Upgrading my wireless network.

V

vb86

Adept
Hi guys!

I live in a 3 story bungalow. We have an Airtel DSL connection which is connected to a Beetel 220BX modem. The modem is connected to a 8-port D-Link switch via an ethernet cable. From the switch, we have a few ethernet cables running. 2 connect to a desktop in the same room. This room is on one end of the first floor which is the room behind the drive-way, above the garage (back end of the house). We have 2 more ethernet cables running out from the switch. One connects to an old netgear access point somewhere in the middle of the first floor and the other connects to a netgear 614 g router (which I bricked yesterday) in my room in the front portion of the second floor.

I'm very eager to replace the Beetel modem since it keeps giving us problems. One option is to replace it with a wired modem and connect it to the D-Link switch in our existing setup. Then, replace the bricked router in my room with a powerful one to cover the whole house and get rid of the old wireless device on the first floor. The reason to keep a wifi device in my room is because mine is the only laptop in the house that doesn't support the n-standard. I also have a PS3 in my room which doesn't support n-standard and the current wifi-g device on the first floor doesn't cover my room.

The other option is to replace the modem with a wireless modem+router and have another wireless modem connected to it either with a wire or without one.

To cut it short, there is an internet connection in one room at one end of the house which has to connect to 2-desktops in the same room with a wire and cover the whole house wirelessly. My room is at the other end of the house and the devices in my room only support wifi-g. Please suggest the best solution! I must also mention that we can have 15 odd devices connecting to the wifi at the same time!
 
since u're willing to spend a little money, first of all a wireless N router will be backward compatible with wireless G standards .. although only one standard is functional at one time.. but the wireless N routers give much better range..

what is the area of your house?? how many sq ft??? the belkin wireless N router and D Link Wireless N routers have excellent range.. even through walls and doors..

Plus, best option i can sugges, will increase the spending a little bit is that get an internal wi fi card for your desktops.. wont be very expensive .. wall mount the router at some central place in the house, such that the radius covers the entire area of the house.. and eliminate the use of ethernet cables altogether..

I can give u some other suggestions also . .but lemme know .. what kind of solution do you prefer more..
<


i am using a D link wireless N router, use the Wireless G standard, since a couple of laptops do not support N, and i have placed the router on the stairway wall. .. i get complete wireless range in every room in the ground and first floor as well as the terrace..

I have a 3000 sq ft. bungalow.. 3 floors. seems to be quite similar to yours. .

u can even try some crude methods to focus the wireless signal in a particular direction, but it is not guaranteed to work.. make a C shape cardboard, cover one side with highly reflective conductive material like aluminum foil, make 2 holes in the cardboard, mount it on the antenna of your router and let the concave area face the direction in which you're having signal problems.. kind of like a DTH dish, radar dish.. i read about this some time back a.. although never had the need to spend time doing it..
 
Considering its a huge place would recommend Asus RT-N16U(Use this as repeater) and Buffalo N600 - WZR-HP-AG300H, you will need 2 routers
 
Thanks for the replies. The house is more than 4000 sq ft per floor (ground, first, second and terrace). I've been doing some research and thought of the following:

1. Replace the original modem with a good wireless router + modem. Connect the 2 desktops via ethernet.

2. Replace the router in my room and connect it via ethernet to the router + modem. Turn DHCP off on the second router.

Since this is new to me, I have some questions:

1. Can I transmit a mixed signal from both these routers ie. N and G simultaneously.

2. Will roaming be possible by keeping the same SSID. Meaning that if I move from my room to another room where the other router has a better signal, will it automatically connect to it without dropping the singal even for a second?

3. Can you please recommend some router + modem and router models which will work well?

4. Will people connected to the router+modem get any preference while accessing the internet as compared to someone who is compared to the other router? Meaning if two people are downloading a file on different routers, will the one who is connected to the main router (DHCP enabled and ADSL 2+ modem) get better speeds or priority? Are there any other advantages of being connected to the DHCP enabled router + modem over the other second router?

5. Do all current routers support roaming?

Thanks!
 
first of all, till today i am not aware of the router transmitting mixed signals..i dont know if one exists..

second, yes , roaming is possible by using the same ssid. what you need to do is buy a second router, any Belkin or DLink Wireless N routers are quite decent.. You will get the D Link for about Rs. 1500 to 1600 and the Belkin a little more expensive..

Now, if you have one router already working, all u need to do is start up the second router and configure it to behave as an access point rather than a router.. what an access point will do is just take the same wifi network and be able to give you an extended radius of signal. You need to place the second router, near the edge of the radius of the previous router. this way u will be able to cover max. area.

and , the routers can stay connected without a drop in the signal, and no, no user will be given any preference for bandwidth unless otherwise the modem firmware has the feature to prioritize bandwidth distribution specific to diff. users..

there wont be any significant advantage of any user staying directly connected to the main router, the only diff. maybe that because communication time will be reduced, that too by a very small fraction, most of the time not even noticeable to us, the the sites may open maybe a quarter of a second faster..thats it..

I dont know if all the routers firmware have the feature to make the router behave like an access point, but the belkin and dlink that i have mentioned do. .

Infact, i think you are better off with the DLink router. its reasonably priced, really great value for money. (but be sure to buy a Wireless N router only even if u plan on using the G band only. as the router is N, it still gives better coverage on the G band too coz. the range is powerful enough for N band to function well.)

PS: u need not worry about signal quality. most of the colleges or buildings that have wi fi use the same process. they have 1 wifi signal broadcasting, and then access points are installed at different points in the building to strategically spread the signal everywhere.
 
Thanks!

It seems like you're talking about extending the range of a router but connecting another router to it wirelessly. I'm talking about connecting the 2 with an ethernet cable and roaming on them!

Also, I will use the numbered LAN port on both the routers to connect to each other. In such a case, will I need a cross-over cable?
 
vb86 said:
Also, I will use the numbered LAN port on both the routers to connect to each other. In such a case, will I need a cross-over cable?
Click to expand...

hmm.. i am not sure about that .. becoz i have never done that.. u can just go to any computer store and tell him that you wanna connect hub to hub.. not pc to pc or hub to pc.. see what he says..

secondly, you will always have the option to connect the routers with a cable if you want to .. my advice is first connect them wirelessly, and if you have any stability issues, u can always switch to your way.. why do the exercise of getting a long ethernet cable, neatly fixing it on the walls and all that stuff. sometimes the stability of the wireless network also depends on the routers brand.. i havent had the need to create an access point extended network, but i dont think you are gonna have any problems with Belkin, DLink and Linksys routers atleast..

give it a try..
 
I already have an ethernet cable laid neatly and through the walls from that room to my room. But yeah, I can always try both and see which works better!
 
You requirements are similar to mine. I have a HTPC in 2nd floor , Laptop in 1 Floor, 2 more laptops in ground floor, iPhone, iPad etc. I wanted to acess all the devices using a iPad app ,found that there is an app indeed but my basic D link router was not doing the job of providing wifi to entire house.

So picked up a Dlink DIR 655 and a Asus RT-N13U ( put it in repeater mode) which is giving me acess across all floors.I wanted the above to happen becuase i download torrents either in laptop or HTPC and thanks to my lazyness i hate doing rounds across floors.

I have become even lazy after i am using the above setup
<
 
Back
Top