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Wireless router discussion.

Big Nate

Big Nate

Chaos Engineer
This thread will kind of be a basic over view for those how don't understand or don't have a wireless router.

I have been out of the loop on routers for a long time now. I have a netgear router now that is over 5 years old and just can't handle the stress that all of the laptops at my house put on it. I am looking to upgrade.

1. What is wireless G and N?
2. Are some brands better then others?
3. How much should it cost for each option?
4. What is third party firmware and what routers support it?
5. Should I use third party firmware?


Now some of these questions i have asked and gotten answers for but I want to see it again here for future reference.
 
Z

Z-licious

Guest
Wireless G is old and slow, 54 mbps. Wireless N is the new standard and supports up to 300 mbps. These days with Wireless N routers in the $30 range, I would not get a wireless G router unless it was very cheap or free. Even if one or all of your devices are G, you may have all N devices in the near future and having a wireless N router will make sure you can take advantage of the increased speed of the N standard. What I do is I have a wireless G and wireless N router so only my N devices connect to my N router and everything else connects to the G router.

Lastly, I would buy an N router with gigabit ethernet ports. This gives me more options and future proofing.
 
S

Slim

Guest
What E said ^^^

+

Linksys = Cysco so they are pretty solid
D-Link I personally have had a few issues with connectivity.

I don't know about $30 N routers, most I've seen have been more in the $50-80 range. But maybe E knows an online store for cheaper...

I might have an extra you could try to see if that solves your issues. (in case it's not your router)

I'm not sure about third party firmware either. Is that firmware updates for the router supplied by someone other than the manufacturer?
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
Wireless N + ethernet ports for sure.

I'm not a brand whore, but I've had enough problems with cheap wireless equipment, that I would stick to something name brand and check reviews online. It can be a PITA to diagnose wireless connectivity problems if you're not knowledgeable... mostly because windows gives you very little info on what the problem is unless you know what to look for.
 
D

DrWebster

Guest
My vote is for Linksys or Netgear. Gigabit Ethernet ports are going to only be useful if you plan on connecting machines that you're going to be doing some heavy-duty file copying from/to (i.e. home server). If you're going to go Wireless-N, look for a router that's listed as being "dual-band"; this lets devices/computers that can only do 802.11g still be able to connect to the network without slowing down devices that can do 802.11n. (With single-band N routers, if a G device connects, *all* devices connected to the wireless network have to slow down to G speeds. Dual-band routers have two wireless radios, G and N, built in so they stay separated and are able to work at optimal speeds.)

Don't be afraid to spend a little money on a decent router. $30 is too cheap for a router IMHO, the models you'd want to look at should be in the $60-100 range.

Third party firmware is, basically, software that the router runs that's been written by people other than the manufacturer. DD-WRT is a good example. Routers are essentially little computers with specialized software; some people feel the need to maximize what their routers can do, so they write their own firmware. Unless you want to do some pretty advanced stuff with your router, you don't really need to think about third-party firmware. I'm a CCNA and work with commercial-grade routing and switching equipment for a living, and at home I can't come up with a reason why I'd need to put different firmware on my router (and I have a home Web server running even).
 
Z

Z-licious

Guest
OK, I have a question now. I want to connect my TV to the network but it doesn't come with a wi-fi adapter built in. They offer one for $60 but I don't wanna spend that much on a wifi adapter when I can find them for $10. Can I get a router and put it in bridge mode, next to my TV and PS3 and then connect all those devices via ethernet cable? Do I have to make sure the router supports bridge mode?
 
Picklz

Picklz

SUDO Make me a SAMCH
You can do that Eddy but it does need to support bridge mode. I did that for my aquarium controller downstairs since it was not near a cat5 drop. I just found a cheap linksys that supported the DD-WRT firmware and loaded that since it supports bridge mode and is more stable/robust than the factory firmware on most routers.
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
Picklz said:
You can do that Eddy but it does need to support bridge mode. I did that for my aquarium controller downstairs since it was not near a cat5 drop. I just found a cheap linksys that supported the DD-WRT firmware and loaded that since it supports bridge mode and is more stable/robust than the factory firmware on most routers.
Click to expand...
Would something like that also work if I wanted to network my toilet?




Sorry, I know there are logical reasons, but I can't get past the knee jerk wtf-ness of having a networked aquarium. lol
 
Z

Z-licious

Guest
OK, so I've never had a router that I could flash DD-WRT to before and assumed it was a fairly simple task. So I look it up and I get a wiki for DD-WRT on my specific router, Netgear WNDR3300. It's like 10 fucking pages long! http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Netgear_WNDR3300#Flashing_WNDR3300
So I skip down to the part about flashing it to DD-WRT and the first thing it says is read the "peacock thread" first before you do anything. So I go to it and it's like 30 pages long! WTF? I don't wanna sit here for halfa day before flashing my router. Is there a quick guide to flashing DD-WRT for dummies?
 
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