Wireless Router Choices

[yearling]

My old linky went south after the Great Northeast Blackout (the wirelesss portion). I am looking at zyxel, d-link and netgear in that order. Linksys is out of the picture, BEFW11S4 v4 is as buggy as it gets. I'm checking out zyair B-2000. I have a total of 8 rigs in the network. 6 of them uses wireless. here are my concerns:

1.) Is zyair really good (reviews said so)? Honestly!
2.) Is zyair compatible with my existing USB wireless adapter (all from linksys)?
3.) 3 accounts use the router at the same time to connect to work from home using Nortel Contivity VPN. Can zyxel handle that? I know my old linky did without hiccups.

I know there's no comparison between linksys and zyxel. I am just making sure I won't be shelling out more many with my existing setup. I don't play games, just download huge files.

Any inputs, recommendations will be appreciated. no rants please, i've had enough of that. he he.

yearling

[JackMDS]

On Wireless:

802.11b vs. 802.11g.

For Internet surfing it does mot matter since Internet broadband connection is slower than 802.11b

For traffic across Internal LAN, 802.11g is significantly faster.

General Wireless info.

802.11b = 11Mb/sec. Network "Speed" (Carrier transmission 2.4GHz)
802.11g = 54Mb/sec. Network "Speed" (Carrier transmission 2.4GHz)

Wireless Ethernet needs additional protocol over head for the transfer. In addition, it is not as stable as Wired so it needs extra processing procedures.

As a result the 11Mb/sec. of the Network chipset is translated to a much lower actual performance. Usually 4-6Mb/sec.

Few 802.11b hardware units are also capable to work at 22Mb/sec.(usually referred to as b+) it is nice if it works, in real term will yield 20%-40% more than 11Mb/sec. systems.

The 802.11g line that is rated 54Mb/sec. in the real world it yields 18-22Mb/sec.

The differences between the first set of graphs to the second represent the performance differences between 802.11b to 802.11g

Link: 802.11a/b/g SOHO Routers & Access Points: Performance.


What should I get.

Networking in General is no CPU OverClocking or "squeezing" few frames from a "puny" Video card, it is more complicated.

The number of variables that goes into the equation of each situation is so variant that it is impossible to give one rule of thumb.

As a result comparison reviews are not in existence.

If the Wireless Computer is going to be used in the vicinity of the Wireless Gateway, and you are going for 802.11b buy the cheapest you can find. You can get a Wireless Cable/DSL Router for about $29.99 + PCMCIA card for $9.99 (both after rebate).

Example:

Link: Barricade 11Mbps Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router with 4 Port. $29.99 (after rebate).

Link: EZ Connect 802.11b Wireless PCMCIA Network Adapter. $9.99 (after rebate).

If you go with 801.11g get a set from D-Link or Linksys. Both seem to be at the top of the current rather limited "crop" of 802.11g Entry Level hardware.

If you are going for 802.11b and long distance is a must, it is a very long story and I am not going to try analyzing it here.

[Bluesky]

Hi, I a newbie to networks. I will be getting cable internet and plan to set up a wireless network connection to share internet connection. I saw your post earlier mentioning the SMC wireless router for 29.99AR. I am not sure, but I think the PCMCIA card is for notebooks only right? What do I need to buy if I want to use it for desktops? Can you offer some suggestions that are cost effective? I saw http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?action=detail&dpno=742534 Item, does it work?

thanks for the help

[j79zlr]

if you are setting up desktops, use a wired router, cheaper, network speeds are about 10x's faster, and much more secure.

[Bluesky]

Originally posted by j79zlr
if you are setting up desktops, use a wired router, cheaper, network speeds are about 10x's faster, and much more secure.

I don't want to do the messy wiring and stuff. My friend has a Linksys telephone jack router, and the speed is slow. Any good alternatives?

thanks

[JackMDS]

Wireless is depending on signal propagation.

For Desktop (or tower case) USB Wireless Client Card should be considered as the preferred solution.

PCI Wireless Client Card ends up been stuck behind the computer's case, resultant in obstructed transmission and poor performance. USB is connected to the Port with 2-3' cable allowing the Antenna to be placed above the System for better Transmission.

Example:

Wireless USB Network Adapter, 802.11b.

.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Sonicwall TZW if you're on a good budget

Linksys new "G" series routers actually are very strong performers, and I've not had issues with them on the few I've installed already. Decent distance, good performance.

I'm really wanting to try out Compex as a brand.

[yearling]

Welcome back YeOld. BTW, Congrats. I knew you would be back soon.

I've looked at sonicwall but that's way up there. I need an approval from the appropriations committee(if you know what I mean) for that. I was thinking of getting a similar router but there are lots of issues with the current version (4) of BEFW11S4. That was not the case for the original version, at least in my experience.

I don't think I can justify "G" routers yet because my setup is all "B". Wireless PCs are light users except that they use Nortel VPN for work related stuff. Heavy downloads are on the wired portion of the router. My old linky worked with Nortel VPN out of the box with 3 simultaneous VPN connection.

among this brands which one the least troublesome.
Netgear, d-link, zyxel, linksys just the "B" routers.

I know you have an idea which is which. Thanks in advance

yearling

[YeOldeStonecat]

Originally posted by yearling
among this brands which one the least troublesome.
Netgear, d-link, zyxel, linksys just the "B" routers.

I know you have an idea which is which. Thanks in advance

yearling

Don't forget, the G routers will work with B cards.

When you say they were "troublesome"...what do you mean?

As for brands, I've strayed away from Netgear, which I used to use quite often, because of their support being a pain in the butt and taking a long time. Quality wise, I've used a lot of their standard routers, they were faster than average Linksys, Zyxel is pretty much Netgear (similar hardware, different labels). I have one customer using a Netgear wireless, it's a small office, so can't compare it's performance. DLink I've never been a fan of...but I have to admit, over the past year or more....reviews of their wireless products have been favorable. I have not used their products. Linksys G routers, two months ago, PCWorld or PCMagazine had a HUUUGE writeup of many wireless products...with a very thorough comparison. Many many brands across the spectrum...and the Linksys G came out on top. I've setup a couple of them, and they're working great.

Brings me back to your issue....what is your issue? I see you mention concurrent VPN connections...that's something you have to look at the specs of the routers...as to how many concurrent VPN passthroughs they'll allow.

Also the Sonicwalls are expensive for a reason....rock solid...bulletproof performance with their products. I did a big VPN rollout this past spring using them for the first time (following the recommendations of TWW and Cyberskye from this forum). Performance...WOW. You can sure feel the difference in performance when you have a Sonicwall with a 133 mHz CPU and 16 megs of RAM under the hood, versus a hundred dollar router with an 11 or maybe 16 mHz CPU with perhaps 2 or 4 megs of RAM.

[yearling]

Thanks YeOld. I'll try both Linksys "G" router and D-link "B" router (614+). I'll compare both routers. Assuming both work according to my needs, I'll consider speed and distance. If the difference is huge I'll go for Linksys "G". If the difference is not that great I'll go otherwise. I can always refund one of them as long it is within the allowed time. I'll post the results here.

Again thank you.

yearling