I want to use ethernet and wireless - how do I start?

[jurovi]

My house is wired for ethernet.

will I be able to hook up a wireless Access point to any ethernet jack? Is there any configuration?

I need help.

Here are my plans.

(This is all upstairs)The central place is where I will have the dsl modem and all the ethernet cables. I would like to start with a wireless router right off the bat. and then that leaves me with 4 open ethernet ports to connect the cables to.

(This is downstairs)Then, I would like to hook up a wireless access point into one of the jacks downstairs.. is this possible?

Can anybody give me any insight to this?

Thanks!

 

[AFB]

Yes, you can hook up a AP to any ethernet jack.

 

[Rubicante]

I actually have a similar issue... I'm trying to put a wired Ethernet computer onto the same workgroup as an existing wireless network... i plugged the cable into the router, and i can access the internet, but even after running the network setup wizard, i can't see the wireless PCs. ...my IP address situation may need to be addressed, but when i change it manually, my internet connection stops working and i still cant see the other PCs. so im not quite sure what to do.

 

[jurovi]

great.. so will there anything that I will set up on that access point?

 

[JackMDS]

If you have a Router at the entry point, and you want to add AP (Or a Wireless Router acting as an AP).

You first have to connect the AP to a single computer in order to configure to be compatible with your current Network.

1. The AP IP address has to be on the same band as your Network.

2. If the main Router is doing DHCP you have to disable DHCP on each AP.

The general idea can be inferred from this page.

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

:sun:

 

[jurovi]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
If you have a Router at the entry point, and you want to add AP (Or a Wireless Router acting as an AP).

You first have to connect the AP to a single computer in order to configure to be compatible with your current Network.

1. The AP IP address has to be on the same band as your Network.

2. If the main Router is doing DHCP you have to disable DHCP on each AP.

The general idea can be inferred from this page.

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

:sun:

Thanks Jack.. I will let you know how it goes!

 

[Revolutionary]

Originally posted by: Rubicante
I actually have a similar issue... I'm trying to put a wired Ethernet computer onto the same workgroup as an existing wireless network... i plugged the cable into the router, and i can access the internet, but even after running the network setup wizard, i can't see the wireless PCs. ...my IP address situation may need to be addressed, but when i change it manually, my internet connection stops working and i still cant see the other PCs. so im not quite sure what to do.

By any chance are you using a D-Link router, possibly a DI-614 or DI-624? There is a known problem with wired and wireless visibility with these routers. I've got the 624. My wired PC doesn't show up at all in My Network Places on ANY computer (the wired PC included), despite all computers being set to the same network band, DHCP enabled on the router, status IP assignment, all computers in the same XP workgroup. The laptops see themselves and each other, but not the PC.

The way around this is to do what I did (should work with any router with static DHCP, so that the router always assigns the same IP to the same MAC address -- which also boosts your security, since you can limit the available range of IPs to only those that you need, and those IPs to only your MACs).

Set DHCP server to static for individual MAC addresses. Say you've got a PC and a laptop. This way they will both retrieve their IP assignment from the router, but will always get the same address. You then manually map the individual directories or drives that you want to share (after you have manullay enabled sharing of those directories). Go to MNP, click on "Add Network Places," type in \\X.X.X.X\, where X.X.X.X is the computer you want access to. You should then receive a list shared resources on the computer. Simply repeat this process on all machines for all resources. It ain't quick, but it is easy, and it accomplishes the same thing.

 

[ktwebb]

You probably don't have to use a wired node to do anything to the AP. It's a wireless hub and should be broadcasting it's SSID. If your plugging it into an existing wired infrastructure that already is handing out IP's then the AP would merely be a pass through device. You do want to get into the admin console of course and lock the WLAN down. Attaching over a wire and configuring to your needs isn't a bad idea, it's just not necessarily a necessity.