First timer trying to set up home network. Please help!

Hi guys heres the situation.

i am back home from uni and i would like to share the adsl line that our desk top has with my notebook (W3J). Also theres another desktop sitting upstairs idling which i would also like to set up as part of the network if it doesnt prove to be too difficult.

So first things first i guess i would need to get a router including wireless connection right? Do i need to get an inbuilt modem as well? looking at Nickspohn's guide and checking with online vendors for available products wrt54g or D-Link DSL-G604T seems to be my best bet can any body confirm this please?
And are there any additional equipments that i need to get (like wireless cards etc)?

p.s. whats the difference between these models?
Linksys WRT54GC Wireless-G 4port Broadband Router
Linksys WAP54G Wireless Access Point 54Mbps
Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G All-In-One
Linksys WRV54G Wireless-G VPN Wireless Router

Thanks in advance guys please help me out i am a newb that has heard of all this stuff but lack the actual knowledge to perform the task, help me become something useful thanks!!

 

I can't help much with model numbers but I can give you the basics for a wireless network. You will need to pay an ISP for DSL or cable if you don't have it already.

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Image courtesy of Microsoft, hehe​

They will give you a modem to turn the stream of data coming into your house into something usable. That modem connects to a wireless router through an ethernet cable. Each of the computers on the network must have a wireless card. They should automagically detect the wireless signal and will usually auto-connect you to the network which will allow all of the computers to link together and use the internet. You should probably read the manual with the router and learn to set up WEP or WPA security so as to prevent leaching of your signal and security breaches. Surprisingly, I just found a decent set of instructions from Microsoft here.

~ Brett

 

Thanks Brett! i will be looking at those instructions carefully

 

best suggestion is to buy router that has modem built into it... so you dont have to buy separate modem unless if you have one already at home.

cheers.

 

There are two schools of thoughts on whether to get the modem built into the router or not. The advantage of the modem being built in is that the one device may cost you less that the two bought separately. They would also be easier to set-up (relatively) and less cumbersome (less wires to fiddle with). On the flip side, if this one of the functions of this router fails, then you are left without the other function while it is being repaired (which is very unlikely for it to fail, to be honest).

My personal preference is to have a separate modem and a separate router connected to one another with a basic Ethernet cable.

As for the various models you’ve mentioned. You will find that there are always new models being released. What you need to get yourself is a router, and maybe (depending on your house’s size etc.) a repeater. From the list you’ve mentioned the WRT54G is a good router for home use. As for a repeater, the WAP54G is also very good. Both offer good features, you can upgrade their firmware, and are dead easy to set up.

As for the other two items you’ve mentioned in that list of Linksys wireless, the WRT54GT is more geared for office work allowing you to connect to multiple inputs / hosts (I am not so sure this is something you will need for your home use). As for the WRT54GC, it is yet another router that is more for the mobile user than the home user. So, it should have the same features of the WRT54G but in a smaller package – don’t be surprised to see it costing more too.

I should say, to be fair, that I haven’t used any of the latter two models (the WRT54GT and the WRT54GC), so I can’t for certain tell you how good / bad they are from an experience point of view. But, the router and repeater that I’ve mentioned are two that I have in my house (I use 3 repeaters) and I get excellent speed / coverage. As I said, the set-up was very straight forward and easy. Just make sure that if you get more than one repeater then you configure each one while the others are off (they will conflict with one another first). Once they are all configured, running them will not cause them to conflict.

Good luck with your set-up, and I hope that I didn’t confuse you with what I’ve just said.