I've got a Netgear DG834G downstairs which I'm more than happy with. Using 3 wired connections for the PC's (same room), and wireless for an HP Printer and laptops or other stuff if people visit, etc. I'm thinking of putting a device upstairs, which only has a wired connection, and wondered what the best option was for getting it on the network. I assume a wireless bridge/ap such as the Netgear WG602 with a switch if I need to plug in more than 1 device in the end? -- Tony Evans Saving trees and wasting electrons since 1993 blog -> http://perceptionistruth.com/ books -> http://www.bookthing.co.uk/ [ anything below this line wasn't written by me ]
If you don't mind wired connections upstairs and can run a wire from the spare port of the netgear why not use another cheap router? Turn DHCP off in the second router, give it a fixed address on the same range as the netgear but outside the range assigned by the netgear via dhcp and put the netgear as the gateway for the second router. AJH
Can't easily run wires from the DG834G to upstairs, that's my main issue hence hoping for a wireless option. -- Tony Evans Saving trees and wasting electrons since 1993 blog -> http://perceptionistruth.com/ books -> http://www.bookthing.co.uk/ [ anything below this line wasn't written by me ]
If laptops work fine upstairs with your existing setup it might be cheaper to purchase wireless adapter for the box you want to move. You can get internal wireless cards or go the Wireless to USB route. Both methods should be cheaper than purchasing another router or wireless repeater. Personally I prefer the internal wireless card method to USB as historically they have had less problems working properly but either may work for you. Have a friend bring their laptop over and give the upstairs a good walk through and see how the existing setup works. If you have problems it may take a minor relocation of the existing router (placing it higher or just on the other side of a room) or a better antenna (if it has an external antenna connector) to make things work.
Why would he do that when he could just plug the cable straight into the device he wants to use upstairs? I imagine the reason he's asking about a wireless bridge is that he can't/won't run a cable.
You don't seem to understand the difference between a wireless bridge and a repeater, so possibly better that you don't try to advise on this sort of thing. Except he said the the device only has a wired Ethernet connection - why are you assuming that it has USB or internal expansion capability?
I believe the WG602 will work fine as a bridge to another WG602 or a WG302 in point to point mode, which would imply getting two of them and then adopting a different SSID for the bridge from that used by the DG834G's AP. I have no experience to trying to bridge to a DG834G that is working in AP mode. Someone else here may know whether that is possible. Maybe call Netgear 01344 458200. Tony
If "upstairs" has a wired connection (I assume you mean that there is an Ethernet lead running from the router downstairs to a room upstairs) then you don't need to bridge or repeat the wireless network. A wireless access point will work: plug it into the upstairs Ethernet connection and configure it with a different SSID (network name) and wireless channel to the access point in the router downstairs. If you need additional Ethernet points upstairs then you'll need a hub or a switch. As someone else has suggested, maybe a second wireless router (with the ADSL connection unused) would be the best solution. But it is essential that you turn off the router's DHCP server and that you hard-code its IP address to one which is in the same subnet as the downstairs router's but which is not in the range that the router hands out by DHCP. For example, if the downstairs router uses addresses in the subnet 192.168.0.x, with 192.168.0.1 being the downstairs router's IP address: - change the downstairs router's DHCP scope so it hands out addresses in the range 192.168.0.3 - 192.168.0.255 (it will probably be set at present to start at 192.168.0.2) - give the upstairs router the IP address 192.168.0.2 - turn off the upstairs router's DHCP server If you opt for a simple access point, the same IP address configuration and turning off of DHCP server will be needed.
And this will help his wired-only device how, exactly? If he had an Ethernet cable upstairs he could just plug it in. Only if that router will run as a client in bridging mode.
Ah, maybe I've misunderstood his phrase "putting a device upstairs, which only has a wired connection". I assumed it was "upstairs" that had only a wired connection (and no wireless reception from downstairs) but may be meant that the *device* only has a LAN car and no wireless card, and that there isn't an Ethernet cable to upstairs. Right, yes, I agree he needs a wireless bridge - or else (if I may utter the words without radio hams shooting me down in flames!) Ethernet-over-mains Homeplug devices. Now can a Netgear DG834G router work in bridging mode? Not sure about that...
The device I want to put upstairs only supports a wired connection. There's no where to plug it in up there, so I wanted to buy a wireless bridge and attach it to that. I did wonder about those, but I'd like to use that as a last resort for a couple of reasons. Me either, hence my query -- Tony Evans Saving trees and wasting electrons since 1993 blog -> http://perceptionistruth.com/ books -> http://www.bookthing.co.uk/ [ anything below this line wasn't written by me ]
