Wireless router help

[tripolitrx]

Ive just aquired a new laptop that has built in wireless, but im a bit stuck on how to go about setting up a router and for that matter which is a beter buy.. Im curently running a network with 3 machines on it with a pretty basic hub. I connect via a USB Zoom DSL modem and use one of the mahcines as a server. How would i go about hooking up a wireless router, to share the connection to all 3 PCs aswell as wireless for the laptop. Ive been trying to mull it over in my head but cant quite figure it out, and id like to have an idea before i purchase one. Further to that can someone recommend a good router thats compatible with the modem, wont sting me too much on the bidget and is pretty reliable. Ive been looking at Linksys gear, but am a bit lost. Any and all help is much appreciated

Cheers

Trip

[versello]

In this case, if you have a server set up to share teh internet, all you need is a regular wireless access point. Something like the LinkSys WAP54G comes to mind (I have one and I reccomend it, altho it's on the pricey side). You could, of course, get something cheaper based off of 802.11b compared to the speedier 802.11g (link the LinkSys I mentioned).

Once you have the access point, plug it into an unused port on your hub. The manual that accompanies a wireless access point vary, but usually it'll say to go to a certain address (from your desktop) to start configuring your wireless access point. Most include wizards too and will set up wireless encryption.

After the access point is configured, your laptop should pick up a signal. If you enabled encryption, it'll ask you to input the password.

[tripolitrx]

Thats great, thanks for the reply. certainly made things a lot simpler for me. As per your recommendation I ordered the linksys, just a quick question, ive read some reviews on the linksys gear and apparently there was troubles with firmware, is this still the case? Or has it all been updated since then. Again thanks for the reply

Trip

In this case, if you have a server set up to share teh internet, all you need is a regular wireless access point. Something like the LinkSys WAP54G comes to mind (I have one and I reccomend it, altho it's on the pricey side). You could, of course, get something cheaper based off of 802.11b compared to the speedier 802.11g (link the LinkSys I mentioned).

Once you have the access point, plug it into an unused port on your hub. The manual that accompanies a wireless access point vary, but usually it'll say to go to a certain address (from your desktop) to start configuring your wireless access point. Most include wizards too and will set up wireless encryption.

After the access point is configured, your laptop should pick up a signal. If you enabled encryption, it'll ask you to input the password.

[versello]

Wireless is either a hit or a miss with every product, but from my personal experiences, the newer firmware has been generally very stable. Plus the WAP54G has amazing range -- it can pick up my wireless signal from my room (fourth floor of my house) all the way from the basement, and then amplify the signal to any rats that dwell down there :D It's been completely stable since I bought it five months ago.