Going Wireless!!

[Captain Over]

Time to build a network, and any advice from the experts out there would be greatly appreciated.

Systems:
2 X Laptops (XP) with integrated Wireless LAN's able to run at
802.11b format.
1 X Desktop: Win98SE
1 X USB Printer

DSL Internet Connection

Problem: What DSL Modem AND Integrated Router to use, then how best to set this up?

I have found these available:

1) DrayTek Vigor 2600We Wireless Router with ADSL Modem

2) D-Link DSL-604+ 22 Mbps Wireless Router with Wireless LAN
and ADSL Modem

3) Netgear DG824M Wireless Router and ADSL Modem

So...I want to plug the ISP's DSL connection into whatever (1 - 3) box is recommended...then plug the desktop into the router and the printer either into the router (or desktop if that's not possible) then whenever we turn the laptop(s) on, be able to surf, print, file-transfer, etc etc.

Thanks for the assistance from anyone.
C.O.

[amanoffewwords]

I wouldn't go for the Draytek - haven't actually done the WE version but the 2200usb - the manual was hopeless - out of step with the screen shots, the drivers provided were not up to date and the whole thing was a bit of a nightmare to set up to be honest - good kit but I'm used to Belkin kit which tends to be excellent and on lifetime warranty - have you considered them - they might not have a USB wireless router out yet but I'm sure it's in the pipeline.

I would favour Netgear from the other two options - simply because their kit is solid, simple to use and usually have metal casings, which kind of gives that re-assuring quality aspect to the whole set up.

And I don't think any of these types of routers support a printer - you may need a printer server.

hth

Additional comment - had a look at Belkin - they do have a Wireless DSL router in the pipeline - see here

[RomeoTangoFoxtrotMike]

I haven't checked the spec of any of this gear yet, but if you are going to be "always online" (OK, read "mostly online" ) you will definitely need a firewall. You may get this in your ADSL kit, but if not, you'll should consider running a dedicated firewall box. I've never been convinced about the robustness of the ones that come with Windoze... www.smoothwall.org will run on the most basic spec of virtually-junked hardware . Looking, for the first time, at the logs of stuff that your firewall has (or should have) rejected, will come as somehting of a shock

[Edited to add] Agree with AMOFW, Netgear kit is good, have had a few bad experiences with D-Link kit, no experience of the Draytek ...

[osbo]

Whatever you go for, make sure it's an ethernet based solution. Forget about USB from the outset. Ethernet connections are reliable - throw in a USB router and you're asking for trouble.

See here for some info on the dsl-504 (add an access point to it and your printer if it's network ready):

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...threadid=84084

Plenty of other similar stuff out there. No real need for a hardware based firewall - Zonealarm Pro works a treat with wireless networks - install it on all PCs/Laptops. Think about wireless security and ensure that your chosen access point allows you to restrict access by MAC address in addition to WEP security.

Just my thoughts,

Osbo

[Captain Over]

Just to follow up...I think we're going to get the D-Link DSL-604+ with a built-in ADSL Modem. Anyone know about this or simular products? What about settings for using it in different countries?

The firewall issue isn't important as knowing how to tweak the wireless signal so it covers the house but not the neighbourhood.

Thanks for the input so-far.

C.O.

[The Nr Fairy]

C.O. :

You can't tweak the signal to remain in your house. What you can do is to restrict the computers which can attach to the base station by MAC address, i.e. to the unique addresses of the wireless cards in the laptops.

WEP is also worth turning on, even though it's weak and easy to crack. I'd concur with going with an Ethernet solution for the router, and if your printer has a network port it may be possible to attach it to the network and print directly to it - my wireless base station can turn itself into a printer server.

[Captain Over]

Ahh crap....different DSL formats????

I've just been told by a few techs in my quest for what to buy that the DSL format (or protocol or whatever it is called) may differ so dramatically country to country and in some cases within countries that it may not be possible to use a DSL Modem from one country in another. Huh? So much for international standards! Is this the case?

(In my situation I am getting a combo DSL Modem and Router...D-Link's DSL-604+ model, available in the UK right now, and using it in the Middle East where basically ALL the wiring standards, electrical, telephone, etc, are UK.)

Before shelling out a few hard earned rocks and finding out the hard way, is this true?!?!?

~C.O.

[cdtaylor_nats]

You might not need a router. I have 3 machines connected by D-Link wireless connection. All run XP-home. My ADSL modem and printer are plugged in (by USB) to the slowest machine, that is virtually all it does and it shares disks, printer and internet connection, it also runs the firewall (which took forever to configure). I bought a router which sits on my sideboard as a talking point as it is of no use.

Everything works fine, all the systems share drives and all share the printer and modem.

[Captain Over]

cdtaylor...thanks for the reply.

What model from D-Link are you using? I thought I would need the router to hook up the desktop just to avoid buying a wireless card for that machine by plugging the connection into its existing ethernet card.

Also...I'm still trying to figure out this format issue for the different DSL standards...anyone care to take a run at this? I'd be using the DSL Modem in the middle-east, where the wiring standards are UK.

Thanks.

[expedite_climb]

Depends what you want really.

If you buy a wireless router / firewall and printserver box / hub, that will do all the same as one pc, but in a nice tidy box.

[osbo]

cdtaylor_nats

also, the point is that (apart from avoiding flaky ICS type setups), you don't need to have the "host" PC running for others to connect wirelessly to the net. Also, just be a bit careful if the only machine running a (presumably) software firewall is the host PC as this will not protect you from al evil. Run something like Zonealarm pro on ALL machines.

Cheers,

O

[Captain Over]

As I said, I think we're going to get the D-Link DSL-604+ with a built-in ADSL Modem.

Anyone know about this or simular products? What about settings for using it in different countries?