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Wireless Router for Small Business

F

fixmarky

Member
Hi All,
I'm looking for a wireless router to be used in a small business, with three or four devices connected wirelessly at all times. Three "must haves":

1) Reliable connectivity (obviously); enough range to cover at least a 30 foot radius with minimal dropouts. In the event that there is a dropout, DHCP renewal should be instantaneous. RP-SMA antenna would be nice so a third party antenna could be attached.

2) Secure. In addition to standard features like SSID cloaking and WPA, features like SSID and WPA key masking within firmware would be ideal. Looking for something with a very robust security feature set that can be conveniently accessed by administrators.

3) Availability. Should be easily accessible from most online vendors and not nearing end of life. On a related note, not looking for Wireless N capability- Wireless B/G technology is adequate.

If there is something out there with a built in DSL modem, that'd be great too.

For context, I'm currently using the trusty $50 Linksys WRT54G. Works "good enough" but I'd be willing to shell out another hundred bucks for something with stronger wireless performance and security features. True enterprise level stuff like Cisco is too pricey and seems too complicated for me to configure and acquire.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!
 
Disable the router's wireless and get a Netgear Wireless Access Point WG302 Great range, good versatility and great security.
 
Originally posted by: fixmarky
Thanks for the suggestion Annon. I was looking for a WLAN router but could also consider a WAP.
Click to expand...

WAP is fine. I used them at my clients. use good wpa2 encryption with strong passphrase and MAC restrictions, you should be fine.
 
We use the NetGear RangeMAX Wireless-G routers for our installs all the time. They're great and get signal in places most other wireless routers wouldn't have a prayer of going. I recommend them.
 
Thanks for the valuable input everyone! I guess I need some clarification on the difference between a wireless router and a WAP. Correct me if I'm wrong:

Wireless Router: Would connect to ISP modem, and can assign IP addresses to each individual device (in my case, PDAs). If the router has an IP of 192.168.1.1, DHCP would assign an IP to each PDA as 192.168.1.2, .3, .4, etc.

WAP (less clear on this, have little experience using them): Would connect to ISP modem, and share the same IP address with each individual device. So if my ISP is giving me an IP of 10.20.30.40, each PDA would have an IP of 10.20.30.40? Would the same methodology apply if I had a switch connected to the modem, and a WAP connected to the switch?
 
WAP is a stand alone Wireless Access Point.

Wireless Cable/DSL Router is a combo unit Routing Circuits and a Switch to connect few-wired computer and an access point to allow wireless computer too.

These three aspects (Routing, Switch, Access Point) of Networking are put together in a plastic box to work together but otherwise each one is an independent entity.

You need a Router to share an Internet connection, if you Already have a Router you need Access Point otherwise get a Wireless Cable/DSL Router.

This is a good Wireless Router that would do very well for regular use.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...181218&Tpk=zyxel%2b550

If you need High level stable Wireless get the AP that I mentioned before.


 
how much are you wanting to spend? if you want to go up a few notches...i recommend Fortinet appliances.. the fortigate 60 is awesome

jC
 
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