🚀 go-pugleaf

By going to 108 mps G+ (aka pre-N), you will probably by buying long term
incompatibilities with the 802.11n standard when approved.   The wifi industry
is moving ever so slowly in the direction of 802.11n, with better speed and
range than the current 802.11g.   Netgear, Linksys, Buffalo and all the others
have jumped the gun and they are hyping the speed of their pre-N equipment.

In practice, you would gain absolutely zero in terms of speed of access to the
internet.   But you might see some speed improvement in file sharing between
your E1505 and the other computers connected to the switch.   You would only see
an improvement if your E1505 also had a compatible Netgear G+ wifi card.

So... Save your money.   You can probably buy a Netgear or Linksys 802.11g
router without G+ or pre-N, and pay a lot less.

Finally, if you get a wifi router, you will need to disable DHCP in either the
Westell or the router.   You can't have two network units serving up IP
addresses as computers power up.   Because your Westell is also a router, you
might consider simply an 802.11g wifi access point, not a whole router.

... Ben Myers

On Thu, 7 Dec 2006 16:39:33 -0500, "Scotty" <rsilton@bellsouth.net> wrote:

>Currently I have a Westell 2100 DSL Modem which as I understand is a router 
>too with a 3 Mb DSL service from BellSouth.  Attached to it is a NetGear 4 
>Port Switch which has three computers currently hardwired into it, two 
>desktops and a laptop.  I have a Dell E1505 that has a wireless card built 
>in (501g), but while it is being used at home is hard wired into the NetGear 
>Switch.
>
>What I want to do is utilize the wireless card in the E1505 by replacing the 
>Switch with a NetGear G Wireless Router that the only difference in 
>appearance between it and the current Switch is this one has an antenna 
>attached to it and has 4 ports for any computers or print servers hardwired 
>into it.  I intend to keep the desktops hardwired into system and allow the 
>laptop to float and be used anywhere in the house.  My question is, can I 
>just switch out the current 4 Port NetGear Switch with the Wireless NetGear 
>Router, or will there be a problem between the Westell Modem/Router and the 
>NetGear Router.
>
>Now my next question is what would I gain by going to a 108 mps G+ as 
>opposed to the 54 mps G Router, other than speed and area covered.  The 
>E1505 laptop is used like a desktop in that my son and me both surf the Net, 
>do e-mails, and do instant messaging, but no gaming that uses up a lot of 
>bandwidth.
>
>Thanks,
>Scotty 
>

the e1505 will not run at the faster speed.  however, the reception will 
be better slightly.

Scotty wrote:
> Currently I have a Westell 2100 DSL Modem which as I understand is a router 
> too with a 3 Mb DSL service from BellSouth.  Attached to it is a NetGear 4 
> Port Switch which has three computers currently hardwired into it, two 
> desktops and a laptop.  I have a Dell E1505 that has a wireless card built 
> in (501g), but while it is being used at home is hard wired into the NetGear 
> Switch.
> 
> What I want to do is utilize the wireless card in the E1505 by replacing the 
> Switch with a NetGear G Wireless Router that the only difference in 
> appearance between it and the current Switch is this one has an antenna 
> attached to it and has 4 ports for any computers or print servers hardwired 
> into it.  I intend to keep the desktops hardwired into system and allow the 
> laptop to float and be used anywhere in the house.  My question is, can I 
> just switch out the current 4 Port NetGear Switch with the Wireless NetGear 
> Router, or will there be a problem between the Westell Modem/Router and the 
> NetGear Router.
> 
> Now my next question is what would I gain by going to a 108 mps G+ as 
> opposed to the 54 mps G Router, other than speed and area covered.  The 
> E1505 laptop is used like a desktop in that my son and me both surf the Net, 
> do e-mails, and do instant messaging, but no gaming that uses up a lot of 
> bandwidth.
> 
> Thanks,
> Scotty 
> 
> 

A better solution, although it might cost more, would be to connect a 
Wireless Access Point (WAP) to the switch.  A wireless router IS a 
router, a switch and a wirless access point all in a single box.  In 
your case, you already have the router (only single port) as part of 
your Westell DSL modem.  If you need more ports, you could replace the 4 
port switch with an 8 port switch.  That's the logically "right" way to 
do this, but it may actually cost more than just buying a wireless 
router.  However, that would connect a router to a router.  While this 
can be made to work, it's not really the architecturally "right" way to 
do it.  I think that there is an option in the Westell modem to turn of 
the router (more correctly, to turn off NAT ... network address 
translation; "expose" the computer to a public rather than a private IP 
address).

Interestingly, on woot.com, they are having a "woot off" today, and they 
had a Linksys 802.11b Wireless Access Point for $9.99.  However, it's 
over now.  But woot.com is worth checking out, it's a unique site.

(look up woot.com on wikipedia for background info before actually going 
to the site).


Scotty wrote:
> Currently I have a Westell 2100 DSL Modem which as I understand is a router 
> too with a 3 Mb DSL service from BellSouth.  Attached to it is a NetGear 4 
> Port Switch which has three computers currently hardwired into it, two 
> desktops and a laptop.  I have a Dell E1505 that has a wireless card built 
> in (501g), but while it is being used at home is hard wired into the NetGear 
> Switch.
> 
> What I want to do is utilize the wireless card in the E1505 by replacing the 
> Switch with a NetGear G Wireless Router that the only difference in 
> appearance between it and the current Switch is this one has an antenna 
> attached to it and has 4 ports for any computers or print servers hardwired 
> into it.  I intend to keep the desktops hardwired into system and allow the 
> laptop to float and be used anywhere in the house.  My question is, can I 
> just switch out the current 4 Port NetGear Switch with the Wireless NetGear 
> Router, or will there be a problem between the Westell Modem/Router and the 
> NetGear Router.
> 
> Now my next question is what would I gain by going to a 108 mps G+ as 
> opposed to the 54 mps G Router, other than speed and area covered.  The 
> E1505 laptop is used like a desktop in that my son and me both surf the Net, 
> do e-mails, and do instant messaging, but no gaming that uses up a lot of 
> bandwidth.
> 
> Thanks,
> Scotty 
> 
>