Adding Wireless to existing network HELP!

sir doris

Regular
Hi,
I currently have a wired network of 7 PCs running through an 8 port 100Mbit switch. One of the computers is connected to a cable modem via a NIC and uses ICS to share the internet over the network. This PC doesn't do anything else appart from hold some MP3s and all the PCs are running Win2K.

I need a laptop and am looking at Intel Centrinos with wieless LAN, i'm also thinking about getting a wireless adapter for my PS2 ( which is in a room without a wired connection).

My idea is to replace my ICS machine with a wireless router but I am unsure as to what else to do to get things working?

I have seen a number of wirless routers but they only have 4 wired ports. How can I keep my existing wired network but add wireless connections to it, and preferably remove the requirement of having a PC on all the time to control it all?

I can't afford (and don' want to) to replace all my existing NICs with wireless ones.


I hope someone can help me :)


Thanks
 
Can't you just buy a wireless access point and plug that into the last port of the 8 port switch?

But, yes, I think it should be possible to have a wireless 4-port router (look for one with NAT wirewall protection, most have it), plug the net into that and also the other 8 port switch.
 
Dave Baumann said:
Can't you just buy a wireless access point and plug that into the last port of the 8 port switch?

But, yes, I think it should be possible to have a wireless 4-port router (look for one with NAT wirewall protection, most have it), plug the net into that and also the other 8 port switch.


Thanks Dave,

didn't think it would be that easy :)
 
Dave Baumann said:
Can't you just buy a wireless access point and plug that into the last port of the 8 port switch?

But, yes, I think it should be possible to have a wireless 4-port router (look for one with NAT wirewall protection, most have it), plug the net into that and also the other 8 port switch.

Gee, I don't think so the way he's got it set up, tho I may be wrong. Don't you need just one device doing DHCP to everybody?

Why is the cable modem hooked up to a specific computer and that computer serving ICS to the rest of the wired clients? Why isn't the cable modem plugged into the router and the router doing DHCP to everybody instead? I always figured the purpose of ICS was to avoid routers in the first place (at least that's how I used it back in the day when I used telephone line networking over USB NICs, before we switched to wireless).

Edit: Oh, "access point" is a different mode, so mebbee so.
 
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Hi,
I don't have a router yet, I'm using a spare PC, however I want to buy a router and ditch the ICS PC.

I'm just not sure how to go about it.
 
geo said:
Gee, I don't think so the way he's got it set up, tho I may be wrong. Don't you need just one device doing DHCP to everybody?
An access point (read: not router) wouldn't perform DHCP--it'd rely on static IPs or whatever (does ICS do DHCP?). Either way, I used something like this over the summer (using bloody expensive wireless gear (I didn't buy it), a directional antenna (not that either), and then yes, you guessed it, a hacked WRT54G (oh yes, my doing)), and the Win2K gateway the place was using still assigned IPs to everyone using DHCP.

So yeah, the best solution is STATIC IPs FOR EVERYBODY. Failing that, take one of those boxes and run a DHCP server on it.
 
sir doris said:
Hi,
I don't have a router yet, I'm using a spare PC, however I want to buy a router and ditch the ICS PC.

I'm just not sure how to go about it.

Oh, I made assumptions about your "switch" that I shouldn't have. I googled a bit, and it sounds like it ought to be doable. Anybody know if it ought to work to buy a wireless router, move the cable modem to it and let it do the dhcp, and then just plug the switch into it as well?
 
The Baron said:
(does ICS do DHCP?).

Yes. Or at least it can if you want. Used it for years.

You don't my idea of letting the new wireless router do the DHCP and plug the switch and cable modem into it?
 
Depending on the cable company's policies, static IPs might get expensive. Just replace both the cable modem and ICS PC with a Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router, and plug the switch into one of its 4 wired ports.

EDIT: If you do this, don't forget to notify the cable company of the change in MAC address.
 
Crusher said:
Depending on the cable company's policies, static IPs might get expensive. Just replace both the cable modem and ICS PC with a Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router, and plug the switch into one of its 4 wired ports.

EDIT: If you do this, don't forget to notify the cable company of the change in MAC address.

How does that "replace" the cable modem? I think you meant what I meant, but I'm not getting that part. . .

Edit: It's not replacing the modem, right? http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Linksys_WRT54GS_Wireless_G_broadband_router/4505-3265_16-30825185-3.html?tag=nav

Maybe I should bow out tho, I might be confusing the poor fellow more than helping as I flail around myself.
 
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Crusher said:
Depending on the cable company's policies, static IPs might get expensive. Just replace both the cable modem and ICS PC with a Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router, and plug the switch into one of its 4 wired ports.

EDIT: If you do this, don't forget to notify the cable company of the change in MAC address.

Thanks,

I don't think my Cable Co. (Telewest) need to record the MAC address any more, i'm sure I had an e-mail about a year ago saying it was no longer necessary to notify them if you change your NIC.

So will that router acts as a cable modem and DHCP server? Is there a product similar but which does not replace the cable modem, just accepts the Ethernet cable from the cable modem?

Thanks again

EDIT:

Just looked up that part on a web site and it says at the bottom: This product does not contain a modem.

So it would seem it's just what i'm looking for :)

Excellent!
 
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Apparnetly Geo's right, that doesn't replace the modem, you'd need the Wireless G Cable Gateway for that. So the product I linked will do as you asked (does not replace the cable modem).
 
The WRT54G is cheaper then the WRT54GS, and will do exactly the same thing.

Code:
                   |-------(Wireless Antenna)
                   |
                   |
Modem--------WRT54G--------PC1
                   \-------PC2
                   \-------PC3
                   \-------PC4
Or
Code:
                   |-------(Wireless Antenna)
                   |
                   |
Modem--------WRT54G--------PC1
                   \-------PC2
                   \-------PC3
                   \-------Switch--------PC4
                                 \-------PC6
                                 \-------PC7
                                 \-------PC8
                                 \-------PC9
                                 \---etc...
 
Thanks, that diagram makes it clear in mind how this is gonna work. BTW what is the significance of speedboost? ans is it the only difference between the two models?

Thanks
 
sir doris said:
Thanks, that diagram makes it clear in mind how this is gonna work. BTW what is the significance of speedboost? ans is it the only difference between the two models?

Thanks

Most of the manufacturers have proprietary technology in their top of the line products to go faster than the 54g standard. Speedboost appears to be one of those --the catch being that it will only provide the speedup for those devices that also have nics that support it. Some of them don't "play well with others" tho they appear to be claiming this one does. Since you aren't planning to switch all those clients to wireless with new nics, it prolly is an add-on you don't need unless that model is bringing something else to the table as well.
 
geo said:
Most of the manufacturers have proprietary technology in their top of the line products to go faster than the 54g standard. Speedboost appears to be one of those --the catch being that it will only provide the speedup for those devices that also have nics that support it. Some of them don't "play well with others" tho they appear to be claiming this one does. Since you aren't planning to switch all those clients to wireless with new nics, it prolly is an add-on you don't need unless that model is bringing something else to the table as well.
Don't get SpeedBoost, as it's absolutely stupid (if you have an eight-way switch and will have free Ethernet ports, guess how you're going to be copying giant files). IIRC, SpeedBoost works by using multiple 802.11g channels simultaneously to basically have two streams for more speed. The problem, though, is that if you live near anyone, they're going to have a harder time using a wireless connection. It might be more prone to interference (I'm not sure how they space the channels--1 and 11 to start and moving progressively closer?).

Basically, it's stupid. Get a WRT54G, install a nice firmware that allows you to tweak the wireless power output, and enjoy the ridiculous range.
 
Bleh, I didn't realize they had so many models. Anyway, I believe the D-Link DI-524 is roughly equivalent as well, and newegg has it for $20 after MIR. Hrm, maybe I should buy one...
 
Yeah, pretty decent wireless routers dirt cheap these days. It's a beautiful thing. :D
 
geo said:
Yeah, pretty decent wireless routers dirt cheap these days. It's a beautiful thing. :D
I wish that were true. I guess it is, but then it's all up to what "pretty decent" means. I think the market for these things is saturated with junk. I wish just one of them would begin to charge $200-300 for stuff that actually works instead of these $100 units that come across as incredible in the specifications and then completely fail in practice (with a sizeable amount of them getting future firmware revisions that actually disable advertized features to make up for other shortcomings in the product). :cry:
 
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