Need advice on Wireless Router purchase.

I need some quick advice on purchase of a wireless router. I will be also needing to use a network switch to increase the available # of wired ports, as we currently have four wired devices (3 computers, one newish iMac and two older Macs, and a blue ray player, and we will be adding a Wi console to the wired network soon too). The wireless is mostly for a year old laptop. We are currently using a 5 year old at least Linksys wired router. Security is not an issue as far as others sneaking in to the network, I think, as my nearest neighbor is maybe a mile away (pretty rural here).
Would it be best to buy an Airport Extreme base station, or can I do better, and/or save some money with another router?
Thanks

I will likely connect our printers either via an ethernet cable or via USB.
For reference, the AirPort Extreme can share a printer connected to it by USB. It can also work with printers attached to one of its Ethernet ports. However, for the latter, the printer would need to be network-ready (meaning it has a built-in feature for sharing.)
As for 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, I don't know the difference.
The most important thing about bands is how they compare on speed vs. distance. The higher the frequency, the higher the potential speed, but at the cost of distance ... and vice versa for the lower frequency band.
Using the AirPort Extreme as an example, with a wireless client (capable of accessing either band), it will experience the best speed-related performance close (within the same room) on the 5 GHz but will most likely only connect on the 2.4 GHz band when in another room.
Also, I am concerned about firewall protection, from pinging or whatever, but I lack technical knowledge of it. I essentially would like our home network to be secure from incoming pings or attacks.
The AirPorts are very easy to set up. They pretty much run right out of the box. They offer very good security but they are not "commercial-grade" ... meaning they offer only a certain level of protection. However; note that increased protection typically comes with more complexity and maybe more difficult to configure.

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Need advice for wireless iTunes access (have router already)

I'm having a hard time sifting through all the info to find the best solution. I have a MacBook Pro that I'll soon be upgrading to Lion from Snow Leopard, as well as an iPhone, with a second iPhone soon to enter the family. We also plan to get an iPad. We actually have an older iMac that we won't be upgrading, so we're going to move our iTunes library from the iMac over to the MacBook (basically turning the MacBook into our primary computer). We want to be able to play iTunes without having to keep the MacBook plugged into wired speakers. That seems a bit pointless.
We have a wireless router already (a D-Link), so I don't need AirPort Express to act as a router. (We have a 1 bedroom condo, really no reason to extend the network or anything like that.) We have a printer that works wirelessly with the MacBook already. All I'm really trying to figure out is the best way to set it up so that we can have iTunes on the MacBook, playing over speakers (either the ones we currently have our iMac plugged into, or our stereo speakers that we have our TV setup with). Ideally if we could do the same from the iPhone and (future) iPad, that would be great, too.
Does it make any sense for us to get an AirPort Express to do this, or would it just be more straightforward to get wireless speakers that can work over Bluetooth (like the Creative D200 ones in the Apple store)? I feel like the AirPort has the potential to be overkill for our usage, especially since I can't seem to figure out if you can use AirTunes with an iPad, and we don't need it for the wireless printing functions.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Thanks Leo! Yeah, I was confused about the 2500 series too because they push the Flex 7500 so much as the "real" solution.
Now that I'm looking in the right spot, it looks like NCS Prime Infrastructure is for the serious folks and we could probably get away without it, right? So that would leave the access points, the controller, and the basic network stuff.

Need Advice on Best Router to Connect to Fios Actiontec M1424WR

From reading several of the postings I too want to connect a second router to my network to increase my connections speeds. Currently I have fios 35/35 but of course I never reach such speeds wired or wireless. So many routers are available but I want to make sure I purchase one that will do what I need. What then would be the best router for me to use with this Actiontec. I live in a 3 story home and my actiontec is on the top floor of my home. Assistance would be appreciated.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

metalgear wrote:
My FIOS Internet plan is 35/35 but i never get this speed. I was thinking of changing my router to get highter download and upload speeds. Can someone advise?
Try a hardwired connection to see if you get the speed. No need to change the router out if you get 35Mbps or higher out. Even the oldest ActionTecs/Westells are capable of doing 100Mbps. If you're trying to get such speed on Wireless and have confirmed it's coming in, add an Access Point such as the Trendnet Easy-N Upgrader (Make sure your devices support Wireless N as well!) and shut off the FiOS router's Wireless or re-purpose it for Wireless G devices.
========
The first to bring me 1Gbps Fiber for $30/m wins!

Need a new wireless router with switching

I would like to purchase a new wireless router with 4 port switch. I have an Intel iMac with 2 pc's and have spent hours trying to configure my existing Linksys router to work properly and need to make a change. I have not been able to use iChat with Powerbook users and have had other problems as well and have given up...
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Does anyone have any suggestions for a router which is easy to use and configure?
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Hi Herpestes,
If you mean which method of opening the ports should you use for those computers it will be the UPnP setting found in the Adminstarion tab
Log on to the Linksys by typing 192.168.1.1 into a web browser
Type admin as User ID and Password.
Go to Administration
Enable UPnP
10:10 PM Wednesday; June 28, 2006

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I have a old snow base station that is connected by ethernet cable to my new wireless internet service. The cable goes to an antenna device that receives and transmits the internet signal. The isp wanted me to configure the base station to connect using PPPOE. That initially worked but the connection drops frequently during the day with a lot of effort expended in reacquiring it. They've had me switch the configuration by manually enter the ip address and dns numbers. This worked for a while but is now dropping again.
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Message was edited by: Pappasbike

The old basestaions are notorious for being completely unreliable. I bought the entry level Netgear Router for about $25 and it has been flawless; providing 3 of my roommates with wirless access for over a year.

How do I find out if my computer has what it needs for a wireless router ?

I have an hp a6620f ,64 bit pentuimn dual core cpu ,4 gb , vista home edition, dsl modem internet connection. Do I have what I need to hook up a wireless router.

Belkin Play Wireless N USB Adapter
Model: F7D4101 | SKU: 9764199
Connect your laptop or desktop computer to a wireless network with this USB adapter that features 802.11a/b/g/n wireless connectivity and data transfer rates up to 300 Mbps for efficiency.
2.8 Read reviews (5)
Sale: $69.99
Here is an example.
I am a Bestbuy employee who volunteers on these boards on my own time. I am not paid for posting here, and you should understand that my opinions are exactly that - opinions. I do not represent Bestbuy in any way.
: Open Mailbox

Need help connecting wireless router to wired router

Our computers (1 desktop, 1 laptop,and our Xbox) are presently connected to a Dynex DX-E401 4-Port/Cable/DSL Router. We would like to keep this arrangement for the XBox & desktop for gaming purposes (general consensus seems to be a wired connection is faster than wireless). However, I would like to add a Linksys WRT54GL Ver 1.1 wireless router for another laptop to roam around the house. Can I just connect the Linksys wireless router into the Dynex wired router, or does everything now have to go through the wireless router first? To connect the wireless router, do I run the setup CD in the laptop that I want to primarily use the wireless router? I'm not the most savvy when it comes to this stuff, but can follow detailed directions. If there are any links/videos, etc. you can refer to me to that already addresses this issue, that would be great. I greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide.

You don't run the setup disk at all. Actually, you don't want a router you only want a wireless access point.
Wire a computer to the WRT. Open the web interface at http://192.168.1.1/ (default password is "admin").
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On the same configuration page of the WRT disable the DHCP server.
Save settings.
Unplug the computer.
Wire one of the numbered LAN ports of the WRT to your DSL router.
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I just got the MacBook 2.0GHz Duo Core Laptop and I am attemping to use it on my wireless network at home. Airport is finding my network but it won't let me connect to it. I have an older D-Link Router which 802.11b and I am guessing the Airport in my MacBook is 802.11g and I wondered if that was a problem. Any help would be much appreciated!

Have you found any answers to your problem yet? Seems like I've got the same problem here....

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Need advice in which route to take with Vista install a

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Do i still need to use my wireless router with Time Capusle?

I thought that by buying a new Time Capsule (TC) for data storage and as my sole wireless hub (saving on plugs and space) i no longer need my old wireless router?
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In contrast, when i connect my old router, via a traditional ethernet cable, to the TC it works fine?
Please tell me i don't need both?
Best
D

It sounds like you have an ADSL Internet connection provided by BT. Unfortunately, the TC does not have a built-in ADSL modem and it will still require one for Internet access. You would then connect the TC by Ethernet to this modem.

Suggest a good wireless router...

Hello guys,
Need some help here. Being a total n00b @ computer technology, I need some advice purchasing a wireless router. We recently moved to a duplex house and got a wimax internet connection for which I need a wireless router. We also have a Vonage VoIP phone using a Linksys RTP300 which off late developed some issues.
So can I get a device which acts as both a VoIP adapter and wireless router?
If that's not possible i need a good wireless router and VoIP adapter.
I have zeroed on to a cpl of linksys routers viz. Linksys WRT54GL, Linksys WRT 310N, Linksys WRT 160NL.
My requirements would be:
1.Being a duplex house I need good reception on both the floors.
2.Good data transfer speeds.
3.Budget is 150$ max(for router and voip adapter).
I have a cpl of laptops(Vaio VGN FZ35GN and 3 year old Dell). Heard a great deal abt WRT54GL but a lil apprehensive abt its performance compared to WRT 310 and 16NL.
Help me guys.......

There are few things that you need to rule out - Out Of The Box - which are the following:
1. Can you access WPA2 (Personal) on all the Laptops since you have mentioned that you have old laptops.
2. If you cannot then you should try a Linksys WRT54 (G/GL/GS/GX) Since you can connect older ones with that model.
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- o_o

Recommened wireless router for IMAC

Just purchased an IMAC 21.5 computer and need a better wireless router for the IMAC and IPAD AIR. Used for surfing the net, email and wireless printing. What should I look at?

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Clayton,
Although a bit pricey, the next router I buy will be the "AirPort Express Base Station with AirTunes". It is a full featured router that is certainly compatable with any other AirPort equiped Mac -- including WPA excryption. That router has the added Apple AirTunes feature that you will not find on any other router.
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One thing to watch when using WPA is that you choose exactly the same settings on both the Mac and the router such as "WPA-Personal" using "TKIP". Note that some routers such as Linksys may call the same settings "WPA-PSK" and preselect "AES" instead of "TKIP". As long as all of your protocols match and your network name and preshared key match then everything should work as expected.
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The one last bit of advice I have is to NOT install the software that comes with home wireless routers (except for Apples'). Instead, simply use your web browser to connect to the routers IP address (usually 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1) and then use the built-in web configuration to make all needed settings including the minimum: 1) changing default password, 2) turn off SSID broadcast, 3) set up wireless network name and WPA encryption, and 4) turn on NAT firewall.
Best of luck,
Tim

Need advice on Wireless Router purchase.

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