Wireless: With which brand would you go?

[ndee]

Hey there,
with which company would you currently go? 3com, netgear, dlink, etc.? I'm in the market for a wireless LAN and I'm interessted which products have which pros and cons.

Thanks

(I'm just asking if someone has experience with more then one brand, I don't want that you guys do the research for me)

 

[JackMDS]

The way I see Wireless.

Wireless is depending heavily on the environment. I.e. The distance of the Client from the Base station (Wireless Router or Access Point), and the nature of the obstructions surrounding the installation.

One or two walls, and 20-50? all of them should work OK. More walls and longer distance you will need the ?Upper End? of the Entry level Wireless Hardware.

If you go for broke you buy the inexpensive of the week at a Mega store (on Sale Rebate etc.). Install, and try if it covers your environment.

Does not work return. The Wireless manufactures are not stating distance in terms of real life, thus buying a set, and returning due to lack of coverage, makes sense.

In case El Cheappo does not work for you.

For the Laptop I would get the Orinoco Gold Client Card.

Example: ORINOCO GOLD PCCARD PCMCIA 802.11B CLIENT W/128 BIT ENCRYPTION

For a moderate price the Linksys WAP11 is good choice.

Linksys WAP11

For real Entry level Power: ORINOCO AP-200 LOW COST ACCESS POINT FOR HOME OR SOHO OFFICE

For Wireless Router I would go with the SMC Barricade, or Netgear.

If the Entry Level not suffices I would look into the Cisco Wireless. It is a leap in performance as well as the amount of money.

Primer to the Topic here:

AnandTech - FAQ. What do I need for wireless Networking?

P.S. If you need product comparison for "Convince the Boss Presentation."

Look here:

Wireless Gateway Total: 33 entries.

 

[ndee]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
The way I see Wireless.

Wireless is depending heavily on the environment. I.e. The distance of the Client from the Base station (Wireless Router or Access Point), and the nature of the obstructions surrounding the installation.

One or two walls, and 20-50? all of them should work OK. More walls and longer distance you will need the ?Upper End? of the Entry level Wireless Hardware.

If you go for broke you buy the inexpensive of the week at a Mega store (on Sale Rebate etc.). Install, and try if it covers your environment.

Does not work return. The Wireless manufactures are not stating distance in terms of real life, thus buying a set, and returning due to lack of coverage, makes sense.

In case El Cheappo does not work for you.

For the Laptop I would get the Orinoco Gold Client Card.

Example: ORINOCO GOLD PCCARD PCMCIA 802.11B CLIENT W/128 BIT ENCRYPTION

For a moderate price the Linksys WAP11 is good choice.

Linksys WAP11

For real Entry level Power: ORINOCO AP-200 LOW COST ACCESS POINT FOR HOME OR SOHO OFFICE

For Wireless Router I would go with the SMC Barricade, or Netgear.

If the Entry Level not suffices I would look into the Cisco Wireless. It is a leap in performance as well as the amount of money.

Primer to the Topic here:

AnandTech - FAQ. What do I need for wireless Networking?

P.S. If you need product comparison for "Convince the Boss Presentation."

Look here:

Wireless Gateway Total: 33 entries.

Thanks a lot for your post. I want it actually just for home, and we have a normal condo (90 square meters), so it's not too big. So 802.11b is the current standard right? 802.11a is not really out yet, but a lot faster IIRC. The maximum distance in my condo would be about 7-10 meters with a maximum of 2 walls. And yes, I want 11Mbits.