Running a W/LAN from scratch!

Chris_

Chris_

Excalibur
Hello,

Today I am going out to buy some network gear to set my home W/LAN up. But first, I will need some advice on what to buy to get it running.

I have 2 PC's, 1 Laptop, and a PSP. (1 PC is incomplete). From my knowledge I need a Router, I've got a NTL Modem and I will need a PCMIA network card (for the laptop). The PC is running XP Professional and the laptop XP Home.

My plan is to have PC's on the hard wired LAN, and the Laptop and PSP on the WLAN. The current internet connection i have is NTL 1mbps DSL. I have found a router, Dlink DI-614+ from a computer shop near me. But, from other pictures I have seen the DI-614+ has 2 aerials and this one only shows 1. :x: Will this be the case or is it just a different picture.

My budget is <£100 but I am not going to buy network cable yet (for my incomplete PC). Could anyone please give quick advice to what i need? and I will try and match it from www.spotonuk.com

P.S. once the network is set up, will i need any Firewall software, or can I just use the router as my firewall?

Thanks in advance!

- Chris :)
 
I'm not sure if the picture is the same model you have or not, but D-Link very well may have altered the model to have a single antennae instead of two.

That router has a firewall in it, so, no, you don't need an additional firewall. You may have to do a little setup on it, but they'll be stated in the instruction manual.

You will need Category 5 (commonly CAT 5) cabling. So long as you don't have any cables going longer than 100meters (approx. 330ft.), you'll be fine. If you do, then you'll need to have switch (or hub) in the works along that run. The reason for this is that the signal can only maintain it's integrity for 100m before needing a boost. Passing it through a switch or hub (or another router, but you don't need to have an additional one) will re-amplify the signal.
 
Right, thanks BB. Will I need any more cables/minor bits to connect the modem to the router? And this current PC doesn't have any LAN Ports. So would a PCI Network card be needed?

- Thanks
Chris
 
For all PCs that need to be connected to the network you'll need a network card and some cat5e cable to connect them to the router.

For every wireless device you'll need a wireless NIC, unless it already has one built in.
 
Chris_ said:
Right, thanks BB. Will I need any more cables/minor bits to connect the modem to the router? And this current PC doesn't have any LAN Ports. So would a PCI Network card be needed?

- Thanks
Chris
Click to expand...

Before I start, I did find some info on your router. DI-614+ rev.B has a different processor and only 1 antennae.

Yes. Any PC that doesn't have a build-in network card (pretty much any motherboard within the past 2 years has one---it's become standard).

You will probably want a short cable to run between the modem and the router...just a suggestion.
 
Thanks very much guys! I've successfully got my home W/LAN up and running fine. Im on our laptop right now.

I have the DI-624+ with 1 antenna, and a Asus USB WLAN Adapter 22Mbps. It's great and im sure I won't have any hassle with my own pc when it's ready for internet.

Once again thanks
- Chris
 
Make sure you set your security properly for your network, if all your devices support it choose WPA (AES or TKIP flavours). Or you can choose 128bit (actually 104bit) WEP encryption, but WPA is much more secure.
 
I've currently just got it set as WEP 64-bit. There is the option to set it as WPA, or WPA-PSK. Which one is the best to go for?
 
Im Using WPA-PSK. Another thing, I want to be able to browse some of the folders/files on the laptop from this desktop (gateway). But, when i go to Add Network Places, I don't know what to type after "\\Laptop\(HERE)" can anybody point me in the right direction?
 
Make sure you've set up file and printer sharing on the laptop and they're in the same workgroup.

If you've set up your Shared documents folder to be shared with the share name "sharedocs" for example, then you would go to \\Laptop\sharedocs.
 
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