Need new Wireless Router & AP-Client

jezscott

jezscott

jezscott

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
322
Location
North London, UK
My Circa 2004 wireless network is slow and unreliable. Twice a week I have to go down stairs and manually reset the router to bring it back to life.

but, no more!

Could someone please recommend to me a fast & robust combination of Wireless Router and Wireless AP-Client/Bridge? Preferably from the same manufacturer to reduce the amount of time reading manuals.

I currently have the following setup:

At Ground floor I have a Wireless Router (US Robotics 8054 125Mbps) connected to a Virgin Media Cable Modem and my FileStorage/Games/Media PC.

At 2nd floor I have a Wireless AP in AP-Client mode (US Robotics 5450 125Mbps), connected to a Wired Switch (Netgear GS608UK 8-port Gigabit), which is then connected to 4 PC's and 4 network printers.​

The File Storage PC downstairs stores large CAD files and I was hoping to be able to wirelessly access them directly off this PC, without having to transfer to desktops first as we do now. I was also hoping HDTV would work over this network.

The Wireless Router is about 6m below the Wireless AP with 2 timber floors between.

Or should I forget all this and get Homeplugs?

Thanks for any suggestions!
 
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Hiya mate. Ive literally just (about an hour ago) set up a linksys WRT45gs (or something like that) up as a client for wireless. Up to now it has worked fine and im receiving good internet speeds (as I moved my o2 wireless box downstairs). Its about 30 squid and you can use a modded firmware to upgrade it so it acts as a client. If you need any help gimme a PM ;)
 
x Darkchild said:
Hiya mate. Ive literally just (about an hour ago) set up a linksys WRT45gs (or something like that) up as a client for wireless. Up to now it has worked fine and im receiving good internet speeds (as I moved my o2 wireless box downstairs). Its about 30 squid and you can use a modded firmware to upgrade it so it acts as a client. If you need any help gimme a PM ;)
Click to expand...

I guess you have the Linksys WRT54GS, but I already have 802.11g.
I need something faster and more robust.
 
For o2 you might want to look at the DG834N/PN as it can use the DGTeam firmware + has the broadcom chipset that o2 loves.

Even wireless-N will be a lot slower than a wired gigabit switch though - have you considered just running a wire to that PC?
 
I'm on Virgin Media with cable modem - is there an equivalent for this?

We are refurbishing the house in a few months, so I don't want to start drilling (will definitely wire it up then though).
I could sling a gigabit cable out of the window and back in at ground floor, but that will look awful!
 
Please guys, any suggestions?


I need a really fast Router/Access Point
at least 802.11N & hopefully 5ghz or Dual band & Gigabit Lan


I also need a really fast Bridge/AP-Client
at least 802.11N & hopefully 5ghz or Dual band
This will connect to my existing Netgear Gigabit Switch.

...any thoughts on if these two should work well together?
or do I need 2 of those bridges and the Router/AP?
 
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Sorry, I missed your question.

I'd have thought that the two Netgear products would work well together though I've not had experience of either product (generally my experience with ADSL Netgear stuff is good though).
 
Dear god.

That's absolutely insane.

I'd personally just get a Linksys WRT54GL and put Tomato on it and use it as a stop-gap AP until you can run a wire and have wired gigabit in there.

It'll cost you about 10-15% of that and though it'll be as slow as your current kit for the time being, it'll be more reliable and the WRT54GL will be good for future use as a router (with a seperate wireless-N AP if you really need N-class wireless).
 
Some of the 802.11n WRTs can run the same third-party firmware the WRT54GL can, if you've really got to have 802.11n. If it's just to link a router and switch, what about Homeplug?
 
tolien said:
Some of the 802.11n WRTs can run the same third-party firmware the WRT54GL can, if you've really got to have 802.11n. If it's just to link a router and switch,
Click to expand...
Do you know of any specific models?

tolien said:
...what about Homeplug?
Click to expand...
The fastest Homeplug would be nearly half the price :) But it looks a lot slower than 802.11N :(
However, I'm not sure if our frequent loss of power to different circuits around the house is an indication of dodgy electrical cabling. It would be on a different ring as well - whats the worst performance I can expect?
 
Aekeron said:
Dear god.
That's absolutely insane.

I'd personally just get a Linksys WRT54GL and put Tomato on it and use it as a stop-gap AP until you can run a wire and have wired gigabit in there.

It'll cost you about 10-15% of that and though it'll be as slow as your current kit for the time being, it'll be more reliable and the WRT54GL will be good for future use as a router (with a seperate wireless-N AP if you really need N-class wireless).
Click to expand...

I don't know much about the Linksys WRT54GL, I'll do a search of the forum
 
tolien said:
If it's only for the internet connection, it doesn't have to be that fast...
Click to expand...

we need a fast connection to transfer large CAD files and HD videos from the server downstairs to the PC network upstairs
Server is for Office File Storage, Media Storage, Watching HD and playing games
 
OK, I've done a lot of research on possible Wireless hardware and I thought I'd record it here.
  • As stated above, I need a fast wireless link from our [Server & CableModem] to a [LAN of PC's & Printers] & [WiFi adapters]
  • Wireless distance is about 6m and to go through 2 timber floors.
  • My Existing NIC's & Switches are all Gigabit
  • The laptops/IpodTouch are 54g (I'll get a compatible USB dongle to share when I need the speed)
802.11N Routers 2.4Ghz only
Asus WL-500W (DD-WRT)
Belkin N1 Vision (Gigabit)/(DD-WRT WIP)
Buffalo WZR-G300N (DD-WRT)
D-Link DIR-655 (Gigabit)
Linksys WRT350N (Gigabit)/(DD-WRT v1 & v2 WIP)
Netgear WNR3500 (Gigabit)

802.11N Routers 2.4 & 5Ghz
Buffalo WZR-AG300NH (Gigabit)
Linksys WRT610N (Gigabit)/(DD-WRT WIP)
Netgear WNDR3300 (N&[email protected] or N@5Ghz&[email protected])/(DD-WRT WIP)
D-Link DIR-855 (Gigabit)

802.11N Router/Bridge 2.4
Edimax BR-6574n (Gigabit)

802.11N Router/Bridge 2.4 & 5Ghz
Apple Airport Extreme (Gigabit)

802.11N Bridges 2.4Ghz only
Linksys WAP4400N (Gigabit)
D-Link DAP-1353

802.11N Bridges 5Ghz only
Netgear WNHDE111
Netgear WNHDEB111 (2 Bridges)

(Let me know if I made mistakes above)

I'll follow this up with my proposed combinations for comments.
 
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