Good/cheap wireless access point?

[ckeleshian]

My 5-10 person company needs a reliable and fast 802.11g access point for our offices run out of the first floor of a house. Our current 802.11b wireless router does not have enough bandwidth.

It needs to be an access point and not a router or at least be able to put the wireless devices connected to it on the same subnet as the wired devices that are on our firewall/router(not on a new 192.168.x.x subnet like our current 802.11b linksys wireless router).

The access point and the wired devices will both be plugged into the lan ports of our wireless router/firewall.

Any recommendations?

 

[cmetz]

Linksys WRT54GS, or WRT54G if you want to go a little cheaper.

 

[ckeleshian]

That looks alot like our current LinkSys BEFW11S4 802.11b wireless router which we have been unable to get to act as an access point.

Currently, our wired machines are on our Netgear firewall/router on a 10.1.1.x subnet. The Linksys wireless router is plugged into a lan port of that firewall, and all laptops connected to the wireless router are on a 192.168.1.x subnet. Wireless devices can connect to wired devices and to other wireless devices, but wired devices CANNOT currently connect to wireless devices. I think this is why we need an access point and not a router. Am I incorrect?

 

[pdo]

you just need to disable DHCP on your Linksys router...then appoint an IP address(10.1.1.X) for your Linksys router then when a wireless client connects it'll be on the same subnet as your wired clients...

 

[JackMDS]

Link to: Wireless Cable/DSL Router or Access Point - What should I get?

Link to: Using a Wireless Cable/DSL Router as a Switch with an Access Point

If this is important to business, you should consider the next level of Hardware like the Proxim Orinoco line.

:sun:

 

[ckeleshian]

its a small company, but we transfer alot of database stuff over wireless. we have 2-8 users at any given time using wireless.

i connected the uplink port of the wireless router to a lan port of our wired firewall/router with a crossover cable, disabled dhcp and gave it a 10.1.1.x address, and it is indeed on the same subnet. is disabling dhcp necessary to have it on the same subnet as the wired? is this what paying more for an access point gives us?

 

[ckeleshian]

The Linksys WAP54g is the same price ($70) as the WRT54GS. Why would I want the router instead of the access point?

 

[cmetz]

ckeleshian, the GS includes the Broadcom "Speedbooster" technology (maybe you'll see a 5%-10% improvement, or so, mostly a gimmick actually) and includes double the RAM and double the flash. The main win with the Linksys WRT line is the third party firmware that adds tons of interesting features and also means the product will live on long after Linksys no longer cares. More RAM and more flash mean more lifetime.

The WAP54G is less capable than the WRT54G is less capable than the WRT54GS. If the WAP54G and the WRT54GS are both the same price, then you should definitely get the GS - it's the most capable unit. If you don't need a router, then plug your wired LAN into the "LAN" switch port, not the "WAN" port, disable DHCP, and set the WRT to an IP address that won't be in the way. A router can be used as an access point in this way.

 

[ckeleshian]

thanks! 🙂