|
So I finally got a new modem from Verizon, down from my Westell 327W, I now have Westell 6100, it's "just a modem," Verizon Tech explains, therefore, it cannot be picked by my laptop through wifi connection. It just cannot be, the old modem was defective, and now I get a shittier one.
On the back of the modem it has these ports:
Power | Ethernet | DSL | USB
What is the USB for? I have the cable for it too, it's weird, it's like I can hook it to my computer or something. I'm not sure.
Also, I've researched this: http://www.lava.net/support/Westell_6100_DSL_Modem_Installation_Guide
Someone explain to me what a "bridge" is? I understand the subject vaguely as two computer joined?
Basically, in short, I want my laptop to receive signal from the modem, I already have a wireless USB adapter which is/was my father's PC to my old Westell. This functions the same as my laptop's wireless card. What do I need to make my modem be like a modem/router? Which leads me to this: http://www.computerbob.com/guides/connect_multiple_pcs_to_one_dsl_connection.php But this requires me to buy a router, or am I mistaken?
Thanks.
|
Yeah you need a router. Maybe you got lucky or something and got a modem with wireless built in but 99% of the time you will need a router for wireless.
|
You need a wireless router, as in a router that also functions as a wireless access point (WAP). Unless your connection is really really good (your download capped to something like over 1 megabyte per second), just get an IEEE 802.11b wireless router. It's commonly referred to as just wireless-b. 802.11a and 802.11g give higher speeds for the wireless connection (from your laptop to the WAP only), but it's pointless as 802.11b will suffice to provide something like 6-8 Megabits per second. The bottleneck, unless you're paying for some really high speeds, is going to be limited by your ISP rather than your own wireless technology.
edit: point is, wireless-b router will be slightly less expensive than wireless-g or wireless-a router, and most likely exactly the same for your purposes; don't let some salesperson trick you
What modems do is just modulate your signal from Ethernet/whatever into the cable or DSL or whatever service you have, and demodulate the other way to receive traffic. That's all a modem does, unless it is a modem + more functionality. Typically, in a home environment one connects a modem to a router, which can split the traffic so that multiple users can share that one connection you're getting from the modem. So ISP -> modem -> router -> computers.
If you just have one person who wants to connect to the Internet and don't want wireless, you could just connect your one computer straight to the modem.
Wireless routers are actually routers plus the wireless access point: they send and receive Wi-Fi signals and process that data before routing it to the appropriate next hop.
Yeah, a bridge is just what it sounds like, connects two points together. Nothing fancy there.
The USB port on the modem is so that you can connect it to a computer so you can do some advanced configurations to the thing manually through a terminal interface. It doesn't send data from the outside through this connection--rather, this is just a way to interface it to do some settings.
|
This is a VERY misleading title ... I thought at first that you were a model or in search of a model and needed help with the networking ...
|
On November 30 2007 07:34 Myrmidon wrote:
You need a wireless router, as in a router that also functions as a wireless access point (WAP). Unless your connection is really really good (your download capped to something like over 1 megabyte per second), just get an IEEE 802.11b wireless router. It's commonly referred to as just wireless-b. 802.11a and 802.11g give higher speeds for the wireless connection (from your laptop to the WAP only), but it's pointless as 802.11b will suffice to provide something like 6-8 Megabits per second. The bottleneck, unless you're paying for some really high speeds, is going to be limited by your ISP rather than your own wireless technology.
edit: point is, wireless-b router will be slightly less expensive than wireless-g or wireless-a router, and most likely exactly the same for your purposes; don't let some salesperson trick you
What modems do is just modulate your signal from Ethernet/whatever into the cable or DSL or whatever service you have, and demodulate the other way to receive traffic. That's all a modem does, unless it is a modem + more functionality. Typically, in a home environment one connects a modem to a router, which can split the traffic so that multiple users can share that one connection you're getting from the modem. So ISP -> modem -> router -> computers.
If you just have one person who wants to connect to the Internet and don't want wireless, you could just connect your one computer straight to the modem.
Wireless routers are actually routers plus the wireless access point: they send and receive Wi-Fi signals and process that data before routing it to the appropriate next hop.
Yeah, a bridge is just what it sounds like, connects two points together. Nothing fancy there.
The USB port on the modem is so that you can connect it to a computer so you can do some advanced configurations to the thing manually through a terminal interface. It doesn't send data from the outside through this connection--rather, this is just a way to interface it to do some settings.
Why get a wireless b router? I dont even know where to find those..
G routers cost like $30? There is no point getting a b router, other than the fact that;
a)They dont travel as far
b)they are slower if you want to network with other comps in the future.
c)they cost like $10 less
d)have a chance of being incompatible with future technology ie, future videogame console, etc.
e)generally arent as up to date as g + n routers and may not support wap2, etc.
I can see you know alot about networking but when dealing with people who dont know shit about it its best to point them to the solution most mainstream therefore less prone to trouble in the future.
|
On November 30 2007 12:30 KissBlade wrote:
This is a VERY misleading title ... I thought at first that you were a model or in search of a model and needed help with the networking ...
It was a typo, model = modem.
Anyway, I'm going to call Verizon to see if I can switch this modem, if not, then I'd have to purchase a router, what kinds do you guys recommend? Links = win guys.
|
I'll network with you, I'm a hot male model
|
Okay, that's a standard DSL modem. It requires an USB connection and Windows drivers. That's what the USB is for. It doesn't offer all the routing features a normal router does.
You don't need a (wireless) router unless you want more control over your firewall/port forwarding OR have multiple computers.
|
On November 30 2007 12:53 jimminy_kriket wrote:Show nested quote +On November 30 2007 07:34 Myrmidon wrote:
You need a wireless router, as in a router that also functions as a wireless access point (WAP). Unless your connection is really really good (your download capped to something like over 1 megabyte per second), just get an IEEE 802.11b wireless router. It's commonly referred to as just wireless-b. 802.11a and 802.11g give higher speeds for the wireless connection (from your laptop to the WAP only), but it's pointless as 802.11b will suffice to provide something like 6-8 Megabits per second. The bottleneck, unless you're paying for some really high speeds, is going to be limited by your ISP rather than your own wireless technology.
edit: point is, wireless-b router will be slightly less expensive than wireless-g or wireless-a router, and most likely exactly the same for your purposes; don't let some salesperson trick you
What modems do is just modulate your signal from Ethernet/whatever into the cable or DSL or whatever service you have, and demodulate the other way to receive traffic. That's all a modem does, unless it is a modem + more functionality. Typically, in a home environment one connects a modem to a router, which can split the traffic so that multiple users can share that one connection you're getting from the modem. So ISP -> modem -> router -> computers.
If you just have one person who wants to connect to the Internet and don't want wireless, you could just connect your one computer straight to the modem.
Wireless routers are actually routers plus the wireless access point: they send and receive Wi-Fi signals and process that data before routing it to the appropriate next hop.
Yeah, a bridge is just what it sounds like, connects two points together. Nothing fancy there.
The USB port on the modem is so that you can connect it to a computer so you can do some advanced configurations to the thing manually through a terminal interface. It doesn't send data from the outside through this connection--rather, this is just a way to interface it to do some settings. Why get a wireless b router? I dont even know where to find those.. G routers cost like $30? There is no point getting a b router, other than the fact that; a)They dont travel as far b)they are slower if you want to network with other comps in the future. c)they cost like $10 less d)have a chance of being incompatible with future technology ie, future videogame console, etc. e)generally arent as up to date as g + n routers and may not support wap2, etc.
I still see the older and cheaper b technology in routers on the market these days, but yeah, getting a g router shouldn't cost too much anyway. It was just a silly suggestion by me in response to the fact that the OP seemed miffed that he might have to buy another device at all (with that mindset, getting the cheapest thing that works just as well might be better).
Some corrections, though:+ Show Spoiler +
Both 802.11b and g use the exact same frequency band, at 2.4 GHz. And they're allowed to transmit with the same power. Thus, in terms of the pure radio signal they send out, both go equivalently far.
G is fully backwards compatible with b, able to use all of the older modulation/transmission schemes for the 1, 2, 5.5, and 11 Mbps nominal data rates. It is also able to use OFDM (seen also in 802.11a) to achieve the nominal data rates of 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbps. This more advanced modulation scheme requires higher signal quality to demodulate correctly on the receiving end. The older modulation schemes in both b and g require a lower signal quality than the newer ones. Thus, since b and g use the exact same technology, they have the exact same range. The only difference is that with better conditions (closer, higher signal quality), 802.11g is able to switch to OFDM to achieve higher data rates.
These higher data rates are mostly useless as they're way above the cap supplied by most ISPs to homes. They're only useful if you expect to do wireless networking between computers through the router, as you pointed out.
As noted before, all 802.11g devices are fully backwards compatible with b devices because they're required to support all 802.11b functionality to be standards-compliant. Thus, any future technology that is compatible with 802.11g will be compatible with 802.11b.
WPA/WPA2 support etc. I guess might not be supported in old models, so you've got a point there about a possible problem.
|
So what kind of router should I buy? I'm going to call Verizon later to see if I can switch it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
