Best Kit for Home Networking???

[Sparci]

Hello All

I'm in the process of waiting for my telephone line to be upgraded to ADSL.
Im going to connect it straight into a wireless router and split the connection etc etc....

The question is has anybody any tips on the choice of router.....wireless pcmcia cards??

Ideally secure at the right price.

 

[ImpetusEra]

Lots can be found at a fair price on ebay. First decided on which standard your going to use: 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g. All three have their good and bad points. There's various vendors for wireless such as D-Link, Netgear, SMC, 3COM, etc. Once you have decided on your standard then you go look at what the various manufacturers have for products. Epinions.com is a good place to get reviews on equipment to help narrow down which manufacturer you go with. The following page will give you a quick rundown on the 3 standards:

http://www.linksys.com/edu/wirelessstandards.asp

 

[patrckb]

One gotcha to look out for...

Some wireless routers don't support VPN pass-through. If think you will be wanting to connect to your work network through a VPN, make sure the router you buy supports VPN pass-through. RTFBox .

Patrick

Patrick Bartkus, CCNP, CNX, SCM, RHCT Sr. Network Engineer
GA Dept of Labor IT Network Services
If truth were not absolute, how could there be justice?

 

[MaxPipeline]

Alot of wireless routers are about the same nowadays in terms of functionality. But I would definitely consider getting a router with a built-in SPI firewall (don't fall for the hype of so-called NAT firewalls as this is not a true firewall). Also some routers have the ability to be a VPN client/server which may or may be needed in your scenario. But something to consider nonetheless. Finally I'd recommend checking out computer mag sites such as PCWorld or PCMAG for reviews and comparisons of products.

Personally I like Netgear 54G wireless products. They are easy to configure, have all the features I need such as SPI firewall built-in, and has good range overall from my experience.