Newbee to Networking

Hi all!

Wondering if anyone can help me, I'm new to all this networking lark!
I have a desktop in my fromt bedroom (which will always be switched on
and connected to the internet) and a laptop neither have any wireless
abilitly at the moment and the phone socket to my house is the other
side of the house.

I am about to sign up for broadband, but want to know is what I need,
to be able to use the internet and share files between both the PC and
laptop and is there any way I can run the broadband connection to the
PC from the telephone socket wirelessly as I don't fancy running the
wire about 20m.

Further to this I believe I need two wireless cards what type are
best, good value?

Many thanks

Wayne

(E-Mail Removed) (EDO8109) wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed) om:

> I am about to sign up for broadband, but want to know is what I
> need, to be able to use the internet and share files between both
> the PC and laptop and is there any way I can run the broadband
> connection to the PC from the telephone socket wirelessly as I
> don't fancy running the wire about 20m.

That's the attraction of a wireless network. Get your self an all-in-
one ADSL modem / router / switch / wireless device. Connect it near
your incoming phone line, and the wireless signal will cover the
house. Then it won't matter where your PCs are...

Do make sure you buy a device which has an in-built ADSL modem, *not*
just a wireless router.

Aside: I do recommend you set up the router using a wired connection.
Once you've done that and you're happy everything is working, you can
go entirely wireless.

> Further to this I believe I need two wireless cards what type are
> best, good value?

Any mainstream brand should be good enough (D-Link, Netgear, Linksys,
Belkin, USR, 3Com, SMC...). Suggest you buy the same brand of
wireless router and cards for maximum compatibility.

I see you're in the UK. If you're looking for cost savings, don't buy
from PC World - just use them for browsing. Buy from an on on-line
store. For branded goods I can personally recommend eXpansys
<http://www.expansys.com/>. If you want to go for own-label or low
cost items at a significant saving, try eBuyer
<http://www.ebuyer.com/>.

Hope this helps

--

Richard Perkin
To email me, change the AT in the address below
richard.perkinATmyrealbox.com

It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it
is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's.
It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs.
-- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

"Richard Perkin" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns9523ADB026495fnurdle@130.133.1.4...
> (E-Mail Removed) (EDO8109) wrote in
> news:(E-Mail Removed) om:
>
> > I am about to sign up for broadband, but want to know is what I
> > need, to be able to use the internet and share files between both
> > the PC and laptop and is there any way I can run the broadband
> > connection to the PC from the telephone socket wirelessly as I
> > don't fancy running the wire about 20m.
>
> That's the attraction of a wireless network. Get your self an all-in-
> one ADSL modem / router / switch / wireless device. Connect it near
> your incoming phone line, and the wireless signal will cover the
> house. Then it won't matter where your PCs are...

I'd recommend buying the modem separately, not bundled into the router.
Getting a bundled modem locks you into ADSL. Should you ever decide to use a
cable provider, you have to replace the entire router. Also, if the router
becomes non-functional (say, a firmware update that backfires and leaves the
flash corrupted, or a power surge that fries the box), the bulltin modem
becomes a paperweight. With a separate modem, you still have internet
connectivity via the Ethernet.

>
> Do make sure you buy a device which has an in-built ADSL modem, *not*
> just a wireless router.
>
> Aside: I do recommend you set up the router using a wired connection.
> Once you've done that and you're happy everything is working, you can
> go entirely wireless.
>
> > Further to this I believe I need two wireless cards what type are
> > best, good value?
>
> Any mainstream brand should be good enough (D-Link, Netgear, Linksys,
> Belkin, USR, 3Com, SMC...). Suggest you buy the same brand of
> wireless router and cards for maximum compatibility.
>
> I see you're in the UK. If you're looking for cost savings, don't buy
> from PC World - just use them for browsing. Buy from an on on-line
> store. For branded goods I can personally recommend eXpansys
> <http://www.expansys.com/>. If you want to go for own-label or low
> cost items at a significant saving, try eBuyer
> <http://www.ebuyer.com/>.
>
> Hope this helps
>
> --
>
> Richard Perkin
> To email me, change the AT in the address below
> richard.perkinATmyrealbox.com
>
> It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it
> is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's.
> It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs.
> -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

Richard Perkin wrote:
....
> I see you're in the UK. If you're looking for cost savings, don't buy
> from PC World - just use them for browsing. Buy from an on on-line

I marvel at pc world's prices. Some Linksys items are around 100% higher
than you can pay by shopping around the net. Their customer support
would have to be pretty good to justify that sort of premium :-)

"gary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:TKdIc.14491$(E-Mail Removed) om:

>
> "Richard Perkin" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:Xns9523ADB026495fnurdle@130.133.1.4...
>> (E-Mail Removed) (EDO8109) wrote in
>> news:(E-Mail Removed) om:

>> That's the attraction of a wireless network. Get your self an
>> all-in- one ADSL modem / router / switch / wireless device.
>> Connect it near your incoming phone line, and the wireless signal
>> will cover the house. Then it won't matter where your PCs are...

> I'd recommend buying the modem separately, not bundled into the
> router. Getting a bundled modem locks you into ADSL. Should you
> ever decide to use a cable provider, you have to replace the
> entire router. Also, if the router becomes non-functional (say, a
> firmware update that backfires and leaves the flash corrupted, or
> a power surge that fries the box), the bulltin modem becomes a
> paperweight. With a separate modem, you still have internet
> connectivity via the Ethernet.

I agree that's a better design solution to have separate boxes.

But the total cost of separate boxes can be significant - probably
because the cost of a single circuit board + single power supply for
an all-in-one box is much cheaper.

Personally I have found it to be cheaper to buy new and sell
yesterday's model on eBay to offset the cost. But it's cost
considerations which have influenced me in this, rather than
design...

Hope this helps

--

Richard Perkin
To email me, change the AT in the address below
richard.perkinATmyrealbox.com

It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it
is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's.
It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs.
-- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

"Richard Perkin" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns95247527680C1fnurdle@130.133.1.4...
> "gary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> news:TKdIc.14491$(E-Mail Removed) om:
>
> >
> > "Richard Perkin" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:Xns9523ADB026495fnurdle@130.133.1.4...
> >> (E-Mail Removed) (EDO8109) wrote in
> >> news:(E-Mail Removed) om:
>
> >> That's the attraction of a wireless network. Get your self an
> >> all-in- one ADSL modem / router / switch / wireless device.
> >> Connect it near your incoming phone line, and the wireless signal
> >> will cover the house. Then it won't matter where your PCs are...
>
> > I'd recommend buying the modem separately, not bundled into the
> > router. Getting a bundled modem locks you into ADSL. Should you
> > ever decide to use a cable provider, you have to replace the
> > entire router. Also, if the router becomes non-functional (say, a
> > firmware update that backfires and leaves the flash corrupted, or
> > a power surge that fries the box), the bulltin modem becomes a
> > paperweight. With a separate modem, you still have internet
> > connectivity via the Ethernet.
>
> I agree that's a better design solution to have separate boxes.
>
> But the total cost of separate boxes can be significant - probably
> because the cost of a single circuit board + single power supply for
> an all-in-one box is much cheaper.

That's true. I did a quick check, and it looks like the Speedstream 5100
(cable or DSL) is retailing around $100. On the other, I saw thirty-plus
Speedstreams offered on EBay. Two of them were offered at fixed prices of
$50 and $40, although the highest fixed price was around $75. The bids for
auctioned units were averaging well under $20.

I think you can get a good deal if you're willing to look. Also, if you
switch from ADSL to cable, you can always sell your old modem on EBay and
recover some of the cost. In the end, it does cost more, but I don't think
it has to break the bank.

>
> Personally I have found it to be cheaper to buy new and sell
> yesterday's model on eBay to offset the cost. But it's cost
> considerations which have influenced me in this, rather than
> design...
>
> Hope this helps
>
> --
>
> Richard Perkin
> To email me, change the AT in the address below
> richard.perkinATmyrealbox.com
>
> It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it
> is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's.
> It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs.
> -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

On 12 Jul 2004 10:31:00 GMT, Richard Perkin <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:
>I agree that's a better design solution to have separate boxes.

I also have a distaste for all-in-one boxes. However, they do have an
interesting advantage. I like to monitor the DSL line conditions from
the modem (using MRTG). Cayman and Netopia do this nicely in one box.
However, with seperate boxes, I have to setup a static route in the
router to the IP address of the DSL modem. Some cheap routers either
don't have a static route feature, or it's broken. For
troubleshooting, I carry around a 10barfT hub (not switch) to connect
between the modem and the router to be able to login and monitor the
modem. In any case, monitoring is much more difficult and messy than
in an integrated unit.

>Personally I have found it to be cheaper to buy new and sell
>yesterday's model on eBay to offset the cost. But it's cost
>considerations which have influenced me in this, rather than
>design...

Same here. I buy DSL modem/bridge boxes and routers on eBay for about
$35-$50/ea and sell them at cost to my customers. So far, one lemon
(what did I expect for $15) out of about 30 modems and perhaps 20
routers.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558