Wireless router MR314

Dave Roe

I've just got Eircom DSL with their USB/Ethernet modem. I have two laptops and an Xbox that I'd like to hook up wirelessly(?).

I have an offer of a (cheap) Netgear MR314 wireless router which also seems to have a 4-port switch, so I think I can get one of the laptops with a wireless card (an 802.11a card?) an external ethernet bridge for the Xbox and just get an ordinary wired ethernet card for the other.

Is there a major difference between this and the Netgear 824 which I see mentioned a bit here? (apart from the 824 having the ADSL Modem built in obviously)

crowbar

i have an mr314 and it's an 802.11>b< wireless box, so an 802.11a card won't work with it. dunno if it will work with the eircom modem, though - i use a netgear adsl modem with my mr314. the adsl modem set to 'modem' mode, so it just passes everything through to the mr314, which is the one that actually talks pppoe with the dslam at the exchange.

tomk

Make and model of the Eircom box would be useful. In principal, if they both use ethernet, they should work together.

Dave Roe

The modem is the standard cayman netopia that eircom do with the self-install package. It is dual USB/Ethernet.

What confuses me about the wireless standards is what works with what? I thought that if I had a 802.11a router it could commuinicate only with "a" cards, but that a 802.11b could communicate ither either a or b and that a "g" could communicate with anything? Is it the other way around? i.e. you are restricted by the card rather than the router?

The reason it's important is that work will supply me with a wireless card for my work laptop but what they have are 802.11a cards. Then I'd only have to pick up something for the Xbox and plug the other computer at home directly into the switch.

crowbar

802.11b cards can only speak to 802.11b access points
802.11a cards can only speak to 802.11a access points
802.11g cards can only speak to 802.11g access points

however - access points and cards can speak more than one standard at a time. the access points and cards will specifically say what they support, and which ones they support if they support more than one.

the mr314 only supports 802.11b, and does not work with cards that do not speak 802.11b (possibly in addition to 802.11a and/or 802.11g.)

iano

Summary:
802.11b - most commonly deployed , often referred to as "wi-fi". 2.4GHz, low cost.

802.11a - more bandwidth, less interference, 5GHz, higher cost, shorter range, incompatible with 802.11b/g.

802.11g - new standard (June 2003). 2.4GHz. High Speed. Fully backward compatible with existing 802.11b equipment.

You can get combo-cards (from Proxim etc.) that support multiple standards (combination of a, b and/or g).

Good tutorial available at: http://brighthand.com.com/4520-3244_7-5021297-2.html

Hope this helps,
Ian.

Dave Roe

Yup, that's pretty clear. Thanks both.
Dave