I have DSL through pacbell right now...If I get a DSL router and have it so I have the internet for 2 computers, does my connection speed cut in half?

What is the best router? Have you heard of Siemens? are they good? just asking cuz they are the editor's choice for cnet.com,pc mag, &zdnet...

Also, do I have to use the same company brand of wireless card as the router's?? If not what is the best for that for desktops?

If you can tell me anything else that'll help me to get 2 computers hooked up to the internet, it will be really appreciated. sorry for so many questions, thanks!

 

jayel,

if your dsl modem is ethernet, just get a wireless router and plug it into your dsl modem, brand does not matter as long as they are all 802.11b or all 802.11a. seimens is fine, personally i have linksys stuff, and i have never had any problems either. get what fits your price range. you should see no problems with speed with just 2 computers sharing a dsl connection. you will need some remedial networking knowhow(IP addresses, gateways) to make this happen, but nothing you shouldn't be able to tackle.

 

I would recommend the Linksys stuff (router and network card). I've worked with a couple of them and they worked great. They will share your DSL line, but it doesn't get split in half. See below:

It's like a water hose. If you put a "Y" on it and hook two other hoses to it they both share from the same water source. If both are wide open then you will essentially get half out of each hose. If one is closed however the other hose will get all of the water (bandwidth).

 

I have experimented with Apple's AirPort, Linksys WAP11's and NetGear MR314 (DSL router and WiFI access point).

Any 802.11b products will work together. I'm currently sitting in bed with a Mac iBook connected by an AirPort card to my network via the Netgear router/AP.

With regards to sharing your ADSL connection, If you are downloading a large file to each machine you bandwidth will be effectively half to each machine. But this is not how we ususally use the internet. When we surf the web or send emials we generally do spurts of traffic with large amounts of latency in between. For example, when I clicked the 'Reply' button I downloaded a web page. Since then I've been typing and creating no traffic. Until I press submit I'm not using the bandwidth at all. So, in general you won't notice a degradation of you bandwidth the majority of the time.

Personally I recommend the NetGear over the Linksys. The Netgear a web based administration interface and better signal strength than the Linksys.

 

Jayel,

You're talking about two different things here - hooking up two computers with one DSL connection, and using wireless. If your goal is to hook up two computers with one DSL connection I would shy away from wireless unless you can't run a network cable to where the computers are. 802.11 is not very secure. Unless you put some effort into securing the wireless network anyone within range of the access port will be able to use your network and sniff your data. So if you just want two computers hooked to the net via a single DSL connection, if I were you I'd go to Fry's and pick up one of their DSL routers with a built in switch and firewall. Those devices will do everything you need to hook up a couple of computers to the net and make it real easy and secure. I'm in your area so if you'd like to discuss further we can hook up for a beer or something

 

The Linksys has web based admin as well. So far I'm very happy with it, though better range would be nice.
setting it up couldnt get any easier...Just remember to enter the WEP key for the wireless or you'll be staring at it for ever trying to figure what you did wrong

 

Does it? The original WAP11 didn't. It was a really cheesy SNMP app.

I know that since then they have increased the firmware capacity from 2 to 4Mb so maybe that's when they added the web interface.

Also, there is a Linksys AP and DSL router and I'm not sure if this has a web or not.

With regard to range, I was asked by a client to come up with a solution for linking two offices separated by a fire proof wall. I took my Netgear and iBook and confirmed that the two could see each other. No problem, 11Mbps. I then bought two WAP11's and configured then in bridging mode (very nice!) and put one in each office. No signal, nada, nothing!

I have two WAP11 paper weights at the moment.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Strike
[B]Jayel,

 

The WEP protocol has been proven to have flaws, but I don't know many situations where you would require any more security than is offered by todays access routers. I'm certainly happy to have wireless here. My laptop still has to authenticate via an access router before it will be given access to my network.

If you are security conscious then you can look at the 802.11a (higher bandwidth, shorter range) products with 152bit WEP or consider VPN pass through.

 

The Linksys product is a firewall and a switch.