henry999@eircom.net (Henry) hath wroth:
>Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:
>
>> henry999@eircom.net (Henry) hath wroth:
>>
>> >for some Buffalo equipment,
>>
>> Any particular model number?
>
>WHR-125
>WHR-G54S
>WHR-HP-G54
>
>> >2 Products in 1 !
>> >
>> >External Switch Quickly And Easily Changes Between Wireless Router and
>> >Wireless Access Point
>> >
>> >Router Mode -- Shares a Cable or DSL connection with multiple wired and
>> >wireless devices
>> >
>> >Access Point Mode -- Quickly adds wireless access to your existing local
>> >area network
>>
>> >This seems to indicate that you can either connect to the other
>> >computers on the LAN for file transfers, and to printers for print jobs,
>> >etc. OR you can connect to the internet -- but not both simultaneously.
>> >Can that be right???
>>
>> Nope. Not even close.
>Well ... 'external switch' ... toggle a<->b? push-button? ... 'changes
>between' ... n.b., "between", i.e., one or the other
Is that a question, answer, or comment? I can't tell..........?
Todays "wireless router" is a combination of ingredients. It consists
of:
1. Wireless access point which is actually a wireless bridge.
2. An ethernet router
3. An ethernet switch with one port connected to the wireless bridge.
4. Optional USB or parallel ports for running print servers.
It is NOT necessary to switch, toggle, jumper, or otherwise configure
these sections in order for them to function. For example, you can
successfully use a wireless router as a 4 port ethernet switch,
without involving any of the other sections or configuring anything.
>> It is NOT suitable for a print server, as the device that plugs into
>> the printer is actually a wireless ethernet client bridge, and not an
>> access point.
>Are you saying that if I have a printer connected to one of the ethernet
>ports on such a wireless router, I can't print to it from a wireless
>laptop???
Nope. I'm saying that a typical wireless access point is unsuitable
as a print server. The print server function is a Layer 3 feature,
which requires the router section to function (for LPR/LPD services on
port 515). Since an access point has no router section, this isn't
going to work. You can run any protocol *THROUGH* an access point,
but the print server will need to be elsewhere.
You can do literally anything with a wireless access point and
wireless client combination that you can do with a CAT5 ethernet
cable. That's because the way wireless works is via bridging and
encapsulation. Bridging does not involve any layer 3 services and
knows nothing about IP addresses or routing. The 802.3 ethernet
packets are encapsulated inside 802.11 wireless packets. What comes
out of the ethernet port at the other end of a wireless link is
exactly the same as what would come out of it if there were a wired
connection instead of wireless. If you can print through an ethernet
cable, then you can also do it via wireless.
As Mark McIntyre mentioned, Buffalo is dispensing what might be called
techno-hype or marketing-speak. Providing a user settable function
that can also be done quite easily by simple configuration changes,
does not constitute much of a feature. However, Buffalo does make it
sound good. They do the same thing with other buzzwords, such as
"MIMO Performance" which has nothing to do with MIMO and is only
mentioned to capitalize on the latest industry acronym or buzzword.
Much as I like Buffalo products, I can do without the hype.
>cheers,
Sorry, but I don't drink.
--
Jeff Liebermann
jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Re: router and/or access point? 
Linear Mode
