the type of cards and the model of RB which i need ..

Routerboard532 for APs along with CM9 cards for radios have never failed us - great combo that always seems to work. As for how to configure it, since you have list no details on what you are trying to achieve, all I can say is read the manual. Buy the boards, and then setup your network in a "lab" environment" until you get what you want - you will learn a lot more this way too, and you'll have much better luck troubleshooting your network if you know how it's setup.

let me tell you what i need to do , its exactly like this :

A- Main AP:
1- MT RouterOS on PC as main Router,proxy,firewall and AP..
2- wirless card ( ??? ) can handle 40+ user , this card will be in the MT PC.
3- Omni Antenna connected to the Wireless card ( ??? ).

B- Nodes :
1- RouterBoard 532 or 112 .
2- minipci cm9 or R52 .
3- Omni antenna .

- Main AP connected to the internet source .

now as you see I need to build a WDS setup , the clients will connect to the nodes using thier laptops or PC's .
I have one major question about the routerboard : what about the router features ? if the RB will be just a WDS node ? I mean there wont be any NAT , Mangle , Proxy is this correct ?

Since you want to serve clients at the location where your Mikrotik gateway (your PC) is, you might be better off using the PC just as a router/firewall/gateway/dhcp-server/etc, and install a separate access point (RB532) coming straight off of the LAN port of your PC. If you want to support 40+ clients (which is possibly near the limit) your radio needs all the extra resources it can get - by just being a bridged AP, you won't have to worry about the extra overhead of the firewall, routing, bandwidth queues, etc.

As for the rest of your nodes, you can configure them however you want. I think you need to research a little more about the difference between a bridged and routed network and general network design - there is a *ton* of info out there to help you, just spend some quality time with Google. A bridged network is much easier to setup, but has drawbacks, such as all broadcast traffic will hit all nodes on a bridged network. If you go routed, you'll need to understand routing and have to deal with issues like DCHP and how to handle this (relays or locally) as well as the general design and managing your routes (OSPF might help, but you need to understand basic routing first). Adding WDS to either configuration will add another layer of design considerations.

The easiest way to set this up is bridged. Forget about WDS as all this is a extra functionality added to a radio in access point or client mode. It's a "feature" and not really a standalone mode. All it does is let access points link to other access points while still serving clients, and also allows transparent bridging of MT clients in station mode. In general, that's it.

Your best bet is to research bridging and routing a little more, and then get yourself 2 or 3 routerboards with radios and "play around" with different configurations (in a lab) so you understand what you really need to do.

thanks a lot for giving me such information which i was need it .. it was so good ..

my conclusion from your post is :
1- ignore WDS matter cause its only an addition and not a basic thing .
2- bridge is easier than other solution like routing .

but still there is major question not answered , if I ignored using RB's idea and put standalone repeaters i will only put in them the mac of the main AP and put thier mac's in the main and GO ! what is the real advantage of complicating the life with such complicated setup which needs me to be a prof. in routing and networks design , believe me i love to search and learn , but there must be an advantage for complcating things right ? i need to know these differences if u have the time to ..

suppose that i have 2 nodes + main-ap , what if i cant make link with the main to node 2 ? but i can make link fron node 1 to node 2 .. means that node1 will link to the main ,serve clients beside linking with node2 .. is'nt WDS will help here or just bride is enough ?

note : about connecting RB532 to MT box via LAN , i have a satellite terminal gateway , the MT connected to it , why should i connect another MT ( RB) to make 2 MT's connected together side by side ?

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this example from MT wiki is very similar to what i need .. its a WDS example , and I understand it , but when you said forget WDS and make briged network , i need to know what Wireless intefaces will be briged exactly in this example ?
note : 20+ client connected to each AP ...

When I said forget about WDS, what I meant is that you seemed to be confused and stuck on just *what* WDS is and what it does. An access point that uses WDS is still and access point. WDS just adds extra fuctionality. Your recent posts seem to indicate that you feel a WDS network is completely different that a wireless network with access points. I was just trying to help you understand and hope that you don't get hung up on the concept.

Typically, a network using WDS is a bridged network (hence my suggestion to do a little research!). The wireless section of the manual shows you how to make WDS links. In general, you need to bridge your radios and their WDS interfaces that you want to be part of a WDS link. If a node needs ethernet connectivity, you'll need to bridge that port too. That diagram shows 2 radios, 1 is a backhaul WDS link, and the other radio is the client access point. Both are bridged. You can also do the same thing with a single radio - you can put the radio in access point mode, and add a WDS interface to it, so that it uses WDS to hop to another AP while still allowing client connections.

I'll say it one more time..you might understand this better if you take the time to understand how this works by reading the docs (wireless and bridging sections) and doing some research, and then play with a few access points in a lab environment before you decide to put anything in the air