Wireless Bridge??

Camman

Now, I like to think I'm not a networking n00b, but, I have no use for wireless so I have as of yet had very little contact with it other than configuring some wireless cards and a router for some work I was doing, and I know like the different specs, but other than that I havent looked at any wireless products at all.

So anyway, upstairs I have my cable modem hooked to a 4port netgear router/switch combo thingy. This is my permanent network for the PCs in the house. Now, every few months I host a LAN party here so I have an 8port switch for downstairs, but I have to run this damn cable around the house then down the stairs into the basement. Is there such a thing as a wireless bridge solution so I could plug like a wireless access point into my router/switch gateway and another into the 8port switch downstairs so that I could have access to the internet from the LAN party downstairs.

Now I know I could just get a WAP and tell everyone to get wireless cards, but, 1) everyone doesnt wanna invest in wireless cards and 2) we do ALOT of "legitimate" file transfers of large sizes of certain types of audio and video files during our LANs so we would like to retain the 100megabit speed of the switch.

Just wondering if such a thing exists or if such a thing can be done as I've described.

TheSmJ

They do. You can find them at CompUSA.

Camman

so...i found this at the Best Buy website (no CompUSAs around here) Do I just need to buy like an access point and plug it into my router and then buy one of these to plug into the switch?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051384626945&skuId=4916504&type=product

not cheap, eh? dayyymn

khan

The bridge solutions are pretty much going to be your best bet. Try D-LINK, I know my fry's locally had their AP's down to 30-40 bucks...I don't recall if they make bridges or not. You should be able to use a linksys bridge and a regular WAP, but no gaurantees. If you get it from fry's theyre good about returns, so you can test it. Otherwise, bigass wire is your best bet =P.

PS You will have problems with signal strength, possibly fatal ones (I cant get a WAP in my bedroom to be seen down the hall in my parents room at ALL)...if you can get a connection, it is possible that it will be low bandwith, lower than is probably acceptable for a LAN crew.

PPS Now that I think about it, the expense and dubious efficacy of the wireless solution would probably make it easier to just keep doing the wire thing. How often do you do LAN's, anyways?

Enverex

You don't want 11b wireless, it is unimaginably slow, and 11g is not much better. To be honest, you are a lot better off using wired or waiting for 11n.