Wireless N Network Setup Questions

[Brainonska511]

I recently ordered a refurbished Linksys E4200v1 router to replace my existing Asus WL-520GU, but I had a question in regards to setting up the network.

Some devices are only G, a few are N-capable, but only at 2.4GHz, and some are N-capable in both 2.4 and 5GHz. I hear running in mixed-mode at 2.4GHz would slow down the network at that frequency.

Would it be better to setup my existing router as a wireless G access point and setup the E4200 as an "N-only" router on both frequencies? And for the N-only portion, is it better to use the same SSID for the two frequencies or different SSIDs?

Am I also correct in assuming that most dual-band wireless adapters (such as the Intel Centrino 6205) are not simultaneous dual-band? And are there any decent 5GHz N-capable cards for desktops? Most of the ones I've seen are only N- capable at 2.4GHz.

Thanks.

Edit:
Should I also set the N- parts to 40MHz channels? Such that channel 1 would be my G- AP at 2.4GHz, and 11 would be the N- 2.4GHz part?

 

[imagoon]

The 2 AP's would still conflict with each other at 2.4ghz, resulting in near identical "performance issues" as running G+N on one router. The performance issues are not hardware related, it is the conflicting noise on the 2.4ghz bands. 5Ghz would be cleaner in most cases.

40Mhz bands can be worse off in 2.4ghz if utilization is high (wider band = more conflicts), 40Mhz @ 5Ghz is less likely to have issues since the since the signal doesn't travel as far in most cases.

 

[Phynaz]

Check out the FAQ's here:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/

 

[Brainonska511]

Thanks. That seems to settle the issues I was envisioning.

I'll probably set it up something like this:

-old router will remain a G WAP on channel 1
-new router will be a 20MHz-wide N-only point on a non-overlapping channel
-new router will also have a 40MHz-wide N-only at 5GHz