I wondered if you could please help me with a problem?
I have a customer with a 350+ year-old house, which has thick walls, suspended ceilings, and plenty of steel through the stairwell. The router is in one downstairs room, and there is a 'dead zone' in another downstairs area, which I would like to cure.
Now, Sky have been out because this dead zone has some of their equipment. They have run a Cat5e cable directly from the router to their TV box in the dead zone. I was about to run some Cat6a cable alongside it, but firstly I couldn't find a Wi-Fi unit with an ethernet input, and secondly I thought that I would speak to you guys first and ask for help.
I have 3 possible solutions in my head:
Use the Cat5e cable and plug it into a Wi-Fi broadcast unit (they surely must exist?), and then put a USB Network adapter into the Sky box.
Use the Cat5e cable and plug it into a W-Fi broadcast unit that has an ethernet pass-through or an ethernet output. Do they exist?
Interrupt the DSL router feed with a modem, have one output going to the existing router, and then add a second router in the dead zone.
You may well have another option, and I am grateful for any help that you can give me.
> [...] The router is in one downstairs room, [...]
With my weak psychic powers, "the router" is not a very useful description of anything.
> [...] I couldn't find a Wi-Fi unit with an ethernet input, [...]
Where did you look for what? Practically any wireless router can be configured as a wireless access point, which seems to be what you want. There also exist purpose-built WAPs.
> 1. Use the Cat5e cable and plug it into a Wi-Fi broadcast unit (they > surely must exist?), [...]
Wireless access point.
> [...] and then put a USB Network adapter into the Sky box.
I know nothing about your (unspecified) "the Sky box", but, before I tried that, I would look for documentation which says that you can use any kind of "USB Network adapter" (wireless?) with it.
> 2. Use the Cat5e cable and plug it into a W-Fi broadcast unit that has > an ethernet pass-through or an ethernet output. Do they exist?
Wireless access point.
> 3. Interrupt the DSL router feed with a modem, have one output going > to the existing router, and then add a second router in the dead zone.
You lost me. How does this (unspecified) "the DSL router" compare with your (unspecified) "the router" or your (unspecified) "the existing router"?
It sounds as if you might want to connect two routers to one modem, which wouldn't work.
"solution" 2 sounds plausible. All you'd need would be a wireless access point (or a wireless router which is configured as a WAP).
Being conservative, I'd try to find some cheap/used router in a local thrift/junk store or friend's junk pile, configure it as a WAP, and run the experiment. Then, if the proof-of-concept works, but better performance is needed, look for something better to use as a WAP.
General info: Terms like "input" and "output" don't really apply to this kind of networking; all the paths and ports are bidirectional.
For practically any reasonably recent Netgear Rxxxx model, visit http://netgear.com/support , put in the model number, and look for Documentation. Get the User Manual (at least). Read. Look for a topic like "Use the Router as a WiFi Access Point Only" or simply "access point". For other makers' stuff, check the appropriate docs. There also exist general guides for router-as-WAP, such as:
That's written for a Netgear C6300-as-WAP, but the steps are about the same for any other router (any make/model) which lacks a one-step WAP option. If the router which you're reconfiguring has a WAN/Internet Ethernet port (unlike a Cxxxx), then leave it unconnected.
Now, Sky have been out because this dead zone has some of their equipment. They have run a Cat5e cable directly from the router to their TV box in the dead zone. I was about to run some Cat6a cable alongside it, but firstly I couldn't find a Wi-Fi unit with an ethernet input, and secondly I thought that I would speak to you guys first and ask for help.
You should not need to run an Ethernet cable alongside Sky's Cat5e cable ifit is simply an Ethernet cable feeding from a router into an Ethernet port on the TV box. You can just interrupt the existing cable, insert a cheap switch and plug the TV into that. You can then plug an wireless extender into another outlet port on the switch and use it in wireless access point (AP) mode.
Less then £20 in the UK. Other brands could be even cheaper.
Just about any "wifi extender" – what you call a "Wi-Fi broadcast unit" – should plug into that and provide wifi in what sounds like a small area. Again, you can pick up a Netgear device for <£30, possibly even less for other brands and no-name knock offs.
I am surprised that you could not find "a Wi-Fi unit with an ethernet input". Amazon lists them by the shelf load. (Buy from your preferred seller.) Search for "WiFi Repeater" and pick something that claims to work in AP mode. Most do.
> [...] insert a cheap switch and plug the TV into that. You can then > plug an wireless extender into another outlet port on the switch and use > it in wireless access point (AP) mode.
Yes, you could get an extender which works as a WAP, and, if it doesn't have enough Ethernet ports, then you could get a network switch to give you more Ethernet ports. Or, you could get a purpose-built WAP which has everything you want in one box. Or, you could get a router which can be configured as a WAP, and get everything you want in one box.
As usual, many things are possible. As my mama told me, "you better shop around."
