Wireless networking help

[sram]

Hi guys. I have a laptop with wireless lan that I need to somehow network with my desktop PC to share the internet connection and other resources. I have a broadband connection.

Of course a wireless router will come to mind. It will enable me to give my laptop internet access even if my desktop is off, and will also make me build a real network.

The problem is that I have a USB Adsl modem, not ethernet and you know the standard for routers is ethernet.

Are there good/reliable USB broadband routers out there?

Are there any sort of ethernet-to-USB adapters and vice versa?

I know I can link between the two PC's by getting a wireless NIC for my desktop pc, but that gives me less freedom than the router solution, and it requires that my desktop stays on for my labtop to have internet access. Routers have firewalls also.


Anyways, the idea is to find an easy/practical way to link my laptop to my main desktop machine so that I can share files and connection. I might add another desktop machine to the network later.


Thoughts/comments ??


Thank you.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Throw your USB modem away (or at least put it safe for emergencies, but they are really pretty poor!), and buy a wireless adsl modem/router - this connects to the Internet independently of your computers, includes a hardware firewall, and allows you to connect multiple machines wirelessly (or via ethernet) to the Internet and to each other.

Personally I like the Belkin ones, have a look at **broken link removed** for an example.

 

[sram]

Throw your USB modem away (or at least put it safe for emergencies, but they are really pretty poor!),

Oh that's harsh! I don't see a problem using my lucent cellpipe usb modem. It is just pain in the ass to install the driver for it. after that, everything seems ok, i'm not sure what you mean by poor. I'm almost reaching my bandwidth limit with this modem.

It was provided by ISP along with my adsl package.

Anyways, let's say i'm going to get a wireless router/modem. My ISP has the speedstream 6520 and they have support for it. Meaning they will help you install/configure it so that it works. I want to get a better/more reliable one. But I have one concern, my isp requires that you enter VPI and VCI values and maybe some DNS numbers. I'm not what these are and i'm wondering if i'll be able to do the same with any modem/router out there.

I remember once trying to use an external westell wirespeed dsl modem, but I couldn't get it to work because I couldn't set those values.


Should I stick with their -not so good- router, or GET one that I like after some reading/research ??


Thanks

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Throw your USB modem away (or at least put it safe for emergencies, but they are really pretty poor!),

Oh that's harsh! I don't see a problem using my lucent cellpipe usb modem. It is just pain in the ass to install the driver for it. after that, everything seems ok, i'm not sure what you mean by poor. I'm almost reaching my bandwidth limit with this modem.

It was provided by ISP along with my adsl package.

Perhaps 'provided free with your adsl package' might give you some idea of it's quality :lol:

With a router there's nothing to install on your PC, it's simply a network connection.

Anyways, let's say i'm going to get a wireless router/modem. My ISP has the speedstream 6520 and they have support for it. Meaning they will help you install/configure it so that it works. I want to get a better/more reliable one. But I have one concern, my isp requires that you enter VPI and VCI values and maybe some DNS numbers. I'm not what these are and i'm wondering if i'll be able to do the same with any modem/router out there.

I remember once trying to use an external westell wirespeed dsl modem, but I couldn't get it to work because I couldn't set those values.


Should I stick with their -not so good- router, or GET one that I like after some reading/research ??

The settings should be the same for any router, but it's possible that they include some of them preset in the router they supply - which limits it to their service - which means you have to buy another if you move ISP's.

The values you need to set are done by a simple browser based interface, and you should be able to download all the settings off your ISP's support pages. Any router requires the same settings, so it doesn't make any difference as far as that goes - the only ones I have experience with are the Belkin ones, and they work great and are easy to set up.

 

[Styx]

NEVER use USB-based Modems!!!!

They rely on the driver to decode infomation and USB drivers have a habbit of being flaky. Equally you are using CPU time since it is all software

 

[Dotnet]

Hi sram,

Don't use USB modems!!!!! They rely on drivers for their operation. I know that is a daft statement but if you are in the crap need and need to get onlne and the only way your PC will work is in SAFE MODE our advice wil come back and haunt you.

Personally, I dont like Belkin (they always seem overpriced for me) Check out the Netgear DG834G or similar - true firewall, content filtering (if you have kids), modem, switch, wireless all in one box for about £50

Alternatively, for about £130 Draytek 2x00 range. They are the same as the above (a bit scarier to set up) but in addition they have a proper VPN Endpoint, so you can dial in across the internet to get at you LAN.

But the best of all is the the 2800 (I think) comes with a proper BT connection on it for Voice over IP (VoIP) phone calls using a standard phone handset.

Hope this helps]
Dotnet

 

[sram]

I'm so undecided !!

I spent the last few days surfing the net to pinpoint a wireless adsl gateway that is suitable for me. One thing making it harder for me is that I want to get a used/unwanted one for a bargain price. in Ebay.com for example.

The belkin is good but little bit expensive, and it isn't really amazing on reviews

The linksys WAG-54g is good/cheap, but many people say it overheats and cuts !!

The 2wire routers are good, but hard to get !

I liked the USR 9108, but didn't find many reviews on it to make sure it is good.

I also like the draytek 2800vg, but it is pricy.

There is also a good 3com officeconnet router which I liked, but it is also a bit pricy, and adslguide.com says it is not good for heavy usage.


No one router I looked at is free of serious problems, at least according to some people!! Connection dropping, resetting needed, not able to access some sites, ...etc .


I didn't know it would be this hard to pick a best wireless router for me !

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

The belkin is good but little bit expensive, and it isn't really amazing on reviews

Personally I've always found them excellent, and everyone I know with them has as well - they might be a little more expensive than some others, but they are easy to use and reliable, and come with a lifetime warranty.

As with anything, it's down to personal preference, the Netgear might be cheaper?, but you hear of lots of problems with them - although this could be partially down to them been sold in Supermarkets along with tins of beans!.

 

[Styx]

The belkin is good but little bit expensive, and it isn't really amazing on reviews

Personally I've always found them excellent, and everyone I know with them has as well - they might be a little more expensive than some others, but they are easy to use and reliable, and come with a lifetime warranty.

I suppose it is just experience. I would NOT recomend Belkin to anyone.
When I went wireless 3months ago I spent a good 2months looking for what wireless chipsets would work under linux THEN finding what card's use what (since they tend to change chipsets BUT keep a card the same build)

I went for a belkin card with a RaLink Chipset and at the same time a Belkin router.
Well the PCI card worked great (and it was even easier to configure WiFi in Linux)

However, after about a week of using the router I started getting major packet loss, even when using a wired connection to router (sicne it is a wired one as well)

a week later it just died, the PSU was just dead (prev ittermittant internet problems prob due to the PSU dying)

So got a replacement and the same thing happened, I paid a bit more and got a netgear and it is soo good

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

a week later it just died, the PSU was just dead (prev ittermittant internet problems prob due to the PSU dying)

I've NEVER liked wallwart type supplies, they rarely seem very good - but at least now you can buy fairly cheap switch-mode ones.

So it's the wallwarts you don't like, not the routers? :lol:

 

[Styx]

a week later it just died, the PSU was just dead (prev ittermittant internet problems prob due to the PSU dying)

I've NEVER liked wallwart type supplies, they rarely seem very good - but at least now you can buy fairly cheap switch-mode ones.

So it's the wallwarts you don't like, not the routers? :lol:

True, I stand corrected

 

[sram]

I found the belkin Wireless G Plus Router with Built-In USB Print Server model # F5D7231-4P for a VERY good price and bought it. I read many good reviews on it, but it doesn't have a built in modem . So I need to get an ethernet adsl modem. Which one do you guys recommend? This shoud be easier

I'm looking into these:


Linksys ADSL2MUE

D-Link DSL300T

but some people say that they are not good for p2p applications. I don't know how much true is this.

I need to get an excellent configurable adsl modem that will work great with that router.

 

[Styx]

The only thing that "could" stop a particular modem/router being not that good at p2p will be because it blocks certain ports by default.

Nothing a quick config can changed (for the router) or if you are a Torrent user, just change the port it uses

 

[sram]

Can somebody explain this to me? I don't guite get it.

This is from adslguide.org :

It is unlikely that people will use the PPPoA mode, since the ADSL2MUE has almost no flexibility in this mode. The one advantage of this mode is that it will allow you to share the connection with multiple computers (connect the modems single Ethernet port to an Ethernet hub/switch to allow more physical connections), while at the same time using NAT to block unsolicited incoming traffic.



and also:

The upside to using PPPoA mode is the basic security that using a NAT device provides, but the ADSL2MUE has no port forwarding or DMZ options, which may limit how useful the mode is. That said, people requiring just simple email and web browsing will have no need for port forwarding


??

Thanks