jmcnear
asked on
Wireless setup
Hey all,
I am thinking about purchasing the linksys WRT55AG wireless router. I am setting up a hot spot. My question is what is the difference (in detail) between a wireless router and a wireless access point?
We have a large building with 2 floors, and an outdoor space that we want to cover.
I am thinking of connecting the router to the lan. Will that provide an area of coverage by itself? In other words, does the router provide the coverage and then the access points are like repeaters to expand the coverage?
Do I need the router, or could I just do it with access points?
We want to buy one piece of equipment and then ascertain the coverage area and spread out in a circle from there with additioanal equipment as needed, until we have the entire area covered.
Also, how do I keep everything beyond the router from accessing my lan. And do I set it up as DHCP server? I just want to provide internet access to laptops.
Thanks
I am thinking about purchasing the linksys WRT55AG wireless router. I am setting up a hot spot. My question is what is the difference (in detail) between a wireless router and a wireless access point?
We have a large building with 2 floors, and an outdoor space that we want to cover.
I am thinking of connecting the router to the lan. Will that provide an area of coverage by itself? In other words, does the router provide the coverage and then the access points are like repeaters to expand the coverage?
Do I need the router, or could I just do it with access points?
We want to buy one piece of equipment and then ascertain the coverage area and spread out in a circle from there with additioanal equipment as needed, until we have the entire area covered.
Also, how do I keep everything beyond the router from accessing my lan. And do I set it up as DHCP server? I just want to provide internet access to laptops.
Thanks
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ernes,
Depends on the AP, lets take a motorola AP, the only thing this AP will do is act as a pass thru to the DHCP server on the network, it will not assign anything itself.
Marakush
Depends on the AP, lets take a motorola AP, the only thing this AP will do is act as a pass thru to the DHCP server on the network, it will not assign anything itself.
Marakush
ASKER
ok, cool, but how would i set the wireless router up as a different subnet?
Would I CAT5 connect the wireless router to the existing LAN, and then just give the router a static IP of 10.1.x.10 where my existing network is 10.1.y.10 ?
Will the router then hand out ip's to all the laptops under the correct subnet?
can i do that?
Would I CAT5 connect the wireless router to the existing LAN, and then just give the router a static IP of 10.1.x.10 where my existing network is 10.1.y.10 ?
Will the router then hand out ip's to all the laptops under the correct subnet?
can i do that?
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PS, forgot to mention Power Over Ethernet. You should probably put the routers in the ceiling if you have dropped cielings (with grids and tiles) - this prevents them from "walking off" and gives you better coverage. If you do that, they'll all need electricity ... UNLESS ... you do Power Over Ethernet. You can get WAP/Routers with it built in, or you can purchase adapters to provide it to the devices. Linksys' is right here: http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=36&scid=47&prid=582 WAPPOE. Now to do this, you'll ALSO NEED switches which have POWER OVER ETHERNET built in - and they naturally cost more than those that don't - UNLESS you use the adapters I described above, which can inject power into the Ethernet connection.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
A wireless router will share your internet connection, add wireless, and act as a firewall. If you already are sharing your Internet connection with a wired Internet router then you may want to just add a wireless access point.
Set up the access point with a static IP and set the gateway to be the address of your router. Now, if you want to seperate the wireless connection so that those people cannot access your network then you should get a router that is on a different subnet that acts as a DHCP. So you have to decide; if you really don't want the wireless users to be able to access your network (access the shared folders available to everyone) then go with a router and set it up on a different subnet.
Does it make sense?