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July 22, 2008 04:13 PM

Categories: MyOpenRouter Lounge

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Ron Repking

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Joined: 11/19/2007

Some questions I have regarding the purchase of a new router (mine broke):

I have to admit that I haven't been up on the latest in wireless standards lately.  Is Wireless N a standard yet, or should I stick with G?  My existing wireless connections are all built in to laptops, so I don't really have any legacy Wireless G technology that would go to waste.

I'm not a tinkerer, so probably wouldn't need an open source router, or would I?  Are there other advantages that should lean me in tha t direction?

I have a MediaSmart Server, so I'll be using the network heavily to stream video and audio as well as backup my devices.  I would love to do this wirelessly if possible.

Any thoughts, inputs would be appreciated!

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Comments 1-3 of 3 | Latest Comment

July 22, 2008 4:40 PM

This is really a great question. There's a lot of advantages to going with Wireless-N.

First off, you'll get up to double the speed (or more) of a Wireless-G connection, in theory. You may not need this speed for standard internet use, but it would be helpful when streaming HD video or playing demanding online games.

Second, you'll get expanded range from Wireless-N, again up to double or more of a Wireless-G product. NETGEAR's WNR2000 Wireless-N router claims up to 5X the range, and 15X the speed of a Wireless-G connection.

Also, if you get a dual-band Wireless-N router, you can take advantage of the 5 gHz band to help reduce interference from household devices.

The current devices are built on the 802.11n Draft 2.0. The draft is expected to be finalized in March 2009, so again in theory, upgrading to Wireless-N now will prepare you for the future. (See Wikipedia for more info on the specific updates to the status of the draft.)

In order to take advantage of it, though, you'll need to get Wireless-N adapters for your laptop/etc. Here are some examples.

And for your last question, should you buy an open source router? It depends on what you're looking to do. If you're not much of a tinkerer or a hacker, then an open source router may offer features that you don't need. I do like the DD-WRT firmware, but will openly admit that I don't really use the advanced features that it offers, at least not right now, since I mostly use it for simple internet access. So I think a standard router would work just fine for you, check out this one for starters.

It's a moot point, though, if you're looking for a Wireless-N router; I don't know of an open source router that supports Wireless-N. (The WGR614L is Wireless-G, for example.)

Peter Redmer
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July 30, 2008 10:51 AM

My IMHO: if you have .n devices to use it with, .n router is a must. If you have no any .n devices, buying device with .n will not give you benefits but still good to have benefits in future.However .n support is not only a criteria to go.You may also want gigabit ports and\or fast CPU so router can really cope with routing and firewalling of all this traffic.I'm personally like USB jacks and will never buy device without USB since this extends device features set greatly.And so on.

September 8, 2008 1:21 PM

I ended up going with the RangeMax WNDR3300 Dual Band Wireless-N Router.  It's screaming fast with the Wireless N card that I bought for my laptop Cool

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Comments 1-3 of 3 | Latest Comment

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