2 overlapping wireless access points; best setup? (pic of house included)

[RavinDJ]

So I have a kinda small house... but, I want the wireless to reach as far as possible into the front lawn, street, neighbors, backyard, sideyard, etc. The attic is basically over the ENTIRE house and that's where I'd put the 2 accesspoints; it's 1 story, so it would DEFINITELY reach into the basement. I don't think I need 3... what do you think?

Here's the TOP view of the house... backyard is to the right... neighbors are to the left and right of the house (so, in the pic... the neighbors would be on the top and bottom), as well as across the street and to the back of the backyard.

The reason why I put them there is b/c that's where the cables come up from the basement (Cat5; ran it myself; lots of fun )... but, I can always extend them anywhere else.

And... should I keep them on the same channel? Also, what equipment do you recommend? WRT54G's?

 

[shade91]

Keep them on different channels but with the same SSID. This is the proper way for doing wireless roaming. The placement of the APs looks to be just fine.

 

[RavinDJ]

Keep them on different channels but with the same SSID. This is the proper way for doing wireless roaming. The placement of the APs looks to be just fine.

Awesome, thanks!!!

Would you recommend I use the WRT54G's or the WAP54/WAP54G straight-thru access points? Does the 802.11b go farther? If so, I'd be willing to go with B instead of G; I'm not into so much the speed, but rather the distance.

 

[shade91]

WAP54G's

 

[Veeb0rg]

wrt54g are more advanced wireless like then the plain old WAPs and only a few bucks more..

put the wrt's in and crank up the juice with a hacked firmware baby.

 

[LonerVamp]

The proper way to do roaming is to buy devices that support WDS. If you just get two APs that share SSID/WEP/WPA and even put them ondifferent channels, you will have a quick disconnect as your computer loses signal from one AP and reorients to another.

Not a huge deal for most people, but something to think about if you're running a long download/upload and you want to move to your other neighbor's house and don't want to interrupt the transfer.

 

[Karlos]

I suggest getting two WRT's and throwing a hacked firmware on them. Not too sure about other firmwares, but the Sveasoft (www.sveasoft.com) supports WDS. This would allow you to, as previously stated, to do proper roaming. Plus with the power cranked up range would not be an issue at all

 

[shade91]

The proper way to do roaming is to buy devices that support WDS. If you just get two APs that share SSID/WEP/WPA and even put them ondifferent channels, you will have a quick disconnect as your computer loses signal from one AP and reorients to another.

Nope (on the disconnect part). I suggest you read "802.11 Wireless LAN Fundamentals" by Cisco Press.

 

[RavinDJ]

I suggest getting two WRT's and throwing a hacked firmware on them. Not too sure about other firmwares, but the Sveasoft (www.sveasoft.com) supports WDS. This would allow you to, as previously stated, to do proper roaming. Plus with the power cranked up range would not be an issue at all

Ummm.... does the cranked up power (to increase the range) do anything to your body? I mean... I'd be sleeping pretty much in the upper right portion of the house (using the top view) and I'd be close to AP #1. I don't want a brain tumor in the next 6-12 months

 

[Karlos]

Ummm.... does the cranked up power (to increase the range) do anything to your body? I mean... I'd be sleeping pretty much in the upper right portion of the house (using the top view) and I'd be close to AP #1. I don't want a brain tumor in the next 6-12 months

LOL, i'm pretty sure it's fine. I've had mine going in my room on almost full power for about 6 months and i do seem to have any extra limbs or brain tumors of any kind. Even with the power cranked to full, its not all that high. Not in comparison to all the cell phone/ radio/ TV etc. etc. waves passing through your body every second.

 

[RavinDJ]

LOL, i'm pretty sure it's fine. I've had mine going in my room on almost full power for about 6 months and i do seem to have any extra limbs or brain tumors of any kind. Even with the power cranked to full, its not all that high. Not in comparison to all the cell phone/ radio/ TV etc. etc. waves passing through your body every second.

Heh... true, true...

So, should I go with the WRT54G or the one with the SpeedBooster WRT54GS?

I'm gonna get 2 and see what happens...

 

[Karlos]

It depends on how big the price difference is. The GS has more RAM and more flash memory, so would be better suited for future, more advanced firmwares. But as of yet, no firmware that i'm aware of has gone past what the WRT54g can handle. Also, the speedboost function is only useful if your clients have linksys speedboost capable cards.

The GS is better, but only as a more long term invesment i guess, really depends on the price and if your willing to pay the extra. Personally i just got the G.