Routers, Routers....Which to choose?

bruss

Actually data is delivered by MAC address not IP address..

ben62670 wrote: »

NAT Chip
Routers route. They process web request, and send them to the appropriate IP within the LAN. Yes my computer sucks, and all my customers computers suck. Especially the customers that own Linkstink routers.

jakelm

Ok...Now I'm really confused.

Linksys wireless from modem, to Netgear with WDS? Netgear to xbox and xa1 via LAN line?

How many LAN ports does the WDS Netgear have? I would need at least 2. 1 for xbox and another for XA1.

And this would mean that my other 2 pc's and 360 would have to be wireless. Connected to wireless Linksys. Right?

But it looks like to keep things simple and less expensive, I would need to go all wired or all wireless.

I think I'll just start running cable....lol


Any good ideas on some good inexpensive and long LAN cable?

jakelm

This is what you mean...

WDS

jakelm

The Linksys is 2.4ghz, wouldnt this mess with my 2.4ghz phones or vice versa?

Also I see it has wired ports also, so I can use wired and wireless both?

Linksys

Also..I think Walmart is cheaper on this item.

Strong Bad

Ok, alot of the techy geek talk is confusing you and is not needed in your case.

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)

The Linksys router is connected to your modem via a LAN cable. On back of the router is a built in 4 port switch (some routers don't have a built in switch, but we won't go there) which is where you plug in devices with a LAN cable. You can also run wireless devices while other devices are plugged in.

You're obviously trying to stay within a budget, so, YES you can get away with only the WRT54G. You will have to run cables to the devices though which sucks, but it will keep your budget down.

I have an early model WRT54G and it has not let me down one single time. Linksys (owned by Cisco) has my vote.

John

jakelm

Newegg has great reviews on Linksys.

What was confusing me , was the fact that my cable modem cannot have 2 seperate connections at one time (USB and LAN), but i understand now that the Linksys can put out LAN AND wireless at the same time. I just thought it had to be one or the other, unless additional adapters were purchased.

The WRT54G, is just what I need. I can run cable to my Xbox and XA1 and main PC, and go wireless to 2hd PC and 360. So I would only have to buy to additional wireless adapters for 2nd PC and 360.

Thats within my buget and should work just fine. Right?

NOw on to LAN cables. Should I make my own or would it be wise and cost effective to buy legnthy cable already to go?

Demiurge

Get a Linksys. Great routers.

MSALLA

I have a Linksys and have never had any problems. Seep is no slower then the wired computer.

jakelm

Thanks all .....

Picking this one up tonight or tomorrow..

Linksys


..I hope it does ok for gaming.

buzzy_

Buffalo IMO.

hypertone

All of the home routers are about the same. Linksys is pretty good, but I wouldn't let the Cisco Sytems label fool you into thinking you are getting the same quality as real Cisco hardware.

jakelm

I see audiobliss is having problems with his Linksys, but it must be an older one.

edbert

Also understand that it may not be his router, could be a dropped signal from his ISP. I have one that has been running 24/7 for going on 5 years and haven't had any problems yet. It just sits behind a dresser in our bedroom collecting dust and providing me with trouble free internet. Just get what you are comfortable with and what works best for you based on what you have read for reliability and price point. Everyone has issues with different brands for various reasons so it's kind of a toss up.

jakelm

Cool deal Ed. Going get the wrt54g today. Wolly world has it cheaper than newegg.

MKZ

jakelm wrote: »

Cool deal Ed. Going get the wrt54g today. Wolly world has it cheaper than newegg.

Great choice, dont' need to reset often like netgear and strong signals. make sure to connect to games with cable/LAN connections. LAN has better data flow and some wireless phones might interrupt the connections that you don't want to happen while you playing game online.

disneyjoe7

edbert wrote: »

Also understand that it may not be his router, could be a dropped signal from his ISP. I have one that has been running 24/7 for going on 5 years and haven't had any problems yet. It just sits behind a dresser in our bedroom collecting dust and providing me with trouble free internet. Just get what you are comfortable with and what works best for you based on what you have read for reliability and price point. Everyone has issues with different brands for various reasons so it's kind of a toss up.

I agree the hub may not be the issue, the modem or anything about you could be. Not that $60 bucks or so may kill you, I'm just not sure if that will help. Perhaps you should bypass this hub first, so your computer is plug directly into the modem.

Strong Bad

jakelm wrote: »

Thanks all .....

Picking this one up tonight or tomorrow..

Linksys


..I hope it does ok for gaming.

Good choice! The interactive CD they send with it to help set up is pretty good.

Rock on!

John

wingnut4772

My Apple Airport Extreme was really nice and fast. I had absolutely no hiccoughs with it while streaming to my Squeezebox and surfing the web simultaneously. (It works with PCs too;))

Bamadude

Here's the list of routers approved for XBOX Live. To help reduce headaches I would highly recommend you get one on this list:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/connecttolive/xbox360/homenetworking/equipment.htm

The WRT54G is on there, but only versions 1, 2 and 3. Might have to break open the box to check the version.

The reason microsoft came up with a list of approved routers is to make sure that you could open the box, plug it in and not have any setup issues. The NAT performed by these routers jives with how MS designed their network so that you don't have to set up port-forwarding or place your xbox in the DMZ to communicate correctly with others on the network. "Believe me now and hear me later", you can definitely have problems with other routers. Some routers not on the list will still work if the xbox is placed outside the firewall (DMZ), but I've seen some that won't no matter what you do.

Your router's NAT will determine whom you can connect to on xbox Live. On the Xbox dashboard under (I think) setup -> networking you can run a test that will tell you if your NAT is "Open", "Moderate", or "Strict". See this page for an explanation of the test and what it means.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/connecttolive/xbox360/connectionmethods/troubleshootliveconnection-testnat.htm

If your test shows open, you can connect to everyone... no worries. If it shows strict, you can only connect to live users with open. If moderate, you can connect to users with open and moderate. See the attached NAT table.

Just my $.02. Hope it helps someone avoid my struggles.

Daniel

jakelm

Thanks Daniel, great info.

Kinetic

dont buy a router, you dont need to route anything

you need a switch

buy a 3COM or maybe a lynksis.

Bamadude

A router will let him share an internet connection between the xbox and two PC's since it's a gateway whereas a switch cannot act as a gateway by itself. A router adds a firewall which is nice for added security, no firewall with a switch. I'm also not aware of any wireless switches out there designed for home networking, if wireless is desired in his setup. I'd choose a router over a switch any day in this case for ease of use, flexibility and security especially when cost is not much different at all.

Barnestormer

I have a Linksys wireless router which also has 5 hardwired ports. Been running this for a couple years with no issue. From digital cable modem through CAT5 to 'Internet' port on Router. From there 2 CAT5 ports goes to stereo cabinet. (I utilize 'splitters' from Cyberguys to use all 8 wires in the CAT5 run and connect both DirectTV and Denon units into network)
One port goes to wife's computer downstairs and one port goes to a hub in my office which has three machines connected to it.
I use the 'wireless' connectivity mainly when I'm surfing on the laptop in front of the TV or have guests over that need connectivity.

I'm a fan of wires for my computer network, no matter how good the technology gets wireless - wires will always be further ahead.

On a side note: Interesting to hear the comments about Linksys, I've never had issues with them - but also take cooling seriously so maybe I just got lucky.

bobman1235

Kinetic wrote: »

dont buy a router, you dont need to route anything

you need a switch

buy a 3COM or maybe a lynksis.

Of course he needs to route things. Either that or he has to make his computer into a gateway server so everything on his home network can talk to the outside network.

Beyond that, he wants some wireless; good luck finding a wireless switch that isn't a router.

jakelm

A switch would not allow everything to operate at the same time. So the router is the way to go..

I have decided on the Linksys (wired) with my second PC wireless...

Thanks all

hypertone

Sure it would. That's what a switch does. Same as a hub but it breaks up collision domains and allows full duplex. Those ports on a home router are switch ports. But a router is the way to go if you don't already have a hardware firewall. Which everybody should have. I think most of the ADSL boxes have that built in these days.

Strong Bad

Kinetic wrote: »

dont buy a router, you dont need to route anything

you need a switch

buy a 3COM or maybe a lynksis.

Not sure how you came to this conclusion, but YES, everyone with highspeed broadband should absolutely have a router. Even a single PC with nothing else connected should have a router.

The firewall alone is worth it!

Bad idea not to have one.


John

Strong Bad

jakelm wrote: »

A switch would not allow everything to operate at the same time. So the router is the way to go..

I have decided on the Linksys (wired) with my second PC wireless...

Thanks all

A switch would allow multiple PC's and devices to connect and operate at the same time. You could have, say, a 12 port switch with 12 PC's connected and operating at the same time. You could do a big LAN war (gaming) and such on this network. You can't however, get out to the internet.

Thats the job of the router. To route you between networks. Do an IPCONFIG using the command prompt. See the entry for Default Gateway? Thats the IP address of the router. That is it's internal interface address that allows internal clients to know where to send info when they want to get out to the web (or other networks).

The Linksys WRT54G (and other similar home routers) are a combination of a router and 4 port switch. Those 4 ports on the back are the switch.

Make things clearer?

John

jmwest1970

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

Linksys Are the BEST all the major companys use them and so should you best built in safty features pluse easy to setup.

I agree that a Linksys is probably the best choice for home use. I personally use a Netgear that works fine if you don't want to use WPA/WPA2. However, I don't know of any major company that uses Linksys wireless equipment. Now with that said, Linksys' parent company, Cisco, owns the corporate WLAN market at this time.