Wireless Routers

[kelci]

Ok, when we move in mid-June (hopefully), we will be needing to get a wireless router.

The router will be on the main floor, and our computers will be either in the room right above it, or it will be in a room on the 2nd floor, but one room farther away (say 20-25 feet from the router).

Any comments or suggestions on routers that would work well in this case, or maybe more importantly, are there any brands/types that we should avoid when we go shopping for one?

We have never had a wireless network before since I simply have more faith in wires, however, we don't have a choice, it will have to be wireless, at least for a few months.
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Kelci

[Phinneas]

I have been using a Linksys Wireless-G Router that broadcasts at 2.4 GHz and it seems to give me great coverage around the house. Definately make sure to secure your connections with appropriate keys etc ... the more secure the better ... most routers come with appropriate instructions for this.

I would recommend not getting a router that only supports the B format, but at least G and only N if it seems affordable. In terms of data transmission bandwith, it goes B then G then N and all of them are backward compatible with lesser versions. Just be sure that you get adapeters that match the speed to which you would like to connect to your router with. Again I recommend getting a router and wireless adapters that support at least G.

I would look into Linksys or Netgear routers/adapters initially. Just my 2 cents!

Phin
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Phinneas ~ Lord Protector ~ The Walkers of Vazaelle ~ My Magelo

[kelci]

Thanks, Phin.
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Kelci

[Shiloch Veneficus]

Just out of curiosity, how many wireless clients are you going to have total? what kind of a budget are you operating on?

Phin's advice is sound.

[Gildawen]

Yea, don't get lazy on setting up the security.
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Gildawen

[kelci]

This is a home network. We are temporarily living in the upstairs of my folk's house as their's is being built, and then we are expanding into the entire house.

My stepmom (my dad can't even turn one on ), currently has a DSL line running into the house.

My tentative plan is that the router will stay down in their office (where her comp is currently and where are our comps will go eventually), and that Cutie's and my computers will be in the room above the office. I plan to get wireless definitely for Cutie's and mine, and debating on letting the kids' computer have internet access. Another option is to buy a card for the laptop, but that system isn't powerful enough to run EQ, so not sure what the point would be.

So, pretty sure I am going the route of buying two wireless cards and running stepmom's comp directly to the wireless router. When we move down into the office, I will switch out one of our wireless cards into the kids' comp (since it would be in the office at that point where we can watch it) and wire one of our comps into the router.

So, couple of questions:

1. They live out in the countryside, how much do I worry about security at that point other then the usual firewall? Yeah, I slack on security mainly because I tend to lose my notes on passwords, etc.

2. I have been eyeing up a Linksys WRT54G Router with the appropriate cards. Now the question is: should I go with the Speedbooster verision of the router? It claims 35% increase in performance, but I am wondering if it is worth the additional cost (basically doubles the cost of the router).

3. Budget is whatever it needs to be to get good performance playing EQ.
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Kelci

[bandin]

Ok, first of all:

[kelci]

Wow talk about untintentional oopsies . The less I know of my dad's "mad skillz" the happier I am.

Thanks for the heads up on the speed thing, B. When we move downstairs we may very well go back to the router we currently have, so I wasn't keen on spending a lot of money on a wireless router if we were only using it for a few months.
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Kelci

[Shiloch Veneficus]

Bandin is right about the 802.11b and not needing much security if you're not in close quarters with other homes.

The only recommendation I would make based on your info is to go ahead and buy 802.11g equipment, especially if you have other devices in the home that use the 2.4 GHz band (i.e. portable phones, RF remotes, etc.), as sometimes interference from those devices and/or other things like microwaves and TV sets can sometimes bounce your signal around that would interrupt gameplay. 802.11g is not that much more expensive than b, and it has greater signal intensity and range (in addition to higher bandwidth).

[kelci]

Thanks for the advice.

Our computers are used about 90% of the time for EQ, hence my primary worry that EQ wouldn't be affected by this change. I think I will buy the hardware this weekend, and test it before we move.
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Kelci