Help requested for home networking

[drednik]

I just bought a laptop and I want to have wireless A/B/G (A is not absolutely necessary) plus a gigabit ethernet connection to my desktop. I couldn't find a wireless router with gigabit ports. If anyone knows of one, please point me in the right direction. Or, if anyone knows that one will be coming out soon, please let me know. However, as it stands, I have two tentative setups:

1)
Wireless router
Crossover cable to directly connect laptop and desktop

2)
Firewall/vpn router
Gigabit switch
Wireless access point

Which setup do you think is better? Could you recommend routers, gigabit switches, and wap? I'm considering either Linksys's WRTAG55 or Netgear's WGT624 (108mbps). Advices please!

 

[JackMDS]

Welcome to AnandTech Network Forum.

It is not clear what are trying to achieve? Your two options do not look Internally coherent.

A Giga Network will do nothing if the connection between two computers is Wireless.

There is No Wireless Cable/DSL Router with Giga Switch.

As for Wireless!

Link to: 802.11a/b/g SOHO Routers & Access Points: Performance.

The D-Link 624 SuperG (as well as the Netgear WGT-624) has a special technology that runs the Wireless at 108MHz. In the real world (with a compatible Card) it might translate to 40%-70% increase in ?Speed?.

 

[drednik]

Thanks for the welcome!

What I'm trying to achieve is having two type of connections. The wireless is for mobility and small file transfer. The gigabit is for large file transfer. So, most of the time, I will be connected through wireless. However, sometimes I will connect to the gigabit.

Does that clarify my intended use?

Thanks for the great url. Please reply if you can suggest either setup or a better one.

 

[JackMDS]

There is few ways to slice the "Pie".

If the above is your plan, I would invest minimum in Giga.

Put a Giga NIC in the Desktop.

Get a Regular Wireless cable/DSL router, and a Cardbus for the Laptop and make it work.

Get a Giga Card Bus (if they exist, I never saw one) and a Crossover cable.

You can install the drivers for both cards on the Laptop it will use what ever is available at the time.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

I really doubt that a gigabit PCMCIA card exists, since the bandwidth of the PCMCIA bus in the machine would preclude you getting the bandwidth anyway.

 

[drednik]

Hi guys. Thanks for the advise.

I should've mentioned that my laptop has 10/100/1000 NIC and 802.11b built in.

JackMDS, why do you recommend minimum investment in gigabit?

Also, could you guys recommend the best wireless router out there? Hopefully with firewall and even better VPN. 802.11a/b/g would be nice, especially the boosted g form.

Thanks!

 

[Kristi2k]

In my opinion, this is the best HOME wireless router out there: SMC2804WBR

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: drednik
JackMDS, why do you recommend minimum investment in gigabit?

At the moment you have two computers, one of them is Laptop, and you want Wireless. Giga probably will not work in such a setting.

In case of Individuals (As oppose to Cooperate consideration) Investing in Computers hardware is Fruitless, down the line when you finally need the hardware there is better and cheaper Hardware.