Connect wirelessly to uni network

I'm thinking about buying the Acer 2012WLCi, which has "Integrated Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 network connection 802.11g". I'm wondering what kind of router I need to be able to connect wirelessly to a university network in my room, just using the laptop and the router? I'm guessing that the room would only has a slot for network cable in the wall?
Sorry I'm a novice to wireless connection so any help (links for a basic explanation on the terminology?) would be greatly appreciated.

 

Almost any wireless router will do the trick for you. You can get an 802.11g router for under $50 these days. The ethernet from the wall will conenct to the router. The router will have four ports on the back so you can connect to non-wireless PCs.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Hello Brian, thanks for your advice. I'm getting swamped by the amount of info on the net here... let me just confirm a few things:
"Access point" is the only thing I need, right? Not "Ethernet bridge", or "4-way switch"?
Can anyone give me a link to the spec of something that does this job? Or maybe just a breakdown of what the terms really mean (in layman's terms preferably )?

Here's the router I'm thinking of buying for this:
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=9904&Opener=DFT

Please tell me what you think. Is it good, am I getting the best bang for the bucks (well it's pounds actually in this case)?
Thanks!

 

Yes, what you need in your situation is an "Access Point". An "ethernet bridge" is not necessary - that is used to connect two networks together and you likely won't need to create an entirely new network in your room. A "4 port switch" is only necessary if you want to connect multiple devices to the network. So, for example, if you had both a laptop and desktop in the room and you wanted to connect both of them, you might get a switch that would plug directly into the university's network (using an uplink port) and then plug both the access point and the desktop machine into that switch.

The Linksys wireless G Access Point will definitely work just fine for you and is a good choice. If you are trying to save as much as possible, then I would tell you that all you probably need is a "B" Access Point. The "G" capability in your notebook is backward compatible with B and while G is faster than B, the reality is that either of them will be faster than the university's connection out to the Internet. You only need the additional speed of G if you will be downloading large files from within the University. All that said, buying G will not hurt you and it does give you the extra speed just in case you need it now or in the future. I'm definitely not trying to advise you against G. Just understand that you are paying a little extra for speed that you likely won't be using in the near term.

Good Luck!

 

Cheers for the information jchastain, that cleared a lot of things up for me. My search now turned up this "Linksys WRT54G WIRELESS BROADBAND ROUTER 54MBPS 802.11G", http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?LIN-WRT54G
which is supposedly a 3 in 1 device. however what I don't understand is that why it's cheaper by more than £10 than the Linksys wireless G Access Point (on the same site), considering it has two more functionalities than the latter?

 

It is possible it is cheaper simply because they are produced in greater volume (and potentially need a lower price to compete in that more highly contested space). People who have DSL or a cable modem in their home need the router functionality so the combo unit is by far the highest selling wireless device. This combo device will work perfectly for you now and has the additional benefit that if you get an apartment with broadband in a year or two, it will work for you there as well.

 

It's almost no difference now aday, an AP and wifi router, probably cost about $20 difference. But also some router do offer VPN capability, which is kinda nice, if you don't already have one. But for my setup, I have an AP connected to a host, win2k server, turn on remote and routing access. and setup a VPN server myself instead. so, VPN is required to get on the network/internet, after you hack my mac filter on the AP, no sh1tty RC4 WEP.

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