Computer Issues - Need a Deli-Geek

[Golf Cart]

I need input.

Waiting for a Dell laptop to arrive and need a wireless router.


( ya right Dell Canada. Press 1 for Pakistan, and have it built/ shipped from Texas)

Any of the Deliherd got a fave unit? I know I need the "N" , and 2 antenae for max reception, but is one brand better than the other ?

Thanks Guys/Gals

[Green1]

if you get internet through TELUS they include a free wireless router built right in to the modem... free is always my favourite type.

[elmitcho]

wireless networking can be a quirky thing but ive always had good luck with linksys routers..
i bought this one and never had any big issues over the past year except the rare restart..

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... &langid=EN

however, this next one seems to be a good buy as well...easy to setup and reliable

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... &langid=EN

[loki]

if you get internet through TELUS they include a free wireless router built right in to the modem... free is always my favourite type.

is the free built in one N or just G though?

[storm80y]

All of the Telus modem/routers I've worked with in Alberta are G.
The 2Wire is decent, the other one only has a uni-directional antenna and seems to have issues with multiple users/connections.

I like Billion equipment. Linksys & Dlink make ok stuff for home, it depends on your needs and budget.

[loki]

I tend to stick with linksys, I'm going to shortly go with the alternate firmware for it though, I'm told that it makes it 10 times better.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv3/index.php

[Green1]

The TELUS modems are just G... but here's the question, why do you need N?

N is slightly faster, but that only matters for transfers between computers on your internal network, if the computers rarely talk to each other, but frequently talk to the internet then even the old B standard is plenty fast as it's faster than the speed coming in from your ISP.

Range is really about the same with both technologies. theoretically N would be more reliable... but when push comes to shove, I find if you're having reliability problems it doesn't really matter which technology, it's more about what is interfering, or the orientation of the antennas.

Any of the wireless routers will cover your whole house with no problem from anywhere you choose to place it. and even allow you to use it in your front or back yard (and neighbour's houses...)

[marsgal42]

Telus gave me one of the 2Wire units, and I can't say I'm thrilled with it. A little too dumbed down, a little too closed for this nerd. I have a Linksys on my home network, and a D-Link on my lab network at work. Both work fine.

One grievous issue with the 2Wire unit is that you can't block administrative access over the wireless port, like you can with D-Link and Linksys. If somebody compromises the wireless access, they can compromise the entire system.

...laura

[Green1]

One grievous issue with the 2Wire unit is that you can't block administrative access over the wireless port, like you can with D-Link and Linksys. If somebody compromises the wireless access, they can compromise the entire system.

well... they'd have to break your WEP/WPA key, then they'd also have to know your password to get in... and then they'd have the option to... change the password or WEP key? (which you can easily reset at any time)

I'm afraid it's an attack vector with a fair amount of difficulty for very little reward. It's not like it would give them access to any of your systems or anything.

If you're afraid about security, disable the SSID broadcast, enable WPA encryption, and change your password.
You could even set up fixed IP addresses if you want to make it more difficult for people.

[loki]

802.11g Range (Indoor) ~38 m

802.11n Range (Indoor) ~70 m

[Green1]

802.11g Range (Indoor) ~38 m
802.11n Range (Indoor) ~70 m

Average lot width in an urban centre: 15 m
Average house width on that same lot: 11m

[jessef]

Stay away from the bundled telus mode/wifi routers.

For residential, Shaw is much more consistent than Telus by a long shot.

There is a reason why Telus is 1/2 the cost of Shaw.

My job is networking/wan security. Linksys is a solid brand name to use. Good support and firmware/software updates.

[loki]

Stay away from the bundled telus mode/wifi routers.

For residential, Shaw is much more consistent than Telus by a long shot.

There is a reason why Telus is 1/2 the cost of Shaw.

My job is networking/wan security. Linksys is a solid brand name to use. Good support and firmware/software updates.

I too agree (I'm a sysadmin in a large company to add some background to my geek related posts :))

[Green1]

For residential, Shaw is much more consistent than Telus by a long shot.

Consistency is the one thing that Shaw is completely incapable of, and that TELUS is by design.
ADSL has a single line to your house, your speeds are the same day and night, from the time the service is installed and forever more.
Cable on the other hand may peak at slightly higher speeds, but every minute the speeds can be vastly different, if your neighbour's kid is hogging bandwidth, you don't get any.

There is a reason that almost all business internet is on ADSL and not Cable.

[loki]

small business might use ADSL more mostly due to price, I would bet that cable has more business bandwidth though. My last job was for a foreign exchange company and we had or 80 offices world wide, the only time we used ADSL was when cable wasn't available. ADSL is very consistent but in my experience it is consistently slow unless you are really close to the telephone exchange (or what ever it is supposed to be called) But this is a little off topic as the question was about wireless routers not internet providers :)