Best router/access point/switch etc for me?

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

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Joined
1 Sep 2005
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Scottish Highlands
Having recently moved to a new flat, im trying to figure out how to best wire the network up, but I need some advice.

At the moment I have a Netgear DG834G v4 router hooked up to my O2 broadband. As I want to maximise the speed im going to place the router in the hallway, right next to the BT mastersocket. I then have my main pc, a NAS/AD/VPN server(still to be built) and printer in the spare bedroom. I also want a HTPC in the living room, and finally there are 3 laptops that move around the flat.

So far, nothing too complicated. But.. I want the network as fast as possible, and the whole place has wooden floors (so no hiding cable under the carpet.) I did start to place CAT6 cable along the skirting board from the router to the spare bedroom, but it simply wasn't subtle enough. (Heavy grey cable doesn't look too good tbh). Id like gigabit network between the main pc and the server, but I think im going to have to settle with wireless between the router and everything else.

So what are my options? Id prefer Netgear kit (know its compatible with the DG834G then and im used to Netgear kit) I was thinking something like the WN802T in the spare bedroom, linking the main pc and server to the internet by bridging it to the router. The HTPC would then be kitted out with a draft N wireless card, and the laptops could connect via the WN802T. Would this work ok? Is there only 1 gigiabit ethernet port on the WN802T? Ive also spotted; DG834N and WNR3500. Would either of these routers work as access points as well? Are there any benefits/disadvantages to doing it this way? Oh, and you get bonus points and a cookie if you figure out a way I can do it with rackmountable parts for sensible money. Any help or advice is appreciated. :)
 
Do you intend for the connection between the router in the living room and the one in the spare bedroom to be wireless? If so, I used to have this exact setup in reverse (gave up on it because the bandwidth over the wireless segment wasn't stable enough to cope with an 8Mbps Freeview transport stream).

If I've read your intention correctly, the router in the spare bedroom will have to be capable of either client bridged mode, or both routers will need to support WDS. Client bridged mode is incredibly rare (usually needs 3rd party firmware support), but WDS is becoming more common.

Google suggests both the DG834 and WN802T may have WDS-capable firmware updates. If true, and they're compatible with each other (don't laugh - it happens - though not so often with kit from the same manufacturer) then this is a viable option. I don't know what security WDS is capable of so good luck there.
 
Thanks Berserker. Yeah, the setup you describe is what I intend to do. Here's a diagram of what I'm planning;

networklayoutpi0.jpg


The more I read about the subject of WDS, the more I get confused. There is so much conflicting information out there. Can anyone confirm if the WN802T supports WDS and would work in bridged mode with the DG834G v4 router? Since the DG834G v4 is only 802.11g will the WN802T work ok at 802.11g AND 802.11n at the same time, ie communicate with draft-N enabled kit at full speed while still maintaining support for 802.11g kit?
 
I think some routers can sustain different speeds. Most of the cheap ones just fall back to the lowest common denominator. Stick a bit of traffic on the wi-fi and as I'm sure you know you may not even achieve full 11g.

I suspect the conflicting information is a result of different firmware versions. Neither may support WDS 'out of the box', but both may support it with firmware updates.

PS - some of the laptops might try to connect directly to the DG834. Depends how you set things up I guess.
 
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I decided to go with a WG602 (802.11g) access point in the end. Draft-N may be the next thing, but its too expensive and too hit and miss at the moment. I'll use the WG602 as a stop gap for now, then see how it goes. I also ordered a GS105 gigabit switch, so at least I can have a gigabit connection to the server from my main pc. Does anyone know if its possible to 'bridge' 2 network cards to achieve say 2Gbps from 2x1Gbps cards and 2 cables?
 
Thanks guys. Think 1Gbps will do me for now. :) WG602 access point, GS105 gigabit switch and GA311 Gigabit NIC all turned up today. After lots of confusion and frustration, I now have managed to get the wireless bridging up and its all working nicely. Means that my main pc has a 1Gbps connection to the server, while the rest of the house is served by wireless, and the internet is also sent to the wired network wirelessly.

Strangley though the router has synched at an even lower speed, despite being right next to the master socket. Its really bad weather at the moment, so im wondering if that has any effect?
 
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