Reliable 2-story Wireless Solution
Cyclonite
Tampa, Florida Icrontian
Alright, here's the deal. My experience with wireless has been less than enjoyable. I've been battling with a wireless network at my parent's house for a couple years now. I'm still unable to provide any sort of reliability. All my computers at home are wired. The only reason I have a WAP is for visitors and when I need my work laptop at home.
Now, on to the reason for this post:
A coworker approached me today saying they have 2-story house and just picked up a second computer that came with "one of those wireless box thingies." She called her cable modem the "little black box." This shows her competency in anything networking related, let alone computer-oriented.
Their wireless router is upstairs. The best I could get from her is that it's Linksys brand. The connection downstairs is hit-or-miss, which I would expect.
I suggested she have her husband run a cable downstairs, and she says the house "may already be wired, because there are a bunch of funny connections all over." I'm hoping this is the case, but if not, I'm hoping I can get a preliminary plan together for possibly getting a more reliable wireless solution going.
Do you guys have any recommendations for setting up a decent wireless setup that can span two stories and have a considerable amount of reliability. She didn't flinch when I was mentioning prices for better equipment, and based on her description of the house, they have money. Although, I'd like to keep this cost-effective as well. Especially if this comes back to bite me by not working so well, I may have to incur some of the costs.
So, as I've said, I hate wireless with a passion. At least the typical consumer devices. What would you guys recommend?
Now, on to the reason for this post:
A coworker approached me today saying they have 2-story house and just picked up a second computer that came with "one of those wireless box thingies." She called her cable modem the "little black box." This shows her competency in anything networking related, let alone computer-oriented.
Their wireless router is upstairs. The best I could get from her is that it's Linksys brand. The connection downstairs is hit-or-miss, which I would expect.
I suggested she have her husband run a cable downstairs, and she says the house "may already be wired, because there are a bunch of funny connections all over." I'm hoping this is the case, but if not, I'm hoping I can get a preliminary plan together for possibly getting a more reliable wireless solution going.
Do you guys have any recommendations for setting up a decent wireless setup that can span two stories and have a considerable amount of reliability. She didn't flinch when I was mentioning prices for better equipment, and based on her description of the house, they have money. Although, I'd like to keep this cost-effective as well. Especially if this comes back to bite me by not working so well, I may have to incur some of the costs.
So, as I've said, I hate wireless with a passion. At least the typical consumer devices. What would you guys recommend?
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Comments
Is there any advantage to using the SRX400 router with a standard wireless card? I'd grab them the SRX400 PCI card with it, but I'm thinking in case they get something in the future and try to set it up themselves.
//Edit: Thrax answered my question. It's a "no" for anyone who's interested.
Every review I've read says you need the same speed booster thing on both ends to get the real results. But in reviews I've read like this one, there are even gains in speed and range if you have a standard wireless NIC on the other end...esp from the SRX400 router.
I put an SRX400 in a client's house. It's in the basement, old house, lots of lathe and plaster walls. I put the matching SRX400 PCI card in the desktop on the second floor (two floors above the router) and it gets an "excellent" signal. My ThinkPad's built in wireless gets a "very good" on the second floor through all that plaster.