Thinking wireless as add on

[Tazzman]

Completly new to wireless, as in never looked into,

What I would like to know is, Can I "ADD" a wireless router to my existing Linksys router?
I have a 4 port hard wire etherfast cable/dsl router.

I have all 4 ports tied up at this time.

I have the router and cable modem in the garage where My office/work area is, I have ran wires to the other 2 PCs in the house.
I would like to add another line in the house for My son, "X mas present this year" His rig is currently in the garage with mine
I am thinking wireless for him, and My daughter "She just bought an new laptop ready for wireless"
I am constanly building or fixing peoples PC's in the garage where my office is, and I always need to un plug someone to complete the builds etc.

1 Is it worth the $$

2 IS there a loss in speed, both on the wireless end and the hard wired?

3 I have seen another set up with 2 hard wire and 3 wireless from same router "a Linksys 4 port +wireless" I have not tested the speed of it though.

4 as #3 states, Can I just get a 4 port + wireless linksys, Keep the 4 hard wire for me in the garage and make the house inside all wirless, without loseing speed?

5. What is the best router to do this with, I have had "0" problems with my linksys for about 4 years now.

If this has been asked sorry, This forum has been blinky on and off so search didnt work.
I am thinking Budget about $200 ish...?? I do not want to loose speed on my end.

Tazzman

 

[Kaos]

youre going to be looking at whats called a Wireless access point or WAP. its basically a host on yuopr network that provides wireless access.

wap11 is linksys' b ap
im not sure if they made a 54ap since thats when their router/switch/ap all in ones started to really take off.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

If you have an existing router and you NEED to keep it for some reason, you want to add a WAP..Wireless Access Point.

However, sometimes you'll find, oddly, that WAPs are more expensive than wireless routers. So sometimes getting a wireless router to replace your "old existing" router is less expensive.

If you're concerned about performance and speed, get a Pre-N/MIMO router. The Linksys SRX is fantastic...and you'll have better coverage with MIMO.

"Loss of speed"? technically, yes, wireless adds a bit of latency. Enough for you to notice it? Depends on what you're doing online.

 

[ktwebb]

Well you said you didn't have any ports open on your existing router correct? So, in that instance an AP wouldn't do you much good. Well you could do several things but as mentioned, Router/AP combo's are typically cheaper than a dedicated router anyway and solves your port issue. The combo unit with also have an integrated switch.

You could just replace your existing router with a combo unit that has more ports as well.

If you want to keep your existing hardware just uplink the switched LAN ports on the Router/AP, disable DHCP on that device, and you have an AP. You'd obviously have to use on of the ports on your current router but you can always just stack the routers and put on of your wired nodes on the Router/AP's switch.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

.

If you want to keep your existing hardware just uplink the switched LAN ports on the Router/AP, disable DHCP on that device, and you have an AP. You'd obviously have to use on of the ports on your current router but you can always just stack the routers and put on of your wired nodes on the Router/AP's switch.

And if it's the same brand using that bandaid approach, you'll need to change the default LAN IP of the wireless unit....since if you do the "just add a wireless router backwards" thing...say if they're Linksys brand, they'll both be at 192.168.1.1...and you can't have that.

 

[mikeblas]

im not sure if they made a 54ap since thats when their router/switch/ap all in ones started to really take off.

Yep; WAP54G. It's a piece of junk, by my experience. I replaced it with a Netgear WG302 and have been far happier with my network.