Wi-Fi to Broadband

[gafoxwell]

Hi all,

OK, I have a customer with NTL Cable broadband and will be moving to ADLS broadband. What will he need to connect his notebook up to the internet on the NTL and then to the ADLS when he moves?

i.e. Is there a difference between a wireless router that sits directly between the outside world and your internal network and a divice that sits on the inside of an existing router to provide wireless connectivity to the Internet?

Cheers
Graham

[M/Q]

Welcome to the forum. There are two sides to this question. I will give you both. First the device downstream of the piece of equipment used as the Internet connection is normally a router. In most cases it will work equally well with cable and DSL. Whether it is a wired or wireless router is up to you.

First option is to use a wireless router. which is the normal name for the device. But in reality it is a router, wired switch and AP all in one. So, if you can only afford a single device that is the way to go. But it has one drawback in that it usually has to be located near the Cable/DSL entrance point. That might not be the best place to have the AP portion of the router located for the best wireless coverage.

Second option and my choice is to use two devices. A wired router and a separate AP. The router can be located at the cable/DSL entrance point and then the AP can be located where it will do the most good and have a Ethernet cable running back to the switch portion of the router. It sounds like you might have a wired router already, so getting an AP is all that you really need to do. Also in my experience, I have found that single purpose devices seem to work better that multi-purpose ones, as well as having better security.

[gafoxwell]

Sorry to sound stupid..... Whats an AP?

and

What AP's would you suggest?

[M/Q]

First, do not apologize for asking questions. That is one of my best reasons for liking this forum. There is no such a thing and flaming is not allowed either. An AP is an access point. It is just one portion of the wireless router you were talking about. Do you have a wired router already. In many cases it is the best to stick with the same vendor. They usually supply both wired and wireless equipment. The AP just has one RJ45 connection and it connects to the wired switch part of the router. As for my choices, I generally need to know if this is a business, SOHO, or general consumer. I always push the higher end equipment as it has less problems and works better, but obviously it then costs more. My personal favorites are Cisco and Proxim, but right now I am using a spare LinkSys at home, as I had to use my Proxim AP for a client with a problem. So it is a personal choice really.

[gafoxwell]

Ok cheers,

At the moment I have a NTL cable modem/router with both RJ45 and USB connections. I need to link up both my PC and a laptop to the internet and each other for file sharing. I can hard wire the PC, but I want to connect the laptop via wireless and some times by hard wire.

The other thing I have not mentioned is the Firewall. I have a software firewall on the PC and the laptop will this do?

and....

If I want to create a VPN connection to my PC would I still be able too witht the AP?

Is there like a really good website I can go to, gen up on the whats what for Wireless etc?

Cheers

[M/Q]

It sounds like your best bet would be to get a wireless router. It will do all the the above things that you asked for. If you do not have a wired router at this time it would be a cheaper way to go as it is only one device. This link is really good at describing the basics.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/Sections-article16-page1.php

The device I like quite a bit and recommend for this is linked below. If that is not your choice most brands make a similar device, just not as good IMHO.

http://www.proxim.com/products/wifi/ap/bg2000/index.html