The Wireless Home

It is often the case that many existing homes here in the Inland Northwest have not been wired for networking. I have encountered many situations where, even when the homeowner has asked the contractor to "wire the house for networking", the request is more often than not misunderstood to mean "wire the house for TV" with coaxial cable rather than Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable. By then, of course, it is too late - the cost of retrofitting and pulling Cat 5e throughout an already dry-walled structure is prohibitive and it is messy and disruptive. The solution to network cable-challenged older homes and mis-wired new homes is to go wireless.

 

As we mentioned in the introduction to this section, the keys to any successful wireless LAN (or WLAN) installation are the use of robust and reliable equipment and paying careful attention to security. The garden-variety plastic-box stuff you can buy at Best Buy or Circuit City will work, after a fashion. But their shortcomings are typically mediocre security, weak radios and weak construction. The inherent lack of flexibility of the cheap stuff also works against you if you ever want to extend the range of the existing gear.

 

Every house or structure is different. Wireless networking, for all its value and simplicity, can sometimes be frustrating. Stated performance is seldom achieved. Coverage gaps and connection drops can sometimes occur for seemingly no reason. Sometimes adding another access point makes things worse, not better. All of your wireless links should be secure. You certainly don't want to give your neighbors a free ride on your broadband connection - or even worse - give them access to your network.

 

So using the right gear is crucial to reliable and secure performance. The price differential between the cheap plastic-box stuff and business-class gear isn't that great, and it's a no-brainer to go with the better gear when you consider the downside of not doing so - that is, poor performance and security risks. At a minimum, we recommend the NETGEAR ProSafe™ business-class series of routers, wireless routers and wireless access points for your home. Listed below are just a few of the solid building blocks that we use to build  powerful, flexible and secure wireless LANs for our customers. And yes, we set up and configure these devices for you. 

NETGEAR ProSafe FWG114P

(wired and wireless)

Cost: Approx $160.00

Best use: This all-in-one solution is ideal for homes that allow placement of the unit in a central location. The best application would be for a two story structure with a relatively open floor plan. For placement, the closer to the center of the structure the better. This scenario covers a good 70%-80% of our clients' homes.

Unit summary: NETGEAR's ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Firewall with USB Print Server consolidates multiple connection features and gives users the ability to share secure wired and wireless network connections. Designed to connect multiple PCs without running additional wires, it allows up to 253 users on the LAN - including up to 64 wireless users - to share one broadband Internet connection. Higher wireless speeds allow for distribution of large files and enables high performance videoconferencing. The built-in print server enables multiple users to use a single printer. Full-scale business-class security that includes Wi-Fi Protected Access, up to two simultaneous VPN tunnels and Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall ensures that the network, network users, and data communications are thoroughly protected. Fully compliant with IEEE 802.11g and backward compatible to any existing IEEE 802.11b network equipment. Web browser-based settings and on-screen help make setup a breeze. Fail safe features provide back-up connection to the Internet via an external modem (not supplied). Wall-mountable to save space. With 4 auto-sensing, switched LAN ports and basic Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, this unit handles up to 4-5 users well.

 

Wireless version - FWG114P - also available.

Download the NETGEAR FWG114P Datasheet

 

NETGEAR ProSafe FR114P Combination

Router, Switch, Print Server and Firewall

(wired only)

Cost: Approx $120.00

Best use: We recommend that you pair this unit with its companion WG 102 wireless access point as shown below when it is not feasible to centrally locate an all-in-one unit like the FWG114P shown above.  This router is small enough to fit in the common run of central home wiring enclosures. By separating the two units, we can deliver the network management and firewall capability where your wiring comes together. This allows us the freedom to place the wireless access point wherever it will work best in your home. We have one customer with a three story 12,000 sq ft home where we have used 3 of the WG102 wireless access points - one to cover each floor.

Unit summary: This ICSA certified, true firewall is broadband-capable, and provides you with business class security – Denial of Service (DoS) protection and Intrusion Detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts. VPN pass-through maximizes network security with access control and encryption. A built-in parallel port print server removes the bottleneck of a dedicated PC print server and supports multiple print jobs simultaneously. With 4 auto-sensing, switched LAN ports and basic Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, this unit handles up to 4-5 users well.

 

Wireless version - FWG114P - also available.

Download the NETGEAR FR114P Datasheet

 

ProSafe Series WG102 Combination Wireless Access Point / Wireless Ethernet Bridge / Wireless Repeater
Best use:  You can use this powerful device to extend your existing wireless network, cover dead spots or set up a wireless bridge to another building.  Paired with a capable router, this solution affords maximum flexibility, capability and low cost.

Unit summary: Fully compatible with IEEE 802.11g, (2.4 GHz), it can also be set for dynamic 108 Mbps 802.11g. With its robust security measures, simplified management and configuration, SNMP support, integrated IEEE 802.3af power over Ethernet (PoE), IntellilFi™ RF management technology and Wi-Fi certification, the WG102 brings standards-based enterprise-level functionality at a mid-market price. Complies with industry security standards for wireless data encryption, and user authorization. WPA2-Enterprise (802.11i) provides enhanced, interoperable wireless networking security. Supports MAC address authentication with 256-user access control list (ACL) and VPN pass-through.

 

Is it overkill for your home wireless network?  Almost certainly, but you'll never have to purchase another one again. And nothing even close to this price will do what it does.

 

 Cost: approx $150.00

Download the NETGEAR WG102 Datasheet (PDF).