Opinions on wireless router & notebook card (Linksys & D-Link)

[AccessDB.info]

I hope this is the correct forum to post this to.

Am planning on buying a wireless router and wire notebook card. In no particular order, here are the two combinations that I am thinking of getting:

Linksys

Linksys SpeedBooster 802.11g Wireless Broadband Router (Model: WRT54GS)

Linksys SpeedBooster 802.11g Wireless Notebook Card (Model: WPC54GS)

D-Link

D-Link RangeBooster N Wireless-N Router (Model: DIR-625)

D-Link Platinum RangeBooster N Wireless-N Notebook Card (Model: DWA-642)

Any opinions? Or suggestions on others that might fit the bill?

Been reading about it, and it seems that the D-Link router is a new draft 802.11n standard router that is also backwards compatible with 802.11g and 802.11b devices. Anandtech.com has a review of the D-Link router here. Also found a blog entry about the D-Link router.

Found a PC Mag review of the Linksys router here, but it was written in 2004!!

User reviews aren't terrible helpful since there are both complaints and praises. And people are more likely to review a product that they have problems with.

The D-Link router may be compatible with the final 802.11n standard which is supposed to be out this year, which is something in its favor. I am a little wary of a router built on a draft standard, even if it is backwards compatible with the current standards but the fact that it could be better once they finalize the standard and if it will be compatible then I could get better performance. I also think that the D-Link router has more functionality but since I am not very well versed in this kinda thing, I could very well be wrong.

In the end, it probably doesn't matter what standard I use as all I really want is to network my personal and work computer, while allowing my wife to use her laptop with a wireless card.

[nmX.Memnoch]

I would be careful of purchasing routers based on the 802.11n draft. They may be compatible with the final standard and they may not. On the other hand, 802.11g routers are pretty inexpensive now. Personally, I would go with an 802.11g router for now and then upgrade to 802.11n after the standard is finalized.

My personal preference is the Linksys routers but I know other people who use D-Link without any problems.

[AccessDB.info]

nmX.Memnoch,

Thanks for the reply!

Both routers and laptop cards are almost the same price, only $10 difference @ Best Buy. So I am torn between spending a little bit more for something that MAY be compatible with the final 802.11n standard or something that might be a little more proven since its been around longer.

One thing that I am confused about is whether or not the D-Link router supports WEP. D-Link's website says it does but Anandtech's review says it doesn't. The manual I downloaded off of D-Link's website shows how to use WEP. But when I log into the the DIR-625 emulator, the security screen is different and doesn't show WEP as an option, only WPA, which might be a good thing!

I'm not one to spend money to upgrade to the latest and greatest. Usually stick with something until it doesn't work or it can't do what I need it so.

Edited March 20, 2007 by AccessDB.info

[rendrag]

it's tough to say. I'd be more inclined to believe D-Link's website than anandtech for the simple reason that D-Link may have added WEP in a firmware update, which may not have been available when the review was done. If you can, check the release notes for the firmware. You might be able to get a good idea if WEP was added after the initial release of the product, or if it's a mistake on d-link's site.

I agree with MMX... don't go for 802.11n until a final draft has been ratified.

Is there a particular reason you're going for high-bandwith wireless? Unless you'll be gaming (and most laptops aren't that good at it), I don't know if it makes sense to spend extra money on that kind of technology. You might be better off with something like a linksys wrt54g, which is probably the most popular router of the last 4 years. If you're into tinkering with the firmware, head over to ebay and pick up a version 3 wrt54g for around $60 and load some custom firmware on the device (like http://www.dd-wrt.com ). Otherwise they can be bought pretty inexpensively from places like newegg or zipzoomfly

[AccessDB.info]

rendrag,

Thanks for weighing in!

Checked D-Link's page for the DIR-625 firmware updates and didn't see anything about WEP but from what I've been told, it's probably better that I use WPA anyway.

My personal computer and work computer will be connected via cables. I'll be gaming on my personal computer but only a laptop will connected wirelessly.

Don't know much about routers so I doubt I'll be tinkering with firmware anytime soon.

Seems like the advice I'm getting is to stay away from draft 802.11n routers until the standard is finalized. Which is OK as long as I can continue to use 802.11g for a good long while.

EDIT: Seems link that only thing I miss out on with the Linksys router is a QoS engine, which I don't really know if I even need it with my setup.

Edited March 20, 2007 by AccessDB.info

[nmX.Memnoch]

from what I've been told, it's probably better that I use WPA anyway.

Actually, you want to use WPA2 w/ AES. There are two hotfixes for Windows XP for WPA2. The first one adds WPA2 support and the second one updates the WPA2 support.

All of the WRT54G line of Linksys routers should provide WPA2 support out of the box. If not a simple firmware update (from Linksys) will fix that.

Seems like the advice I'm getting is to stay away from draft 802.11n routers until the standard is finalized. Which is OK as long as I can continue to use 802.11g for a good long while.

Yeah, you'll be able to upgrade either the router or the card later and still have connectivity since the standard will be backwards compatible. They did that so people won't have to upgrade their entire wireless networks all at one time (bad for businesses).

EDIT: Seems link that only thing I miss out on with the Linksys router is a QoS engine, which I don't really know if I even need it with my setup.

QoS is built into all of the WRT54G line since, I believe, v3 on. It's not something you should be concerned with on a small home network though. I have it disabled on my router at home.

[Zxian]

WAIT!!! STOP!!!

The WRT54G and WRT54GS models sold today cannot be flashed with third-party firmware. If you want that capability (which you do), then you'll want to get the WRT54GL. Add Thibor 15c firmware on there and you'll be happy as a clam. Yes, it have WPA2/AES support as well. Thibor can handle QoS (the default firmware doesn't have it) pretty well. I don't use it personally, but when I did, it worked.

I've experimented with DD-WRT and personally, I'm not impressed. The first time I flashed it, it worked for about 15 minutes and then everything just went dead. I tried rebooting, hard resetting, unplugging and waiting... nothing. Fortunately, after leaving it unplugged for the night, I was able to get it to start the next morning and promptly reflashed Thibor. The second time I flashed DD-WRT on a WRT54GL, it worked fine, but for whatever reason system loads were way higher than my router on Thibor, and this was just surfing the web...

So - all said and done - get a WRT54GL and put Thibor 15c firmware on there. You will not be disappointed.

[nmX.Memnoch]

Linksys' firmware does indeed have both WPA2/AES and QoS support. I've never put a 3rd party firmware on my router and I have those features. I'll have to double check, but I believe mine is a v3. I've worked on v4's, v5's and v6's that all have WPA2/AES and QoS as well. However, the 3rd party firmwares for the v3 and L models may extend the built-in QoS features.

Again, though, I wouldn't worry about QoS on a small network like his. WPA2/AES would be more important to me for the wireless connection(s).

Another thing to keep in mind...if you go with the S model (SpeedBooster) then you'll only get the faster advertised speeds if you also use Linksys Wireless NICs with SpeedBooster support.

[AccessDB.info]

Zxian,

Thanks for the heads up but I had already left to buy the router/laptop card already. Went with the Linksys WRT54GS. I don't trust myself to mess around with the firmway anyway!

Got it set up and running!

Linksys' firmware does indeed have both WPA2/AES and QoS support.

Yup, QoS is available under the router settings.

Another thing to keep in mind...if you go with the S model (SpeedBooster) then you'll only get the faster advertised speeds if you also use Linksys Wireless NICs with SpeedBooster support.

That's why I wanted it for my wife.

But... as it turns out, her laptop already has built-in 801.11 WLAN!

Am wondering if I should return the laptop card since her laptop can now access the network as-is without the card. Not sure which would be better. Any thoughts?

My next challenge is to figure out how to allow all three computers to access a printer, scanner and other such peripherals. I will probably end up having my own printer and scanner, along with an multi-purpose printer from my company. I'm new to having a home network so forgive me for my stupid questions!

Before I forget, my thanks to one and all who took the time to reply! Most helpful in my decision making!

[Zxian]

I stand corrected about the QoS. Thanks for the info.

Is the built-in wireless 802.11b or 802.11g (or n)? If it's b, then keep the new card, otherwise return it. The "Speedbooster" technologies work by compressing the files during transfer and then decompressing them on the other end. The overall resulting bandwidth might be higher than you get with standard 802.11g, but not for things like music or video (those are already compressed).

Regarding the home network, that's another topic that'd be better started in the Windows XP forum (I'm assuming you're running XP). I've never dealt with sharing a scanner though. Usually those work best with the included software (otherwise some functions might not work).

I've got four computers here at home all networked as well - three desktops (one wifi) and one laptop (wifi). One computer is the main file server, as well as a print server for the other three computers. It's definitely a nice touch.

[AccessDB.info]

I stand corrected about the QoS. Thanks for the info.

No problem. At least I was able to contribute some new knowledge!

Regarding the home network, that's another topic that'd be better started in the Windows XP forum (I'm assuming you're running XP).

I will start on new thread on that when I'm ready to cross that bridge. Am looking at getting a KVM switch next before I do anything else.

I've got four computers here at home all networked as well - three desktops (one wifi) and one laptop (wifi). One computer is the main file server, as well as a print server for the other three computers. It's definitely a nice touch.

I hope to get to that point in the not too distant future. I just moved and still have a lot of unpacking to do. Don't even have a proper desk at the moment!

EDIT: The laptop's manual says the following

Notebooks with 802.11 WLAN devices may support one or more of 3 IEEE physical standard layers:

• 802.11a
  
• 802.11b
  
• 802.11g
  

Am I've set the router to g-mode (or whatever the correct term is), so I guess we're good to go!

Edited March 21, 2007 by AccessDB.info

[Zxian]

I'd recommend setting the router to G-only mode (by default it's mixed B and G). You typically get a bit better performance.

Let us know when things have settled down a bit. We'll be glad to help you setup your network.

[puntoMX]

My next challenge is to figure out how to allow all three computers to access a printer, scanner and other such peripherals. I will probably end up having my own printer and scanner, along with an multi-purpose printer from my company. I'm new to having a home network so forgive me for my stupid questions!

Scanners don´t work in TCP/IP networks, so you will only be able to use the printer option of that multi-purpose printer.

[nmX.Memnoch]

Well...there are such things as network scanners but I doubt that's what he has. However, if it's a high-dollar multi-function scanner then it may have the capability.

We have some Xerox copier/printer/scanners at work that are pretty nice. They're handy for scanning documents directly to PDF (they go straight to your email by either entering an email address or doing an LDAP lookup). There are network scanners that do nothing more than scanning though.

Printers themselves are easy though. All you have to do is share it from the computer it's attached to. Or if it has a built in network connection attach it to the network and install the software/drivers on each PC.

[puntoMX]

Ok, but those scanners have most of the time a big RAM or a Harddrive. I know them too but I was pointing at the 50-500 US$ range