[thechat] n00b networking question

[Martin Burns]

On 31 Dec 2003, at 07:15, Sean wrote:

> As part of the winter solstice celebrations, I received a wireless 
> (802.11b)
> router and so am in the process of upgrading my home network.  One 
> segment
> of my network is several computers connected to a hub, with the hub 
> wired to
> a router.
>
> My question is, can I replace that wired router-to-hub connection with
> wireless?  (As opposed to adding wireless adapters to each individual
> computer.)  (Yes, I do know there are performance considerations as to 
> why I
> might not want to do this.)
>
> I think what I need is a wireless bridge, such as the linksys WET11

WAP11? I have one on the desk in front of me.

> or
> netgear ME101, which will plug into the hub.  However, all I can find 
> is the
> bridge works with "any ethernet-enabled device" and similarly vague
> language.  All the examples or diagrams show the bridge connected to a
> terminal device such as a computer or game console.

Here's my setup:

ADSL modem/router plugs into the switch (does a similar job to the hub) 
- also Linksys but it needn't be.
The ADSL modem/router also provides DHCP.

Into the switch is plugged:
2x wired machines (3 on occasion, if I have a laptop in the office)
1x WAP11

I have a couple of laptops plus a desktop floating round the house 
connecting to the WAP, which bridges between the wired and wireless 
segments seamlessly.

The WAP will need an IP address, but if you're using the 192.168.0.x 
subnet then your DHCP will prolly hand out low numbers, so you can 
stick the WAP on 192.168.0.250 or so.

Cheers
Martin
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