Recommendations for wireless networking

blurr · 21-Nov-2003, 14:37

Hi, I'm setting up a network for a couple of friends of mine, who live in student accomodation. Their situation is, theres four of them sharing a house, all wanting to have broadband, so I suggested the ethernet setup, the problem is as their rooms are near and far apart from the telephone socket - which is downstairs. Cabled networking isn't really an option, unless they drill a hole through the floor... which is a definite no no. So I need to get them a wireless setup at a reasonable price which is reliable, because they are students like myself and are skint most of the time

At the moment I'm looking into a D-link wireless setup...

DSL-604+ ADSL Wireless Router which is about £116 inc vat and PCI Bus 22M Wireless Adaptor (I'm guessing that has a 22m range?) which are about £42 inc vat

Norphy · 21-Nov-2003, 15:42

The 22M bit isn't the range, its the transfer speed. 802.11B and G wireless networking equipment has a range of around 150 feet assuming you've got clear line of sight between the PC and the point. It still works if there are floors or walls in the way but the signal strength and therefore speeds and range is reduced.

I have a Netgear WG602 wireless access point and a laptop with an in-built wireless NIC. The WAP on the 1st floor of the house at the back and I can get a reasonably good signal all over the house. Assuming the student accomadation isn't much bigger than my house you'll proably find the same. Just keep it away from microwaves and you'll be fine.

If I were you I'd look into getting some 802.11G equipment (Sometimes known as 11G or 54G depending on the manufacturer). Its not significantly more expensive but its up to five times faster.

blurr · 21-Nov-2003, 15:56

Speed isn't really an issue, unless we're talking extremely slow web browsing and file transfer. As the people using it are all girls and thats all they're going to be using it for

I take it yours isn't a 4port router as well?

Norphy · 21-Nov-2003, 18:10

No, its just a plain access point. Its plugged into a ethernet switch and all of my internet sharing is done by a server plugged into my cable modem.

If you already have a router, all you need is an access point. Buying a Wireless Router would be entirely uncessary.

We won't be talking about slow web browsing but file transfers will be quite slow (marginally slower than 10BaseT probably) assuming you get decent signal on the PCs.

mick3ymous3 · 25-Nov-2003, 00:39

i been lookin at setting one up at home and i posted in here a while back, someone pointed in the direction of: http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=41593

which looks quite good to me...

one thing i'm not too sure about tho, are wireless access points (WAP's)...do they have a security feature that stops ppl from parking up outside my house and leeching my internet off me? cos i know some of the routers have like MAC filtering that only lets computers listed use it...do WAP's have the same features?

puds · 25-Nov-2003, 09:59

There are loads of wireless access points that are cheap, as are the PCMCIA or PCI wireless cards that you will need.

Whether you need a wireless access point/router in one or just a wireless access point which you then plug into a hub is up to you.

802.11b is the cheapest hardware, but the slowest speed (11mbits) - but still plenty fast enough.

802.11g is much faster but the range is much shorted and the hardware more expensive.

Whatever you go for, you must use WEP encryption - this is not foolproof but good enough for domestic environments. MAC address blocking is absurdly easily to break so forget that.

I use belkin stuff at home, PCMCIA card £30, USB interface for PC about £25 and wireless access point about £60.

blurr · 25-Nov-2003, 15:42

Cheers

At the mo I'm looking into a netgear setup with 802.11g the WAP is about £70 and the cards are quite reasonable at £50 a piece.

just to check this will all work with an NTL Cable connection?

moron · 25-Nov-2003, 15:47

Yup, will all work with an NTL connection...

Another route to consider is the way I went.. using an old machine running Linux as a router box and put a standard pci 11b card in running the hostap kernel modules to stick that nic into access point mode. Though this may well be too complex.

blurr · 25-Nov-2003, 16:05

yes, thats wayyyy over my head

Norphy · 25-Nov-2003, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by puds

802.11b is the cheapest hardware, but the slowest speed (11mbits) - but still plenty fast enough.

802.11g is much faster but the range is much shorted and the hardware more expensive.

802.11A and 802.11G both have a range of around 150 feet. 802.11g isn't that much more expensive than 802.11B either.

I think you're thinking of 802.11a which operates on the 5GHz band but only has a 50 foot range and is three times the price

. The advantage A has over B & G is that it is using a frequency range that isn't cluttered up so its less prone to interference. However the disadvantages are too great, ie it has no range and its damned expensive.

megadaisy · 25-Nov-2003, 23:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by blurr

yes, thats wayyyy over my head

Maybe not! take a look here at Coyote Linux
http://www.coyotelinux.com/
Its basically a router on a floppy with a handy windows installer. As your all skint students you should have enough time to get this going and it will run alright on a very low spec machine.

Good luck

MegaDaisy

DizMatt · 26-Nov-2003, 00:08

so any cheap recommended WAP's then?
11mbps is fine tbh for internet surfing
had a line on a nice cheap netgear one until the internet fooked up tonight

DeathStart · 28-Nov-2003, 10:21

Just had Insight's latest catalogue in the post this morning, (www.insight.com/uk), and they're doing a bundle of a 54g Wireless Access Point, PCI Card and Notebook Card for £119.99 + VAT (about £141 including VAT).

It's Belkin, which is the same as we have at home, and apart from the drivers supplied being a little screwy (corrected by getting the ones from their website), we've had no problems

DizMatt · 28-Nov-2003, 11:51

I got a 54mbps/72mbps netgear PCMCIA card for 20 quid ish, new and wrapped from ebay

have a new WAP for 40 quid on the way too...
only 11mbps but the 11mbps ones are better through walls apparantly, the range on anything else is pants
mainly for office use rather than through walls in the house use...
we'll see though, it's airway...Hmmm, will have to see, the netgear ones..I kept missing

megadaisy · 03-Dec-2003, 00:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by DizMatt

have a new WAP for 40 quid on the way too...

Where have you got this ordered from? I am after a cheap WAP also.

Cheers
MegaDaisy

Arkaos · 03-Dec-2003, 09:04

I like my trusty netgear MR314..never had a problem with it in my year of having it

21-Nov-2003, 14:37	#1
blurr fashion victim Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 17,704	Recommendations for wireless networking Hi, I'm setting up a network for a couple of friends of mine, who live in student accomodation. Their situation is, theres four of them sharing a house, all wanting to have broadband, so I suggested the ethernet setup, the problem is as their rooms are near and far apart from the telephone socket - which is downstairs. Cabled networking isn't really an option, unless they drill a hole through the floor... which is a definite no no. So I need to get them a wireless setup at a reasonable price which is reliable, because they are students like myself and are skint most of the time At the moment I'm looking into a D-link wireless setup... DSL-604+ ADSL Wireless Router which is about £116 inc vat and PCI Bus 22M Wireless Adaptor (I'm guessing that has a 22m range?) which are about £42 inc vat __________________ + myembers \| + scoute.org

21-Nov-2003, 15:56	#3
blurr fashion victim Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 17,704	Speed isn't really an issue, unless we're talking extremely slow web browsing and file transfer. As the people using it are all girls and thats all they're going to be using it for I take it yours isn't a 4port router as well? __________________ + myembers \| + scoute.org

25-Nov-2003, 15:42	#7
blurr fashion victim Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 17,704	Cheers At the mo I'm looking into a netgear setup with 802.11g the WAP is about £70 and the cards are quite reasonable at £50 a piece. just to check this will all work with an NTL Cable connection? __________________ + myembers \| + scoute.org

25-Nov-2003, 16:05	#9
blurr fashion victim Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 17,704	yes, thats wayyyy over my head __________________ + myembers \| + scoute.org

26-Nov-2003, 00:08	#12
DizMatt PostPrandial Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Newcastle Posts: 6,956	so any cheap recommended WAP's then? 11mbps is fine tbh for internet surfing had a line on a nice cheap netgear one until the internet fooked up tonight __________________ Photo Portfolio Bits 'n Pieces : General Random Gallery : All new photoblog : My Flickr ........................I read it on Wikipedia...so it must be true!........................

21-Nov-2003, 15:42	#2
Norphy Meh Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,650	The 22M bit isn't the range, its the transfer speed. 802.11B and G wireless networking equipment has a range of around 150 feet assuming you've got clear line of sight between the PC and the point. It still works if there are floors or walls in the way but the signal strength and therefore speeds and range is reduced. I have a Netgear WG602 wireless access point and a laptop with an in-built wireless NIC. The WAP on the 1st floor of the house at the back and I can get a reasonably good signal all over the house. Assuming the student accomadation isn't much bigger than my house you'll proably find the same. Just keep it away from microwaves and you'll be fine. If I were you I'd look into getting some 802.11G equipment (Sometimes known as 11G or 54G depending on the manufacturer). Its not significantly more expensive but its up to five times faster.

21-Nov-2003, 18:10	#4
Norphy Meh Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,650	No, its just a plain access point. Its plugged into a ethernet switch and all of my internet sharing is done by a server plugged into my cable modem. If you already have a router, all you need is an access point. Buying a Wireless Router would be entirely uncessary. We won't be talking about slow web browsing but file transfers will be quite slow (marginally slower than 10BaseT probably) assuming you get decent signal on the PCs.

25-Nov-2003, 00:39	#5
mick3ymous3 pro poster Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 737	i been lookin at setting one up at home and i posted in here a while back, someone pointed in the direction of: http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=41593 which looks quite good to me... one thing i'm not too sure about tho, are wireless access points (WAP's)...do they have a security feature that stops ppl from parking up outside my house and leeching my internet off me? cos i know some of the routers have like MAC filtering that only lets computers listed use it...do WAP's have the same features?

25-Nov-2003, 09:59	#6
puds flame fodder Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 56	There are loads of wireless access points that are cheap, as are the PCMCIA or PCI wireless cards that you will need. Whether you need a wireless access point/router in one or just a wireless access point which you then plug into a hub is up to you. 802.11b is the cheapest hardware, but the slowest speed (11mbits) - but still plenty fast enough. 802.11g is much faster but the range is much shorted and the hardware more expensive. Whatever you go for, you must use WEP encryption - this is not foolproof but good enough for domestic environments. MAC address blocking is absurdly easily to break so forget that. I use belkin stuff at home, PCMCIA card £30, USB interface for PC about £25 and wireless access point about £60.

25-Nov-2003, 15:47	#8
moron founder of the +1 forum Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 3,654	Yup, will all work with an NTL connection... Another route to consider is the way I went.. using an old machine running Linux as a router box and put a standard pci 11b card in running the hostap kernel modules to stick that nic into access point mode. Though this may well be too complex.

28-Nov-2003, 10:21	#13
DeathStart bandwidth bill in the post Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Behind you! Posts: 1,864	Just had Insight's latest catalogue in the post this morning, (www.insight.com/uk), and they're doing a bundle of a 54g Wireless Access Point, PCI Card and Notebook Card for £119.99 + VAT (about £141 including VAT). It's Belkin, which is the same as we have at home, and apart from the drivers supplied being a little screwy (corrected by getting the ones from their website), we've had no problems __________________ So what if you can see the darkest side of me? No one will ever change this animal I have become... The WoW Outland Lineup: Deathstart (62) Silverside (19) Typecast (19) XBox Live: DeathStart

28-Nov-2003, 11:51	#14
DizMatt PostPrandial Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Newcastle Posts: 6,956	I got a 54mbps/72mbps netgear PCMCIA card for 20 quid ish, new and wrapped from ebay have a new WAP for 40 quid on the way too... only 11mbps but the 11mbps ones are better through walls apparantly, the range on anything else is pants mainly for office use rather than through walls in the house use... we'll see though, it's airway...Hmmm, will have to see, the netgear ones..I kept missing __________________ Photo Portfolio Bits 'n Pieces : General Random Gallery : All new photoblog : My Flickr ........................I read it on Wikipedia...so it must be true!........................

03-Dec-2003, 09:04	#16
Arkaos troll Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 291	I like my trusty netgear MR314..never had a problem with it in my year of having it __________________ I came, I played and then they shutdown the games servers :s Has been ByGames RTCW/ET admin #trickery.linux