Wireless router?

Kazbah

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend a wireless router? What criteria should I be looking at. It's for residental use for a home with 4 laptops that may be used at the same time. We have DigiWeb Metro.

Thanks,
Kaz.

Foxwood

Kazbah wrote:

Can anyone recommend a wireless router? What criteria should I be looking at. It's for residental use for a home with 4 laptops that may be used at the same time. We have DigiWeb Metro.

The Linksys WRT54G is probably the most widely recommended wireless router here and in the Wireless forum.

I use a D-Link DI-524 and have no complaints.

aidan_walsh

Netgear DG834 doing the biz here.

dub45

Beware of version 5 of the wrt54g apparently it is quite buggy.

Lots of user reviews here: www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk

Kazbah

Foxwood wrote:

The Linksys WRT54G is probably the most widely recommended wireless router here and in the Wireless forum.

I use a D-Link DI-524 and have no complaints.

Thanks there seems to be a fair difference in price there, I suppose it depends on how fast the connection with the BB provider whether it is worth buying a high speed device. Although they both seem to be 54Mbps I think the downspeed from digiWeb is 3MB - will they be compatible. Why is the Liknsys more expensive/better then the Di-524? Sorry I am completely new to BB at home and wireless.

Also is there a way to check that the connection is as good as the service I signed up for? Any way to check these stats?

thanks.

Foxwood

Kazbah wrote:

Thanks there seems to be a fair difference in price there, I suppose it depends on how fast the connection with the BB provider whether it is worth buying a high speed device. Although they both seem to be 54Mbps I think the downspeed from digiWeb is 3MB - will they be compatible. Why is the Liknsys more expensive/better then the Di-524? Sorry I am completely new to BB at home and wireless.

Also is there a way to check that the connection is as good as the service I signed up for? Any way to check these stats?

Pretty much any wireless router on the market today supports 802.11g, with provides a (theoretical) 54Mb connection. In the real world, you'll get somewhere between 10Mbps and 30Mbps between a wi-fi connected device, and other devices on the LAN. That's faster than any available broadband service in Ireland today, so you don't have to worry about that. And there aren't any compatability issues - your "wireless broadband" service from Digiweb Metro actually presents itself to you through a wire (from the Metro "modem"), which you plug into the Wi-Fi router. And that wired ethernet connection is probably the most solid standard that exists in the whole area of computing!!!

When it comes to wireless LAN (or wi-fi), you are to a certain extent just going to have to hope for the best. Some people find one router is great and another is terrible, and another person will have exactly the opposite result, because wireless can be sensitive to the environment that it's used in - the brand of wireless adapter, the construction of the home, interference with other equipment.

As for why diffferent routers are priced at different amounts - you might as well ask why different retailers charge different prices! (I could find you a retailer selling the D-Link for €100, if that would make you more comfortable ). The DI-524 is cheaper than the DI-624, which has a slightly higher spec (gigabit LAN ports, for example). The DI-524 just happens to be the cheapest wireless router from the "big 3" or Linksys, Netgear and D-Link on that site.

When it comes to "it just works", I'm always inclined to spend my money on D-Link, because I've always been satisfied with D-Link kit. But as a hobbyist, the Linksys that I pointed you to would allow me to replace the firmware and do things with that box that aren't supported on any consumer grade routers. Not because I need to, but because it'd be neat to have.

ntlbell

dub45 wrote:

Beware of version 5 of the wrt54g apparently it is quite buggy.

Lots of user reviews here: www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk

Buggy in what way?

Kazbah

Wow Foxwood thanks for the very helpful reply

A lot of that is still double dutch to me though. What I'm hearing is that they are all much of a muchness and it's kind of the luck of the draw. I might try out the DI-524 in that case or one of the low-end models on komplett as I have ordered with them before and found them great!

Foxwood

I guess the key thing to bear in mind is that "wireless broadband" (in your case Digiweb Metro) and "Wireless LAN" or Wi-Fi, are two completely different things. Wireless broadband is just broadband that happens to be delivered to your house over the air. The equipment that you use to distribute your broadband within your house doesn't care how the broadband signal got there. So even if you use "wireless" to distribute the signal within your house, it's not the same "wireless" that get's the signal to you in the first place.

Wi-Fi is a term that's used to describe the "in home" type of wireless. 802.11g is the current standard for "wi-fi gear", and by and large you can mix and match 802.11g wi-fi equipment from different vendors.

watty

If you have 3 or 4 PCs/ Laptops on one WiFi base, sharing video or files or printing with each other even at 54M, even only one person accessing Net may find they are slowed down to less than the Broadband speed. Wired Ethernet on a Switch can be effectively 100 times faster than a shared Wifi. Only an issue if you have a half dozen PCs etc.

dub45

ntlbell wrote:

Buggy in what way?

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2006/06/08/linksys_wrt54g_v5_really_is_a_lousy_router/index.html

Foxwood

dub45 wrote:

Beware of version 5 of the wrt54g apparently it is quite buggy.

Lots of user reviews here: www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk

Note that I actualy linked to the WRT54GL, which is not the buggy version 5.

dub45

Foxwood wrote:

Note that I actualy linked to the WRT54GL, which is not the buggy version 5.

Never doubted you for a second!;)

Kazbah

watty wrote:

If you have 3 or 4 PCs/ Laptops on one WiFi base, sharing video or files or printing with each other even at 54M, even only one person accessing Net may find they are slowed down to less than the Broadband speed. Wired Ethernet on a Switch can be effectively 100 times faster than a shared Wifi. Only an issue if you have a half dozen PCs etc.

What do I need to purchase to implement this approach? Any other opinions on doing it this way? We probably won't be sharing resources just need to access the net at the same time.

Foxwood

Kazbah wrote:

What do I need to purchase to implement this approach? Any other opinions on doing it this way? We probably won't be sharing resources just need to access the net at the same time.

All of the routers recommended above have 4 ethernet ports that allow you to connect 4 PCs directly to the router. Most pcs built in the last 2 or 3 years have ethernet ports - if you have an older computer that doesn't have an ethernet port adding one only requires an adapter that costs €10-€20.

jor el

For the wireless WiFi approach you'll need a wireless router, such as those mentioned already, which will connect to the Metro modem. After that, each PC or laptop will need a wireless network connection on it. Most laptops come with built in 802.11b or g now so if it does then it should be fine. You can get a USB wireless adapter for about €30 and this will work on any PC or laptop. You can also get PCI wireless cards for PCs if you want.

Once everything is plugged in, you just follow the instructions that should come with the wireless adapters to connect to the router. That's pretty much it.

For the wired option, any switch with enough ports on it (5 or 8 for example would be cheap options) and long enough ethernet cables will do. Run a cable from each computer to the switch, run a cable from the switch to the Metro modem. Job done.

The cabled option is a lot more messy if the PCs are distributed around the house. The WiFi option is the way to go for sharing broadband.

fade2che

http://en.fon.com/

Cheapest wifi router i have found at 15 euro. Comes with some community responsibility that may effect the terms and conditions of your contract with your broadband provider. Worth a look tho !

Kazbah

Whoops sorry guys I thought it was another approach entirely. All the laptops are less than 12 months old and come with ethernet ports and WiFi enabled. We definately want wireless not cabled as we will be all over the houses.