Which device?

[McLarnon]

Hi all,
I'm installing a new network and have decided to incorporate a wireless setup. Prior to my deciding this I was going to purchase the linksys dsl modem\router\switch for my networking and internet/file sharing needs.
Now that I've decided to add wireless I have found that there are devices which offer dsl modem\router\switch\wireless access point. Can anyone recommend the best vendor for this type of device? Or should I go with my previous choice (dsl modem\router\switch ) and uplink a wireless access point to this.
Its my first venture into wireless and although quite excited at doing it I can't afford to mess up when it comes to the purchasing off equipment.

I will be very grateful for any advice you can offer.

Many thanks

McLarnon

 

[Bobg1]

If you had already decided to use linksys, why not stay with that. They have that type unit.

 

[McLarnon]

Bob,
I probably will buy a linksys device. I was hoping that someone with experience on doing this could give a model recommendation or answer my question about whether to get the dsl modem\router\switch and then uplink a wirelesss access point to it or get the dsl modem\router\switch\wireless access point.
If anyone has experience doing this and can give some advice then it would be much appreciated.
I'm in the UK so I'm not sure if its possible to get the same linksys models from the US here.

 

[McLarnon]

Sorry to post immediatley after my last but I need some verification on my situation. As I said before, this is my first venture into working with wireless so please bare with me.

The owner of the place I'm configuring this for wants to allow customers to access the web whilst visiting his premises. Since the network is not going to be configured for certain PC's it means that the connection would have to stay open so that all new customers could connect if they wanted to. I understand that might sound bizarre but what I'm most concerned about is the customers (or people outside the premises) gaining access to the network as well as the net.
What would be the best solution to avoid this and keep it as secure as possible.

Thanks

 

[bcastner]

Buy a Linksys WRT54G router instead of your Access Point. Use it initially as an Access Point. It gives you fallback, the best firmware support available from Linksys at the moment, and lots of user support.

Read: How to use a second router as an access point:

http://www4.tomshardware.com/network/20030716/index.html

 

[McLarnon]

bcastner,
Thanks soo much for replying. I couldn't see the
'How to use a second router as an access point' information on the page.
Just to confirm with you.

With the dsl modem,router,switch I was going to configure the network and share the internet connection amongst the office pc's. Are you telling me I can then buy the WRT54G, uplink it to my dsl modem,router,switch to give all the wireless customers access without them being able to access the network.
I was thinking I would have to have a seperate dsl internet connection especially for the wireless router so that the network was safe. If I've managed to miss the information you gave me the link for then I'm sorry, Its been a long day....

Thanks again bcastner

 

[Gatsby1000]

I recommend the Microsoft Wireless Base Station model MN-700. It's a router with integrated 802.11g wireless access point and 4-port Ethernet switch. Also offers WEP, NAT, and a built in firewall. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b. If you have 802.11g wireless cards you can transfer data at up to 54 Mbps.

 

[bcastner]

If you note from the first paragraph of the article I sent that LAN access between two routers "does not work by default."

If the WRT54G is set (as it is by default) to enable DHCP, and you set it to "obtain an IP address automaticly" from the wired router, and set its LAN IP address to a different subnet than used by the wired router, there will be internet access but no network access.

 

[skotman]

McLarnon,
does your customer wish to sell wireless access? If so (even if not this still looks like a good device for you) is the Dlink hotspot gateway (

http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=173)

It does not include a AP so you will have to buy that seperatly but dlink has some good APs as well. I have used dlink routers for 3 years now and love them, have never had a problem with the hardware or the support.

Note: I have not used this product, I saw it mentioned elsewhere in this forum and have read the manual. It has some good features that make this an ideal hotspot management tool

 

[troytrojan2001]

Netgear netgear netgear netgear netgear. Did I mention netgear?

 

[bcastner]

troytrojan2001,

I have no issue with netgear products. And I would hate to see the forum used to promote any individual product.

I believe the original poster's question in was wether a wireless router could be use as an accesss point. The answer is yes, and likely a better choice than purchasing an acess point only product.

Comparitive reviews by eWeek, and PC Magazine show the Netgear G products as significantly poorer than the offerings by Linksys, Cisco, or Buffalo. If you have access to special information otherwise from Netgear, all of use would benefit from your posting.

 

[vipergg]

I use Netgear 802.11B wireless router/switch with a netgear 802.11b wireless nic and this works flawlessly on my DSL connection , have not had one problem since
I installed this . Highly reccomended , reasonable price too .