Relztrah
12-31-2008, 06:30 PM
My boss decided he wants to start using his laptop at work and needs a wireless connection to our network, which is completely wired. There is a network hub (yes, it is an old-fashioned hub, not a switch) close to his office and I have two options: an old wireless access point (Netgear 802.11B model ME102) or an old wireless router (Linksys model BEFW11S4, also 802.11B).
Rather than purchasing a new, fast wireless router, he wants me to make use of spare parts, in this case the WAP or Linksys router, and he'll have to live with the slow connection. Furthermore, replacing the current wired router with a wireless router wouldn't help that much since it would be so far away that I'm afraid the signal would be weak. The hub, on the other hand, is just on the other side of his wall, and I can run the Ethernet cable through that wall so that the WAP or router is in the same room where he will be using his laptop. I know what you're thinking: If he's that close to the hub, why doesn't he just run a long Ethernet cable from his laptop to the hub and forget about going wireless? I already proposed this and he likes the idea of being able to move around the office area and into adjacent offices with his laptop, so indeed there is an advantage to setting up a small wireless network.
Without doing a bandwidth speed test with each device, which of these two will give him the best connection to his laptop, which is new and has, I believe, Windows Vista? Also, can I plug a wireless router into a hub?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Rather than purchasing a new, fast wireless router, he wants me to make use of spare parts, in this case the WAP or Linksys router, and he'll have to live with the slow connection. Furthermore, replacing the current wired router with a wireless router wouldn't help that much since it would be so far away that I'm afraid the signal would be weak. The hub, on the other hand, is just on the other side of his wall, and I can run the Ethernet cable through that wall so that the WAP or router is in the same room where he will be using his laptop. I know what you're thinking: If he's that close to the hub, why doesn't he just run a long Ethernet cable from his laptop to the hub and forget about going wireless? I already proposed this and he likes the idea of being able to move around the office area and into adjacent offices with his laptop, so indeed there is an advantage to setting up a small wireless network.
Without doing a bandwidth speed test with each device, which of these two will give him the best connection to his laptop, which is new and has, I believe, Windows Vista? Also, can I plug a wireless router into a hub?
Thanks for any suggestions.