Need recommedation for setup

[ferg00]

Currently have cable modem connected to wireless Netgear WNR-1000v2 in garage. Have run underground cat5 to house where I want to install atleast a 10 port wire (switch/hub?) with wireless (AP?) need suggestions....Thanks

 

[Fraoch]

Hubs aren't available anymore and are superseded by switches - get a switch. Switches come with the following number of ports in both 100 Mbit and gigabit:

- 5
- 8
- 16
- 24
- >24 (enterprise-level)

Since you say you need 10, go for a 16-port switch. These have come down in price and won't cost you that much more than a good wireless router.

I am now assuming that your Netgear acts as a router, so...pick a wireless AP or router, doesn't matter which. Select it based on your desired range - speed isn't as important because it will be on a 100 Mbit connection from your Netgear router upstream (no need for the super-expensive AC or very high-end N routers then, you won't be able to pass more than 100 Mbit anyway). Select it based on this:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/rankers/router/view

Plug the router/AP into one of the ports on the 16-port switch and if it's a router, make sure to turn it into an AP using the following instructions:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...onvert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point

 

[ferg00]

Would i be better replacing the Netgear with a Asus rt-n66u:
cable modem - ASUS rt-n66u - AmerNetworks SGD8 - ASUS rt-n66u as wap ??

 

[Fraoch]

Would i be better replacing the Netgear with a Asus rt-n66u:

It depends. What kind of wireless coverage do you want in the garage? The ASUS RT-N66U has probably the best wireless coverage of any n wireless router out there - you might not need that in the garage, it may be more useful in the house. However you do pay for it, the RT-N66U is expensive (though less expensive now that manufacturers are all concentrating on ac routers).

But where the Netgear might be limiting you is in routing power and throughput. What is the speed of your Internet connection? Unfortunately there's no test for the WNR1000, but the WNR2000 (presumably a better model) only passes 92.5 Mbps from LAN - WAN:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...ar-wnr2000-wireless-n-router-reviewed?start=2

That might be enough but as >100 Mbps Internet connections become more common, it will be a bottleneck. The RT-N66U and most other modern routers have no such limitation, passing 732 Mbps in the same test:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...n900-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=2

Personally I find the RT-N66U is extremely fast, particularly over 5 GHz wireless. The range is extremely impressive as well.

So it's up to you - the ASUS gives much better routing and wireless performance - you might need better routing performance but you may not need better wireless if it's just in the garage. Using an RT-N66U as an AP for your house might be a more interesting prospect though...

BTW I see a nice 16-port gigabit switch for $60!

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69412&vpn=TL-SG1016D&manufacture=Others&promoid=1288

 

[ferg00]

Think I'll go with the ASUS in the garage for the better routing performance to the switch and hard wired computers (avoiding any bottlenecks), then use the netgear in the house for the wireless, if the netgear wireless isnt satisfactory i'll have to get a second ASUS!! Thanks for the info!!

 

[Fraoch]

No problem!

BTW if you're wanting the ASUS mostly for routing performance, some of the other models are actually better than the RT-N66U - the N65U and N56U, for example:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/view

(both cost less!)

though neither one of these is as good wireless:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/111-2_4-ghz-dn-c

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/116-5-ghz-updn-c