# Router Advice



## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

I'm trying to set up a wireless network for someone. The setup will be in a professional type setting. The setup will require TWO routers. One upstairs, one downstairs. I'm curious if anybody has any comments about these two routers:

Linksys WRT320N
LINKSYS E3000

*NOTE:* My purchase will be a Linksys. I might consider Netgear, but I will not consider anything else.

~Alan


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Professional type how? Any other details? two wireless routers seem to be serving simultaneous needs. 

How many clients? Wired? Wireless? Printing? Routing? Type of Internet connection?


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

RasputinAXP said:


> Professional type how?


At least ONE of the routers will be needed to provide a wireless signal to a conference room for meetings and so forth.



RasputinAXP said:


> Any other details? two wireless routers seem to be serving simultaneous needs.


The building has more than one story, and is fairly large. The plan is to have ONE router downstairs and another upstairs.



RasputinAXP said:


> How many clients? Wired? Wireless? Printing? Routing? Type of Internet connection?


One client will be hooked WIRED at all times. Other than that, it depends on the day.

I can't say for printing. None at this time.

Internet connection is DSL.

~Alan


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

Both are way overkill/wrong segment for that setting IMO. Especially the one with all the USB/AV features.

I would not even bother with N either unless it comes with the device, get a really good G router and it will be better than a regular N there. You do not need the N speeds and most clients will just have B/G cards anyways.

I know you said no other brands, but I really like Engenius for this type of situation. They make devices that are cheaper, but perform excellently. If you can do a ceiling mount, this is fantastic:
http://www.keenansystems.com/store/...d=253&osCsid=e25348ec727e954c65f70905b8aeb461

They also have a desktop version:
http://www.keenansystems.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=258

There is a N version of the ceiling mount, but the range is supposedly a bit less than the b/g:
http://www.keenansystems.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=308

I have used the first ceiling mount and it works great. Discrete too. Note that it is just an Access point so you would need a router as well. The Desktop version is an AP/Router.


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## Mustang Dave (Oct 13, 2006)

Powered over Ethernet... those Keenans look pretty cool and easy to install on a ceiling.

Just to clarify for the OP, get one router for the DSL and the hard wired guy and at least one simple wireless access point for upstairs. Two whole routers is pretty difficult to configure and a bad network design.


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

The ceiling mount ones are awesome. They look like smoke detectors. PoE is great too (but you have to buy the injector separately if you want to go that route) as it makes getting power to them really easy.

Best to have them above everything (ceiling on top floor). We have one in a clients house and it is on the top floor of the house mounted on the staircase ceiling, covers the whole house easily that way.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Alan Gordon said:


> At least ONE of the routers will be needed to provide a wireless signal to a conference room for meetings and so forth.


If all your looking for is a WAP, use a WAP. Routers will typically set up an entirely different LAN where the conference room machines won't have access to the rest of the building.


> The building has more than one story, and is fairly large. The plan is to have ONE router downstairs and another upstairs.


"Fairly large" isn't good enough. How large is each floor (square feet or longest dimension)?

A network accessible printer is almost an imperative.

Newegg regularly sells a Wireless-N WAP for under $30 that I use at my workplace for the conference room. It reaches an adjacent outbuilding quite nicely.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Grentz said:


> The ceiling mount ones are awesome. They look like smoke detectors. PoE is great too (but you have to buy the injector separately if you want to go that route) as it makes getting power to them really easy.


"12v POWER BRICK INCLUDED BUT FOR POE THE EAP-3660 REQUIRES A 48V INJECTOR"

I'm pretty sure a PoE switch would handle that, too.

I agree with the idea that you only really need a WAP for your conference room, not a router. I disagree about not going with N; it's becoming the de facto WLAN standard instead of G now, and the MIMO capabilities of N routers will help even with G signal propagation, depending on the internal construction of the building.

Additionally, if you do add network printing in the future, having a secondary network upstairs can kind of mess things up; some routers don't like passing printing back and forth.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

Ideally - just use an access point upstairs.

If you're going to use 2 routers - turn off the DHCP server to the upstairs one, and connect them together via LAN ether net port - bingo - instant access point.

But you really should look at the gear that is designed for this purpose as the earlier posters were mentioning.


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

As I said above, you can get the engenius models in N form if necessary. They do have slightly less range than the b/g only versions though from the reviews I have seen. 

The 48v Poe is generally easier to run with injectors. Most cheaper Poe switches will not handle that high of a voltage. Engenius makes the injectors as well.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

I'd agree with going with just a WAP upstairs. If you do go with a router upstairs, change the setting to be an AP so that you are not running two different networks.

One thing you can do with the second router is to turn it into a repeater bridge. That will allow hardwired devices or wireless devices to connect to the second router. The signal is then sent wirelessly back to the primary router. Basically, this can be used to extend the range of your wireless network without creating a second network. 

- Merg


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

depends on what you want to do... if you want to have one for "public" access then a second router is an easy way to keep them off your network..


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

harsh said:


> "Fairly large" isn't good enough. How large is each floor (square feet or longest dimension)?


I'm looking into certain details, including double-checking the floor size, but we believe 2,000 square feet per floor.

There is a cable connecting the downstairs and upstairs.

~Alan


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Alan Gordon said:


> I'm looking into certain details, including double-checking the floor size, but we believe 2,000 square feet per floor.


My house is almost that big. A single well placed unit should cover the whole shebang. It may take some experimentation and things can be complicated by drop ceilings and metal studs.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Actually, if this is a commercial building, it is usually recommended to place a router on every floor that wireless access is required. The materials and design of commercial buildings interfere with wireless signals enough that there is usually too much degradation of the signal from one floor to another.

- Merg


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

You mean a WAP (wireless access point).


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

RasputinAXP said:


> You mean a WAP (wireless access point).


Correct. A WAP. I usually always just refer to them as routers out of habit as most can be easily configured to act as WAPs. I know they're not the same, but people I usually discuss this with don't know or understand the difference so it's just easier to refer to all of them as routers. 

- Merg


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