new network setup help

[stirfryguy]

ok first off let me explain what i have: in my family room i have compA which is connected to a netgear wireless B router which is connected to my cable box.

in the living room is my brothers desktop CompB which is connected via a hole in the floor through the basement up to the family room and connected to the netgear router.

upstairs I have a linksys wrt54g using ddwrt which connects to the netgear router. the linksys has 2 computers connected via ethernet cable named CompC and CompD.

1 desktop and 4 laptops are connected via wireless

so questions:

I'm going to make a spare box as a server..very basic, ftp and backups and maybe mail. I was thinking of going linux or win2003 or even XP.

i have a ftp server installed on Family room computer. Upstairs on computer C I can connect to it and transfer files. But CompA cannot connect to CompC which i think is due to the router settings.
I'm not worried about the speed because i'm getting 600kb/sec so its not to bad but faster would be nice.

i have been messing with the settings on my linksys router but always get something messed up. The netgear router 192.169.0.1(wireless in family room) does not see the computer upstairs with IP 192.168.0.165

is there a certian setting that i need to change? anything that i should add to make this eaiser..i don't want to spend to much if existing equipment is fine. i also have a spare comp to install ipcop and such if i need to to make things eaiser


tv question:

we have cable tv and sometimes when i want to watch espn my mom kicks me out to watch some abc home makeover special. i was wondering if it was hard to get cable upstairs in my room through the heater vents i believe there is special coaxial cable that is heat resistant but wondered if there was an eaiser way.

thanks for alllllll the help

 

[Madwand1]

Router setup:

Assuming the upstairs wireless router connects wirelessly to the downstairs one, it should be in "Client Bridge" mode. This typically disables DHCP/etc. automatically. Wireless security /settings should of course be compatible with main router.

After that, clients should be able to see each across the wireless bridge. If not, check the security setttings on the computers -- firewalls, accounts, password, etc.

Hardware upgrade:

802.11g might give you better security (WPA / WPA2) and performance than 802.11b. If you are limited to WEP and have WPA support on all the other wireless devices, then going to 802.11g is probably a good idea.

Wired gigabit it best, but if you're just doing internet access instead of local file transfers, or going across wireless hops, then it won't help.

OS:

2003 is probably overkill. Linux is good to know / try out if you have the inclination. XP Pro is fine. XP Home can also do the job with some limitations (notably 5 concurrent connection limit, no remote desktop).

 

[stirfryguy]

i have delt with linux before so thats not a problem for OS i guess it will depend on what I have layikng around.

the laptops all have 11b so wouldn't that make G not worth while?

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: stirfryguy
the laptops all have 11b so wouldn't that make G not worth while?

You could still do mixed b and g and get some benefit, but yes, the 802.11b will be holding you back until you upgrade it all.