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[Slo]

I need help guys. I know little to nothing about routers and modems, and even less about MAC addresses and static IPs.

Basically what I've got is two rooms in my house that need access, and a laptop that I'd obviously like to tote around wirelessly. In the basement of my house is my office, I have my cable modem feeding a standard router that connects to 3 PCs. That setup currently works great. Upstairs is my Xbox and my PS2 that are unconnected to the internet. Currently, when I want to play on XBL I have to run downstairs and disconnect my cable modem, haul it upstairs and reconnect it, then return it to my office when I'm finished. This is a pain in the ass, and it means that my PC can't be doing any downloading while I'm on XBL. Because of this, I NEVER sign onto XBL.

What I need is a solution that will not comprimise the stable connections in my office, while providing an always-available connection to my entertainment center upstairs. I also want to avoid buying wireless adapters for every single device I own, since they are not mobile and only my laptop really needs to be wireless. What I've got in mind is to replace the standard router in my basement with a wireless one and retain the ethernet connections to my PCs. Upstairs, I'll set an Access Point on top of my TV to receive signal from my wireless router and output a connection via an ethernet cable, which I can plug directly into my XBox or PS2. I'll buy a wireless card for my laptop.

Here's what I have in mind:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=33-122-013&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=33-127-143&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

So are there any holes? Will this even work? Am I going to have connection problem during gaming because of the hardware? Is anyone using a similar setup?

 

[DJ Demon J]

You gave yourself the correct answer--wireless router, wireless access point and wireless PCMCIA card for laptop. Wireless networks are super-easy to set up and administrate, especially if you're on cable modem (DSL usually requires a few extra settings in the router).

 

[Slo]

Cool. Any feedback on my links? Do I really need G or will B suffice? Also, the access point and the router are only going to be about 20 feet apart, but between them will be 2 walls and a floor. Will the signal penetrate?

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Make sure to enable WEP (encryption) at the very least.

 

[Mr. Lemming]

B will be enough... I know I can be playing something on Live and my brother can be playing FFXI on the PC at the same time and there is no noticable lag.

Edit: The signal should go through the wall depending on what material the wall is made of.

 

[Mashing]

Make sure to enable WEP (encryption) at the very least.

Yup... you don't want to leave your WAP open to the public... anyone with a wireless card can then connect to it if they are in range.

 

[DarienA]

Make sure to enable WEP (encryption) at the very least.

Doesn't enabling WEP slow down the actual wireless throughput rates though? I'm more comfortable with firewall software on the individual PC's quite honestly.

Then again you can do a quick scan once you have your wireless PC's up to see if there are any other wireless networks in your area and that might be a better determining factor of if you need to enable WEP.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

I don't know of any way to check on this before you buy and try, but when I did exactly what you are proposing, I had trouble finding a spot in the house where the signal could break through the floor.

Turns out the insulation between the floors is wrapped in foil, which pretty much mooted all the wireless signals. I got around this by finding a chink in the armor: the area underneath the stairs, no insulation. I put the wireless bridge under there and ran a long cross cable to my XBOX. After that it worked great.

But walking around downstairs with the bridge, waiting for the connection light to stop blinking was annoying.

 

[Slo]

Someone at another forum I posted this at says that I may run into problems if I have my router in my basement and my AP upstairs. Does elevation cause problems with signal loss?

The walls are 2x4s and 1/2" sheet rock. The floor is your standard floor joices, along with carpet and carpet pad.

 

[Dilbert]

Is there an additional "ping lag" for going wireless? When I'm at my parents' house and I'm using their laptop to surf the web wirelessly, there is a noticible lag between clicking a link and the first indications that the page is loading, compared to my Ethernet connection at home. If there is an additional small amout of delay...wouldn't that be the kiss of death for fast-twitch online games?

 

[Slo]

I don't know of any way to check on this before you buy and try, but when I did exactly what you are proposing, I had trouble finding a spot in the house where the signal could break through the floor.

Turns out the insulation between the floors is wrapped in foil, which pretty much mooted all the wireless signals. I got around this by finding a chink in the armor: the area underneath the stairs, no insulation. I put the wireless bridge under there and ran a long cross cable to my XBOX. After that it worked great.

But walking around downstairs with the bridge, waiting for the connection light to stop blinking was annoying.

There is nothing like that in my basement. I've just finished my basement myself, it's all wood and sheetrock. I considered running a cable while I had the walls open, but I decided against it in favor of the wireless option.

 

[Slo]

Is there an additional "ping lag" for going wireless? When I'm at my parents' house and I'm using their laptop to surf the web wirelessly, there is a noticible lag between clicking a link and the first indications that the page is loading, compared to my Ethernet connection at home. If there is an additional small amout of delay...wouldn't that be the kiss of death for fast-twitch online games?

Yuck. Can anyone confirm?

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Why would anyone, especially a gamer, not get 54G?

B sux.

Originally Posted by -jinx-
Is there an additional "ping lag" for going wireless? When I'm at my parents' house and I'm using their laptop to surf the web wirelessly, there is a noticible lag between clicking a link and the first indications that the page is loading, compared to my Ethernet connection at home. If there is an additional small amout of delay...wouldn't that be the kiss of death for fast-twitch online games?

That's not normal.

 

[Slo]

Doesn't enabling WEP slow down the actual wireless throughput rates though? I'm more comfortable with firewall software on the individual PC's quite honestly.

Then again you can do a quick scan once you have your wireless PC's up to see if there are any other wireless networks in your area and that might be a better determining factor of if you need to enable WEP.

Could this be the cause of the lag? I know it's always best to protect yourself, but honestly I'm not concerned about my neighbors too much. I live in a very blue-collar neighborhood with lots of elderly people. I'd be willing to bet I own every computer within a three block radius of me.

 

[jenov4]

Could this be the cause of the lag? I know it's always best to protect yourself, but honestly I'm not concerned about my neighbors too much. I live in a very blue-collar neighborhood with lots of elderly people. I'd be willing to bet I own every computer within a three block radius of me.

Yes, enabling the WEP does slow down your wireless connection. Try disabling that feature and check to see if that makes a difference.

 

[DJ Demon J]

Someone at another forum I posted this at says that I may run into problems if I have my router in my basement and my AP upstairs. Does elevation cause problems with signal loss?

The walls are 2x4s and 1/2" sheet rock. The floor is your standard floor joices, along with carpet and carpet pad.

I live in 2 floor house in an expansive basement apartment with normal size (8 ft) ceilings. The first floor has 11 foot ceilings and the 2nd floor has 9 foot ceilings. My landlord keeps the wireless router in his room on the 2nd floor, and I can still get a "Very Good/Excellent" signal from the router to my PC and Xbox. I've turned off WEP cause I live in a small community in the burbs....very little chance of anyone other than those that live in the house getting a signal (also, as someone mentioned, the routers' firewall protects against unauthorized entry anyway--at least from normal users....if you happen to live next door to an uber-h4xx0r things might be different).

No idea on whether WEP slows the network down (wireless itself is a tad bit slower than wired, although I've never noticed a difference with the Xbox hooked directly versus via wireless adaptor).

 

[DarienA]

Could this be the cause of the lag? I know it's always best to protect yourself, but honestly I'm not concerned about my neighbors too much. I live in a very blue-collar neighborhood with lots of elderly people. I'd be willing to bet I own every computer within a three block radius of me.

Well I just asked my other half... she's a wireless systems engineer for the gov't. Actually she researches the security of wireless protocols used with PC's and PDA's to determine the feasilbility of using these devices to wireless transmit secure data. She said she hasn't heard of any lag by enabling WEP.... but then she said that doesn't necessarily mean that such a thing doesn't happen.... great non answer huh?

 

[Buggy Loop]

Got this baby 2 weeks ago

D-link DI 624, 108Mbs transfer (benchmarks i've seen cap at 73Mbps though, but at over 20 feet distance, impressive, fastest transfers they had ever seen)

Still waiting for the 108Mbs bridge i ordered, they're quite rare in canada apparently.

 

[tenchir]

This D-Link router is pretty screwy from what I heard. It can work either flawlessly or a nightmare to get it working properly. Personally, I think Linksys Speedboost router are more reliable.

 

[Divine Puncher]

Is there an additional "ping lag" for going wireless? When I'm at my parents' house and I'm using their laptop to surf the web wirelessly, there is a noticible lag between clicking a link and the first indications that the page is loading, compared to my Ethernet connection at home. If there is an additional small amout of delay...wouldn't that be the kiss of death for fast-twitch online games?

I also notice this when using a wireless connection as opposed to running a cable. My up/down speds are just as good as they were before, but i do notice a slight lag from the time i click a link to the time the page starts to load.
It's becasue of this that i'll never trust a wireless connection for gaming purposes.

 

[Tekky]

Faster protocols tend to have less lag (latency).

No one can answer all your questions about what works.
You'll just have to try it.

There's also powerline IP stuff to check out, if you need more indecision.

 

[Ghost]

Ive got a linksys and had no problems whatsoever, it really makes no difference though as most of the routers are exactly the same bar a different shell on the admin pages.

Do beware though, theres one room in my house which is the other side of the bathroom and as such, the other side of lots of metal pipes, as a result its wireless reception is very patchy. You have to take into account things like that.

 

[Slo]

Man, wireless networking sounds like the most immature technology I've ever heard of actually being sold to consumers. Reviews on newegg.com are FULL of reviews that basically just say "IT DIDN'T WORK SO I SWITCHED BRANDS. BRAND X WORKS GREAT!" The thing is, every brand of routers has this type of advertisment for their competition.

Does wireless networking work at all?!? How about even some of the time?

 

[DarienA]

Man, wireless networking sounds like the most immature technology I've ever heard of actually being sold to consumers. Reviews on newegg.com are FULL of reviews that basically just say "IT DIDN'T WORK SO I SWITCHED BRANDS. BRAND X WORKS GREAT!" The thing is, every brand of routers has this type of advertisment for their competition.

Does wireless networking work at all?!? How about even some of the time?

Any technology that requires a signal to travel through the air from a transmitter to a receiver is going to have varying degrees of success in different environments. Spend any amount of time doing research/test with multiple Bluetooth devices and you'll really be pulling your hair out over immature technology.

 

[jedimike]

I own all D-link 802.11B wireless equipment. I have my PC hardwired into my router, my Xbox is connected to a wireless ethernet bridge and I have a wireless PCMCIA for my laptop.

My wireless router is in the basement on the far left side of my house. My WEB is in the basement on the far right (about 60 feet)... no lag, but WEB is line of sight to router. Only a couple doors in the way.

My laptop will only work upstairs when going through one or two walls. Anything more and the signal will break-up.

I could probably fix this by moving my router to a more central location.

To answer your question... you may have some problems with lag by going through those two walls and a floor. 802.11G might be a better solution.

 

[Divine Puncher]

I have a stupid question. I have both an 802.11b(still in a wrapped box) and an 802.11g, but I'm using a "g" right now. however i suspect it's malfunctioning. My router is set up like 9' away from my PC and running wirelessly, will the "b" rated router give me the same speed performance as the "g" if i decide to replace routers?
Is the difference between the two only their reception area, or is it connection speed?

 

[Fusebox]

I own all D-Link 22meg stuff and its great. I notice a speed-hit on 256 bit wep encryption, but I dont notice it on anything lower and 128 bit encryption is probably enough.

 

[Mr. Lemming]

I have a stupid question. I have both an 802.11b(still in a wrapped box) and an 802.11g, but I'm using a "g" right now. however i suspect it's malfunctioning. My router is set up like 9' away from my PC and running wirelessly, will the "b" rated router give me the same speed performance as the "g" if i decide to replace routers?
Is the difference between the two only their reception area, or is it connection speed?

You will definitely get more bandwidth, Im not sure if your latency will improve though.

 

[Norse]

I run my xbox on live through a 54g wireless connection with 128 bit encryption with no issues. Do not leave your wireless open...use encryption.

 

[DarienA]

I run my xbox on live through a 54g wireless connection with 128 bit encryption with no issues. Do not leave your wireless open...use encryption.

We've already gone through this earlier in the thread. WEP is unnecessary in certain locations and situations and does nothing more than put a drag on your wireless bandwith.

 

[crumbs]

what about filtering the MAC addresses on the wireless network, how secure is that in comparison to WEP or WAP?

 

[DarienA]

what about filtering the MAC addresses on the wireless network, how secure is that in comparison to WEP or WAP?

That's actually something that shouldn't put any strain and I forgot to mention it earlier it's what I do... set up all your devices, and once your router has their MAC address tell it to only accept connections from those MAC addresses.

 

[Norse]

what about filtering the MAC addresses on the wireless network, how secure is that in comparison to WEP or WAP?

That works great as well...I don't know where you people get this notion of a performance hit when using wep, you will never notice any speed issues.

I have moved 2 times over the past couple years and at each location, my laptop could find multiple wireless networks available for free cruising. I also found multiple networks available when I went out of state to my sisters place.

I am just saying that you should use some form of security.


Damnit DarienA, quit eating dairy products! heh

 

[Wellington]

I have another dumb question. Are there any wireless routers out there that also have the ability to connect via network cable? Fuck buying bridges for the PS2/Xbox.

 

[Norse]

I have another dumb question. Are there any wireless routers out there that also have the ability to connect via network cable? Fuck buying bridges for the PS2/Xbox.

most wireless routers do both..wireless and usually 4 ports for cat5 connections.

-Norse

 

[Wario64]

Yeah, I'm using a Netgear Wireless WGT624 router. I have my laptops equipped with wireless cards and my PS2/desktop computer through Cat5. Works well

 

[Slo]

To answer your question... you may have some problems with lag by going through those two walls and a floor. 802.11G might be a better solution.

I thought B and G were supposed to have the same range, just different speeds?

 

[jedimike]

I thought B and G were supposed to have the same range, just different speeds?

They both use the 2.4Ghz range, but the increased speeds of G still allow acceptable speeds as signal degredation increases. The further away you are the slower the network becomes. So at 50M, if your signal is 75% than 802.11B is 7Mbps, but G would still be like 40Mbps.

The cost of G is not much more than B. If nothing else, you'll have piece of mind. If you get B and have problems, you'll wonder if G will fix it.

 

[Slo]

Ah, ok. Thanks.

 

[GONZO]

After having set up multiple wireless networks I've noticed a few things.

1.) The wireless routers available today all perform within reasonable percentage of each other. That is to say, they pretty much are all the same. Just buy what you can get the best deal on. I personally like d-link.


2.) You lose about 20- 30 ft. of range for every wall you go through. And a bit more for every ceiling.


3.) WEP does in fact slow transfers a bit but it's not noticable unless you are transfering very large files between your network. It should not hamper internet speed at all. I run bittorent and i get 130+ kbps down streams with WEP enabled. ANd about the same with it turned off.


4) Weather you decide to go with b or g really depends on what your going to use your network for. If your only sharing an internet connection b has more headroom then you'll ever use. G is really only viable for high traffic networks. Save money and get the b.

 

[jenov4]

After having set up multiple wireless networks I've noticed a few things.

Thanks for the tips, is there any particular brand that you prefer?

 

[JasoNsider]

When saying "going through" a wall or ceiling, does that mean drawing a line directly between the router and target and seeing how many it goes through? I need to get a wireless router that will be on the first floor of my house. So essentially anybody who is going to need a connection will be either upstairs and "through" a door to their bedroom. Does this count as going through a ceiling as well since it technically is below our rooms, though the staircase is obviously wide open? Am I making any sense here? Heh.

This thread has been very helpful thus far.

 

[Slo]

Yes. When I say "going through" I mean that the signal is going to have to pass through 2 walls and a floor before it gets to my WAP.

 

[GONZO]

Draw an imaginary line from the router to your computer to get an idea of how good your connection is going to be. Count the number of ceilings and walls the line goes through. Keep in mind that they are other factors involved though. If you live in an urban area or an apartment building your range is hampered to begin with due to the amount of interference that is around.

 

[impirius]

This D-Link router is pretty screwy from what I heard. It can work either flawlessly or a nightmare to get it working properly. Personally, I think Linksys Speedboost router are more reliable.

You got that right. We have one (bought from a business associate, so we can't return it to the store), and it DOESN'T SUPPORT 108Mbps. It says "Xtreme-G" right on top of the friggin' router, but apparently there are three versions of the hardware, and D-Link doesn't have any intention of releasing firmware for this one that actually supports 108Mbps: http://www.d-link.com/products/support.asp?pid=6&pv=29

It's like selling a 10/100/1000 NIC card that only does 10/100. Ridiculous.

 

[Divine Puncher]

Interesting. I'm gonna swap my "g" router for the "b" router this week. My "g" router is fucking up on me...

 

[jedimike]

slo, just curious about what you ended up buying and how it is performing for you.