Question about Wifi Routers and WAPs

[mscdex]

Anyone know if i can use a 11Mbps wireless cable/dsl broadband router as a Wireless Access Point? Because I found one of these cable/dsl broadband routers for very very cheap, and I was wanting to purchase a Wireless Access Point, but the router seems to do what a WAP would do. I'm kinda confused.. :?

[Cary]

Anyone know if i can use a 11Mbps wireless cable/dsl broadband router as a Wireless Access Point? Because I found one of these cable/dsl broadband routers for very very cheap, and I was wanting to purchase a Wireless Access Point, but the router seems to do what a WAP would do. I'm kinda confused.. :?

Yup, should do just fine. I think a WAP is a bridge between an existing wired ethernet network and a wireless access zone

[Janak Parekh]

It should do what you want. Dedicated WAPs have certain specialty features, but for SOHO environments the router solutions are almost always good enough.

A WAP is just a bridge. A wireless-enabled router combines a WAP with a Internet sharing router. The latter tend to be cheaper because they lack the specialty features and tend to be much more mass-market items.

--janak

[mscdex]

It should do what you want. Dedicated WAPs have certain specialty features, but for SOHO environments the router solutions are almost always good enough.

A WAP is just a bridge. A wireless-enabled router combines a WAP with a Internet sharing router. The latter tend to be cheaper because they lack the specialty features and tend to be much more mass-market items.

--janak

Like what kinds of features are we talking about here? I'd only be using this for a private home network for the house.
The Router I was going to get was at CompUSA for $19.99 and was an SMC, but by the time I got there they were sold out. :roll:

[Icebaron]

Like what kinds of features are we talking about here? I'd only be using this for a private home network for the house.
The Router I was going to get was at CompUSA for $19.99 and was an SMC, but by the time I got there they were sold out. :roll:

An access point is, as janek said, just a bridge. The "specialty features" they include are usually minimal and are used for things like tweaking the signal in obscure ways that only a network administrator would be likely to figure out. The wired analog of an access point would be an ethernet hub with an uplink port.

A router can mean many things, but when speaking of a home router, almost universally it means a NAT proxy. NAT stands for network address translation, and basically it's a way to share a single IP address between multiple computers. Look at it this way: cable provider X gives you the IP address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. This is the only IP they give you and how a single PC connects. A NAT router uses this IP address to establish a connection with the internet. It then uses a seperate network adapter (either wired or wireless) to establish connections with your local machines on a different IP address (usually 192.168.x.x). Another level of complexity comes in here, because most DSL "routers" also act as a DHCP server, providing IP addresses for the PCs connected to it, also in the 192.168.x.x range. When a PC on the network connects to the outside world, these 192.168 addresses are not seen. Instead, the outside world recieves packets from the cable company provided IP, with a small addition to the header of each packet, specifying which PC it goes to. This allows multiple PCs to share this one IP address.

As you can see, routers do a LOT more than an access point, so it seems like they should be more expensive. Like Janak said, the primary reason they aren't more costly is demand. Home users are more likely to need a router, so the production volumes are higher and the likelyhood of finding specials/sales is greater.

[Janak Parekh]

An access point is, as janek said, just a bridge. The "specialty features" they include are usually minimal and are used for things like tweaking the signal in obscure ways that only a network administrator would be likely to figure out. The wired analog of an access point would be an ethernet hub with an uplink port.
Yup, and higher-end APs have corporate features (like authentication protocols, bridge/spanning tree settings, etc.) Like I said, unless you're setting up a corporate presence or have a specialized network at home, an Internet wireless-enabled router is generally a better fit.

Oh, and $19.99 is an insane deal, I have to say. 8O

--janak

[mscdex]

Well the main thing I was hung up on, was that it was a Broadband Wireless router, and I only have dialup, so I wasn't sure if you had to use the Broadband for the wireless to work or what the deal was. But thanks for the feedback, it's very much appreciated.

[Janak Parekh]

Well the main thing I was hung up on, was that it was a Broadband Wireless router, and I only have dialup, so I wasn't sure if you had to use the Broadband for the wireless to work or what the deal was. But thanks for the feedback, it's very much appreciated.
Hmm. That's a good point. Only some broadband adapters have modem support (either a built-in modem or a serial port). I'd suspect the one for ~ $20 wouldn't.

Let's say it doesn't have a modem port. Were you planning on hooking it up to your PC as an AP? It might be possible, but I can't guarantee it.

--janak

[mscdex]

Well the main thing I was hung up on, was that it was a Broadband Wireless router, and I only have dialup, so I wasn't sure if you had to use the Broadband for the wireless to work or what the deal was. But thanks for the feedback, it's very much appreciated.
Hmm. That's a good point. Only some broadband adapters have modem support (either a built-in modem or a serial port). I'd suspect the one for ~ $20 wouldn't.

Let's say it doesn't have a modem port. Were you planning on hooking it up to your PC as an AP? It might be possible, but I can't guarantee it.

--janak

Yeah, I was mainly only wanting to use the router as a cheaper AP.

[Janak Parekh]

Yeah, I was mainly only wanting to use the router as a cheaper AP.
So, most will support this - you have to go into the router settings page and turn off NAT and the embedded DHCP server, and enable bridge mode. Note I said "most" in that sentence, though. ;) If you want to double-check, find the model on sale and go to the manufacturer's website and download the manual.

Once you get those settings set, plugging the computer into one of the hub ports should do the trick. You would leave the WAN port unplugged.

My other tip: make sure you can return it, just in case it doesn't work. :)

--janak

[Sooner Al]

...ORiNOCO RG-1000 access point and Linksys BEFSR41 router support this, ie. using them in a bridge/switch mode of operation only. The BEFSR41 (wired broadband router) is currently used as a 10/100 Mbps switch only on my home LAN since I no longer have broadband access. The built-in DHCP server is disabled and nothing is connected to the WAN port. I currently use a 56K dial link to my ISP. The RG-1000 is configured as a bridge which means I also have its built-in DHCP server disabled and the NAT functionality disabled. My wireless clients, an iPAQ 3835 and an HP laptop, get a DHCP assigned IP from an XP Pro box running ICS/ICF. Fixed wired clients all use static IP addresses.

[Janak Parekh]

...ORiNOCO RG-1000 access point and Linksys BEFSR41 router support this
Interestingly, the RG-1000 has a built-in modem, so you can actually dial out from it and connect to the Internet that way, instead of disabling NAT. However, you don't get the full feedback you do when dialing out from a desktop.

--janak