On Thu, 15 Mar 2007 23:10:19 GMT, "Pete" <not@this.address>
wrote:

>Hi
>
>I'm looking to set up a wireless network and I'm a bit lost.

First is to define what you need, like range, security, etc.


>
>My PC has a 2MB connection to Virgin Media(Telewest) via a DSL Surfboard
>SB3100 cable modem. I also have an imac G3 400mhz with an ethernet socket
>that wants to share the internet access.

You mean you want it to? Because in general it would
probably rather be connected to a router to share internet
acess, which is more reliable, more secure, and relieves the
burden of having to have that system running for some other
to use the internet connection.

Fortunately, wifi "routers" which are actually combo devices
of router/switch/access-point, are perhaps the most common
and oddly enough, often no more expensive than devices which
only have a fraction of the features.


>
>I was told the best thing would be to get a wireless router and plug it into
>my existing cable modem, then connect the router via cable to my PC. Then
>get a wireless ethernet bridge for the iMac to connect to the wireless
>router.

Modem->Wifi Router-> Wired and wireless systems.

Whether you want your PC or iMac to connect by wire or
wirelessly to the wifi router is up to you. You need no
wireless ethernet bridge per se, just a wireless network
adapter in each system that will connect wirelessly instead
of using wires.

You "could", in theory, get a wireless bridge to connect the
iMac instead of a more typical PCI or USB wifi card, but
unless you have a very long distance or very noisey 2.4GHz
environment (like a lot of very nearby neighbors in an
apartment building also using wifi), you aren't likely to
need the bridge, the benefit to it is mostly that with an
extrenal bridge type device you have a stronger send and
receive signal - but most people don't need it.




>
>The thing is that from a quick look around, wireless ethernet bridges seem
>to be quite expsensive at the moment and it seems I can get a "Buffalo
>Airstation G54 Wireless Cable/DSL Smart Router " for the same price if not
>less.

Many wifi routers support bridging. It seems price is
mainly a function of sales volume, that by buying the
multifunction device (wifi router) that is most popular, you
get it all for same or lower cost.



>So i thought why not get 2 of them, connect one to the iMac, one to
>the PC and let them chat.

To me this makes no sense, you should just use one as a
router and do as mentioned previously, a PCI or USB card.
"IF" you wanted to use them in bridged mode, I'd set one up
as the router, not shared from the PC, then set the other up
as a bridge to it.

This is just for typical usage, you don't mention any unique
requirements.


>The marketing information on the Buffalo Router
>states "In addition to fast wireless performance, WHR-G54S features a
>built-in external switch between wireless router and wireless bridge access
>point."

That router will do the task, yes. It will be even more
versatile if you flashed it to run "DD-WRT" (Google will
find info), though DD-WRT is a bit advanced, the features
might be overwhelming for someone not accustomed to
configuring a wifi network.

Also look into the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54, which is essentially
the same thing but with a better antenna and higher signal
strength. It paired with DD-WRT is a very powerful
combination, but the stronger the signal the more important
security is - otherwise you might find neighbors a house or
two, or several walls away, can access it too.



>
>Would someone please confirm that this is saying what I think it is saying?
>Does this mean I could buy 2 of these and connected one to the existing
>cable modem as a wireless router and connected the other one to the iMac but
>flick a switch on trhe imac router so that it acts as a wireless ethernet
>bridge?

You can buy two and set it up like that, but that's not what
I thought you meant when I wrote "to me this makes no
sense..." above as you'd written to connect one to the PC,
as if you were going to use the PC for the internet
connection sharing still, not using either router as a
router but only as two wifi bridges.

Yes you should get at least one wifi router like the
WHR-G54S, and then you can either get a second one and use
the second one as a bridge, or what I'd suggested above,
that unless you expect atypically low performance due to
some problem on-site, just get a PCI or USB wifi network
adapter for the iMac (if there isn't one built in already,
this i don't know).



>I am assuming the ethernet bridge/router would work without me
>having to install or configure anything on the iMac.

Depends a bit on how it's currently configured, I plead
ignorance to whether it will automatically reconfig itself
to do this, but in general it is possible, not unlikely.

However, as mentioned above you probably dont need a bridge
configuration, bridges are more often to connect two
networks, not just add one PC or MAC... for each individual
system on a wifi network it is more typical, and usually
cheaper and less intrusive (due to smaller networking device
than a router is at the system/desk) to just get a wifi
network adapter. Since the WHR-G54S supports up to 802.11g,
keep that in mind. Well it might support 108Mbps mode with
other Buffalo adapters, that I don't recall, but you will at
some point have to decide if you want to spend more money
for a MIMO type with longer range, or a pre-N with higher
speed & range. To a certain extent speed depends on signal
strength, getting a 54Mbps capable router means only that
you get near(er) 54MBps (actually lower but as a starting
reference point...) but the poorer the signal, the more the
speed drops. For internet access and small file copying on
the LAN this will not be a problem but if you had large
files, like multimedia (video) sharing ongoing between the
two systems, 802.11g is a little weak/slow for that, in
which case I'd look at a "pre-N" router and network adapter
for the iMac.

>
>I Hope what I have said makes sense as I'm not a network expert
>
>Would someone also confirm that I can physicaly connect my pc to the router
>rather than have a wirelesss connection?

Yes absolutely, the router has a wired ethernet switch built
in, you can connect (it's either 4 or 5, I forget which)
cables to other systems or even other switches then even
more other systems to expand a larger wired network from it,
in addition to the wireless clients that connect.

You might check out some basic wifi networking tutorials,
Google will find some. I suppose the main point I can
confirm as to your questions is "yes" any of the things
mentioned are possible with that router. It's primary
drawback is that it's only 80211g, not pre-N or MIMO, but
these latter two cost more and you may not (or might, we
can't know what speed or longer ranges you might need for
your uses) need the extra speed. "Most" people just setting
up a basic wifi network to get internet access and light
file sharing can do so fine with that router. Typically the
weaker link is the networking adpater used at the client end
(the iMac), some have a lot of walls or noisey environment
and will have more problems or lower speed than others.

To get the maximum possible performance at any reasonable
price, you would get two pre-N routers, and add-on
directional antennas. This is a roughly $300 proposition,
versus about $40 USB for the WHR-G54S plus $20 for a 802.11g
PCI or USB network adapter for the iMac. Then again, I
don't know how much more an adapter might cost for iMac
versus PCs. Two WHR-G54S is not a bad idea, I didnt mean to
discourage that, it's just a little bit more expensive.

So really it's do-able many different ways, it's just up to
you to decide which you need.



>Here's the marketing blurb:
>

<snipped out>

I have a WHR-HP-G54, it does fine but I dont even remember
the menu settings from the Buffalo firmware as I immediately
flashed mine to DD-WRT. I vaguely recall people saying it
worked ok with the Buffalo firmware but to me it is better
to have more features even if they're not *all* used.