Wireless Network - any ideas

[deaneb]

Guys - is anyone running a wireless home network successfully ??

I am looking at setting up one at home for both Internet and file sharing. I have a desktop PC and soon will be getting a laptop and further down track we might get a second PC.
I don't want to spend too much so was looking at something like the Belkin G+ Mimo or similar. I need something that will not slow down too much through a few walls.
Also not sure whether to get a router and use my existing ADSL modem as input or get a combined ADSL/router.
Any advice appreciated

Cheers

Deane

[Alex]

We have one running reasonably well. We have a USR wireless router (ADSL + wireless), we used to have it running the two PC's off a wired connection, and any laptops etc off the wireless. We now have everything running on the wireless network. With the range, if you get a 802.11g router, the positioning of the actual router can affect it (as the router is constructed to have radio waves travelling primarily horizontally out from the router), so may not be ideal for a multi-story house. Although usually .g is pretty good, e.g. in my house, I manage to get a 'Good' signal reception on the other side of the house (signal travelling through about 5 internal walls) although this would depend on your router I suppose.

I think it would be easier to have a combined router than two boxes, if there are any problems you can narrow them down reasonably quickly rather than checking through both boxes to see which is at fault, and also it will be easier to set up. It would probably also be a good idea to get a reasonably popular brand so that support is easier if you have problems (we found it quite harder to find when setting ours up, as it seems there are not many USR routers around...).

One thing we have found is that it (at least in our case), windows hasn't recognised the other PC's as part of the network (as it did when we had a wired network), so cannot access the 'X's Shared Documents' etc, whereas you could with the wired connection. I'm not sure whether this is the case with most/all wireless routers or if we are the minority here; in our situation it's not so much of an issue.

Alex

[greaneyr]

QUOTE (deaneb @ Dec 9 2007, 07:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Guys - is anyone running a wireless home network successfully ??

I am looking at setting up one at home for both Internet and file sharing. I have a desktop PC and soon will be getting a laptop and further down track we might get a second PC.
I don't want to spend too much so was looking at something like the Belkin G+ Mimo or similar. I need something that will not slow down too much through a few walls.
Also not sure whether to get a router and use my existing ADSL modem as input or get a combined ADSL/router.
Any advice appreciated

Cheers

Deane

Hey Deane

MIMO is definitely a good thing to have where walls are involved. Wireless definitely follows the rule of thumb where 'you get what you pay for'. If you were wanting to spend a bit more, I'd recommend something by Ruckus. This stuff will stream video through stone walls in UK homes. Antenna technology seems to be the key to maintaining a decent connection and speed, and the Ruckus gear has an active antenna array with multiple different beam patterns. This just means the AP will sense where you are and adjust it's power and gain accordingly so you get the best signal.

The Belkin would be fine though.

As far as the separate router vs router integrated with wireless goes, I haven't really seen a compelling reason to do/not do either. Personally, I'd go with whatever costs you the least amount of money. ADSL functionality will cost extra and if you already have a router, there's not a lot of point in spending more on that part of the system. Also, ADSL is only included as an option on a certain number of units. It may be that to get certain functionality, you have to opt for a unit without ADSL capability, and therefore you'd need to retain your router anyhow.

I use a separate router and AP. Other guys at work do the same (I work in IT by the way).

Cheers
Richard

[deaneb]

Thanks Guys - I appreciate your feedback.

Deane

[HardCorePawn]

I just have a standard D-Link 604GT wireless ADSL Router... seems to work OK...

although the reception at the far end of the house can be a bit patchy... I think its all the 'hardware' in the kitchen inbetween the master bedroom and the office causing issues... I have considered putting a repeater unit into the room next to the bedroom, as the previous owners thoughtfully put in a wired ethernet connection between there and the office... but it works well enough that the wife can lie in bed and browse so it has not been necessary...

The most important piece of advice I can give you is:

YMMV

I have seen 1 router with 2 drastically different ranges in 2 different homes... the construction of your house, the internal wiring, other 2.4Ghz devices etc. will all play silly buggers... if you can, I would suggest 'borrowing' a unit or getting a demo etc. so you can find one that will work in your particular setup...

[deaneb]

QUOTE (HardCorePawn @ Dec 10 2007, 10:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The most important piece of advice I can give you is:

YMMV

??
Deane

[HardCorePawn]

Your mileage may vary

[brownbox]

We run a wireless network, but its pretty shoddy, so I wont reccomend anything. I would stick with Belkin, as they have a lifetime warranty, and if anything breaks, just call them up and youll get the new model which is equal to your one absolutely free, no questions asked. Also, very nice support people there, and 24/7 support

[deaneb]

I am looking at these currently:
Router One
Router two

Seems there are a whole heap of variations

Deane

[ZK-MAT]

QUOTE (deaneb @ Dec 11 2007, 10:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am looking at these currently:
Router One
Router two

Seems there are a whole heap of variations

Deane

We have had a combo of wired and wireless at home with no problems. Our wireless at home is via a Belkin router similar to the one in the second link above (two aerials).

The ADSL goes into this router and then via wires to two desktop PC's. My wife and I use our laptops wirelessly anywhere in our home or section without any dead spots or communication problems. We can access any of the puter's shared files from any other PC. We run WPA security on it and also have entered the MAC addresses of the PC's we only want to use our net. So far so good.

The router is mounted on the wall in my garage with the aerials pointing down ... which apparently isn't best, but it works best for us this way! Our house is a single storey standard light timber frame with brick cladding, the signal doesn't have any problems going through the walls.

As an aside we also get our net wirelessly... via www.eol.co.nz as we can't get ADSL over our phone lines (fibre optic cables in this street not copper). It seems to work quite well, 3 meg down and up with a sub 30ms gaming ping (most times on TF2 it's 5 - 9 ms). Apart from the method of delivery it's identical to ADSL over phone lines once the signal reaches the receiver on the roof, so it's a fixed home solution rather than a true roaming wireless option.

[HardCorePawn]

Just in case you did not realise...

Option 1 == ADSL2+ Router
Option 2 == Wireless Access Point... so you would also need an ADSL modem to connect to it

Also as far as the MIMO stuff is concerned, I think you will find that this will mean you need compatible Belkin wireless cards to utilise this... most, if not all, laptops with built-in wireless will be incompatible...

[deaneb]

QUOTE (HardCorePawn @ Dec 12 2007, 09:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just in case you did not realise...

Option 1 == ADSL2+ Router
Option 2 == Wireless Access Point... so you would also need an ADSL modem to connect to it

Also as far as the MIMO stuff is concerned, I think you will find that this will mean you need compatible Belkin wireless cards to utilise this... most, if not all, laptops with built-in wireless will be incompatible...

Yes I undestand one incorporates the modem and the other doesn't. My understanding is that the MIMo is backward compatible - "G Plus MIMO is Wi-Fi certified and seamlessly interoperates with a mixture of Belkin's G Plus MIMO, Pre-N, and legacy 802.11b/802.11g devices"

cheers for everybodys input so far - very helpful

Deane

[HardCorePawn]

Yes... backwards compat... just that if you want the MIMO features (which I am led to believe is extra range and/or speed), they're obviously a belkin only type thing... so you would need belkin MIMO cards...

[deaneb]

Finally bought a standard Belkin G router & ADSL 2 modem. I had it up and running pretty quickly with the laptop (wireless) running Vista, but had a few other issues to sort out on the desktop (wired) running Win XP. I am stoked with the performance. We have a large modern house and I have no difficulty accessing the net anywhere in the house, even with five or six walls in the way.
Download speeds have in some cases exceeded what I was getting with my old ADSL modem.

Thanks for feedback

Deane

[HueyTeam]

QUOTE (deaneb @ Dec 21 2007, 06:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Finally bought a standard Belkin G router & ADSL 2 modem. I had it up and running pretty quickly with the laptop (wireless) running Vista, but had a few other issues to sort out on the desktop (wired) running Win XP. I am stoked with the performance. We have a large modern house and I have no difficulty accessing the net anywhere in the house, even with five or six walls in the way.
Download speeds have in some cases exceeded what I was getting with my old ADSL modem.

Thanks for feedback

Deane

Hi deane, i know it´s a little bit late, but look at this

Fritzbox - very great and easy to use

For your long house you can use a second router as repeater. the fritzbox has these funktion, if belkin i don´t know.


I use this hardware, very easy and many options.

Merry xmas and wonderfull huey