[engaged]

I've had a Netgear DG814 for over a year now, and have been very pleased with it so want to stay with Netgear.

I've got an iBook and a PC attached to it using Ethernet, but my wife now has a new work PC laptop with Centrino so we want to get either a Netgear MR814 (4-port DSL wireless router) or a WG602 (54Mbps wireless access point) but all this wireless stuff is new to me and I'm a tad confused... I know that I need to get an Airport card for my iBook, but don't know which Netgear product is the one for me.

The DG814 gived me the DSL access and already has the switching, and I want to be able to access the internet wirelessly on both the iBook and my wife's PC laptop, and continue to fileshare with PC from my iBook.

I'd be grateful for any advice and simple explanation of what the difference between the Netgear products is!

Thanks.

[Kenstee]

Originally posted by engaged:
I've had a Netgear DG814 for over a year now, and have been very pleased with it so want to stay with Netgear.

I've got an iBook and a PC attached to it using Ethernet, but my wife now has a new work PC laptop with Centrino so we want to get either a Netgear MR814 (4-port DSL wireless router) or a WG602 (54Mbps wireless access point) but all this wireless stuff is new to me and I'm a tad confused... I know that I need to get an Airport card for my iBook, but don't know which Netgear product is the one for me.

The DG814 gived me the DSL access and already has the switching, and I want to be able to access the internet wirelessly on both the iBook and my wife's PC laptop, and continue to fileshare with PC from my iBook.

I'd be grateful for any advice and simple explanation of what the difference between the Netgear products is!

Thanks.

In short, routers connect your cable or DSL connection into your network and distributes it. A wireless access point (WAP) just provides wireless access via a hard wire connection from a router.

The MR814v2 can work both work as a wired router and wireless access point. In other words, you can plug ethernet connections from this router into your Macs as well as provide wireless to your wireless enabled Macs/PCs. There are ususlly attractive sales on thsi unit on Buy and Amazon with a rebate from Netgear.

The WG602 is not a router. That is you'd connect an ethernet wire from your current router (DG814) and the WG602 would give you the wireless access you want. There are ususlly sales on this unit on Buy and Amazon with a rebate from Netgear.

If you're going to be doing a lot of large wireless transfers between computers I'd get the "g" or 54 mps version. If you are going to be using the wireless primarily for web crusing, etc. the "b" version (the MR 814v2) will serve you well. The MR 814v2 can be easily configured just to be a WAP. Another "g" option is you can get the Netgear WGR614 Wireless 802.11g Router instead of the WG602 and either repalce your DG814 or connect it to your DG814 and use it solely as a WAP. If you can get the 614 cheaper than the 602 this would be a good option.

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by Kenstee:
If you're going to be doing a lot of large wireless transfers between computers I'd get the "g" or 54 mps version.

He's got an iBook, so g will do him no good. IBooks can only connect via b. Also, once you connect any b device to your LAN, all the g devices step down in speed to accommodate b. The MR814v2 rocks. And b is perfect for most users.

[Scarpa]

Since you already have a NetGear router you don't need a wireless router. In fact, it will just add unneccessary complexity to your network that you probably won't want to deal with. Edit: You could of course buy a wireless router and toss out your wired one.

So in your case I would recommend you just get the 802.11b access point. This will allow you to use your iBook wirelessly with no speed hit for Internet use. For filesharing between your local computers you might want to plug the iBook in to the wired router but honestly unless you do a TON of file transfer you won't mind waiting a few extra minutes to transfer files.

What you'll end up with is a configuration similar to this:


Phone Jack -> DSL Modem -> Current NetGear router -> Access Point/PC/other wired devices -> iBook (via wireless from Access Point)

The router will manage all of the different devices and let them all connect to the net simultaneously. The access point will bridge the wireless and wired networks.

[Kenstee]

Originally posted by Scarpa:
Since you already have a NetGear router you don't need a wireless router. In fact, it will just add unneccessary complexity to your network that you probably won't want to deal with.

Not really. The MR814v2 can be set up as a simple WAP in about 2 seconds. I promise! If it is cheaper than a dedicated WAP there is certainly no downside or additional complexity going with one. In fact, a couple of weeks they were so cheap ($20 after rebate) that I got 2 of them to plug into my wired system to provide wireless coveraage all over my 3 story (and a basement) house. I've been really impressed with the coverage of the MR814v2.

Scenario 1:
Phone Jack -> DSL Modem -> Current NetGear router -> MR814v2 (set-up as a WAP) -> iBook (via wireless from MR814v2) while current wired system stays intact coming from your older Netgear router

Scenario 2:
Phone Jack -> DSL Modem -> Replace Current NetGear router with the MR814v2 (which has both wired and wireless (capability) -> iBook (via wireless from MR814v2) and wired to any non-wireless computers via the wired ports of the MR814v2 just like your older Netgear router.

[engaged]

Thanks for all your responses.

I've gone for the WG602, and await delivery. Sadly we don't get the same prices and 'rebates' that you guys do in the US - best price I could get for the WG602 was �70, about $125! At least the WG602 gives me the 'g' and should be a bit more future-proof.