Need help / suggestions for wireless router / switch

[sohcrates]

Howdy

Right now I have my win2k box running NAT and routing 3 other computers through a 4-port switch (i.e. cable modem basically goes into NIC 1 and Switch is connected to NIC 2 of win2k box)

I am getting a laptop, and would like to add some form of wireless setup so that i can walk around the house with 'net access! (will most wireless stuff go through 3 levels of a house?)

I've read up on some wireless routers, but was wondering if anyone makes wireless switches? Or do they all combine routing as well?

Would i be able to use it as a wireless switch or would i have to re-arrange my network so the wireless router routes for all the other "hard wired" cat5 based computers? (i.e. only computer that needs "wireless" is the laptop...all others would stay hard wired)?

Could i hook the wireless router into my switch, and effectively have the router routing from my win2k box router? (confused yet?)

Any suggestions on wireless routers or more importantly wireless pcmcia cards?

Thanks!

edit: i found the d-link WIRELESS DWL-900AP ACCESS POINT for about $130, plus 65 bucks for the wireless pcmcia card. anyone know about this? perhaps an "access point" is all i'm really looking for....

 

[Tallgeese]

Most current wireless APs can work as bridges, so that they are nearly transparent to L3. My wireless devices (wife's laptop, iPAQ) receive their IP addressing from the wired DHCP server just fine. My wireless AP is setup like this since I already had a wired router.

Even if you didn't (or couldn't) configure it in bridge mode, you can always just set it up like this:

W2K router === IP:192.168.1.1 GW:ISP router (may need to add route to 192.168.2.0 network)
||
||
WIRELESS AP Wired side === IP: 192.168.1.5 GW: 192.168.1.1
WIRELESS AP Wireless side === IP: 192.168.2.1 GW: none
^
^
Wireless NIC === IP: 192.168.2.50 GW: 192.168.2.1

HTH (and isn't too confusing)

 

[ojai00]

Come on TallGeese! You must have a link for wireless routers also!! 😉😀😛😎 Wireless guide

Hope this helps.

 

[sohcrates]

thanks guys, this seems like a good start!

 

[JackMDS]

Wireless LAN consists on two main components.

1. Access Point (A/P).

Access Point is the Main Transmitter/Receiver that mediate between your LAN, and main computer, to the rest of the Network. It is connected to the LAN?s Hub/Switch. It usually supports an excess of 100 clients.

2 . Wireless Client Card.

Wireless Client Card is the LAN card that you should install on your network computers.

Most Client cards are PCMCIA, which work very well with Laptops. For Desktop, it is usually better to use USB Wireless Card.
PCMCIA Wireless Cards with fixed antenna (stuck behind the PC) yields inferior results versus Flexible Antenna on a USB card.

If you don?t have an established Network with a Router, and a Switch. You need to buy Wireless Cable/DSL Router instead of the A/P. This contains a solution for Internet sharing as well as A/P.

Conventional Wisdom* claims that the combination Orinoco Gold (About $90) SMC Wireless Router (About $150) yield the best results.

This link:
ORiNOCO PC Card - Gold.

There are no real big differences between the entry level Routers.

As can be seen in this link:

Wireless Routers Compared

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When it comes to Wireless your mileage may varied, there are too many environmental variables that are unique to each individual setting.
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