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Router questions

post #1 of 11
10/25/10 at 10:11pm
Thread Starter 
Years ago, this forum helped me decide what laptop to buy.
I purchased a Lenovo T61.
I had the Intel(R) Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN pre-installed.

I am considering buying a wireless router because there is more than one laptop in the house.

The other computer has a Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN mini card

As I've researched the web for information to educate myself about routers, I've found that most, if not all, wireless routers still allow for a direct cable plug in.

I am wondering the advantages and disadvantages of connecting via cable or using wireless transmission of the internet to the computer(s). I am also thinking that one computer can be plugged in and another receive the signal via wireless reception.

I am also wondering the advantages and disadvantages of using a cable splitter off the modem to run two lines for each of us to plug into.

I am new in looking into this kind of setup and any background information about how these components (modem, router, wireless, cards et al) work to help with me understanding what you are describing is appreciated.

Or, I may have further questions...

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post #2 of 11
10/25/10 at 11:19pm
Computers connect via ethernet, not cable. Most wireless routers have 4 ethernet ports as well as a wireless signal. That means you can connect both wired and wirelessly at the same time.
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post #3 of 11
10/25/10 at 11:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
Computers connect via ethernet, not cable. Most wireless routers have 4 ethernet ports as well as a wireless signal. That means you can connect both wired and wirelessly at the same time.
What does connecting at the same time do?
The connection coming into the computer right now that I am using is an ethernet connection?

What does one consider when buying a router?
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post #4 of 11
10/25/10 at 11:39pm
Connecting at the same time means you'll have multiple computers sharing your internet bandwidth. For most cable connections, there's enough bandwidth that this won't be an issue.

Yes, the connection coming into your computer is almost assuredly ethernet.

For wireless routers, the biggest thing to consider is how strong the connection is at various distances. You can find this out by reading router reviews.
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post #5 of 11
10/26/10 at 7:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
Connecting at the same time means you'll have multiple computers sharing your internet bandwidth. For most cable connections, there's enough bandwidth that this won't be an issue.

Yes, the connection coming into your computer is almost assuredly ethernet.

For wireless routers, the biggest thing to consider is how strong the connection is at various distances. You can find this out by reading router reviews.

I understand the ethernet connection.
What numbers, or designations allow me to know how strong a wireless router is?
Does having multiple ethernet connections slow down the actual cable internet speed?
Does the strength of a wireless router lessen based on multiple computers tapping into the wireless connection or does the signal remain constant?

I appreciate your time. This is making more sense for me.
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post #6 of 11
10/26/10 at 8:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mijale View Post
I understand the ethernet connection.
What numbers, or designations allow me to know how strong a wireless router is?
Does having multiple ethernet connections slow down the actual cable internet speed?
Does the strength of a wireless router lessen based on multiple computers tapping into the wireless connection or does the signal remain constant?

I appreciate your time. This is making more sense for me.
The signal is measured in megabits per second transfer speed (Mbps). Since your primary purpose is sharing an internet connection, you want the minimum wireless signal to be higher than your rated cable connection. For instance, if you have a 10 Mbps cable internet connection, you want the wireless signal to be greater than 10 Mbps.

Having multiple connections won't affect the total cable internet bandwidth, but it may decrease the available bandwidth of one computer if the other computer is using a high-bandwidth application (streaming video, online games, etc.) If the total available bandwidth is high enough, however, this will likely not be an issue.
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post #7 of 11
10/27/10 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
The signal is measured in megabits per second transfer speed (Mbps). Since your primary purpose is sharing an internet connection, you want the minimum wireless signal to be higher than your rated cable connection. For instance, if you have a 10 Mbps cable internet connection, you want the wireless signal to be greater than 10 Mbps.

Having multiple connections won't affect the total cable internet bandwidth, but it may decrease the available bandwidth of one computer if the other computer is using a high-bandwidth application (streaming video, online games, etc.) If the total available bandwidth is high enough, however, this will likely not be an issue.
This makes sense.
What about the wireless cards in the computers themselves? Do they affect how well a signal is picked up and how strong a connection is made with the signal?
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post #8 of 11
10/27/10 at 5:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mijale View Post
This makes sense.
What about the wireless cards in the computers themselves? Do they affect how well a signal is picked up and how strong a connection is made with the signal?
Main player - antenna!

cheers ...
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post #9 of 11
10/27/10 at 5:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mijale View Post
This makes sense.
What about the wireless cards in the computers themselves? Do they affect how well a signal is picked up and how strong a connection is made with the signal?
Yes they do. In order to explain this, I have to get a little bit technical, so bear with me. There are currently 4 major wireless standards that govern access speed. These standards are known collectively as 802.11 and are defined by the IEEE. Each standard version is known by a different letter, and both the router and the wireless card must support the standard in order to transfer information using it.

The standards are as follows:
  • 802.11a has a signal of up to 54 Mbps but has a shorter range
  • 802.11b has a signal of up to 11 Mbps and a wider range than 802.11a
  • 802.11g has the same signal strength as 802.11a and the same range as 802.11b
  • finally, 802.11n has a signal strength up to 150 Mbps and roughly double the range of 802.11b/g

Obviously, 802.11n is the most recent standard and most current notebooks have wireless cards compatible with it. However, since it gets its extra range and speed by using multiple antennas, wireless cards will vary in their abilities to harness all the potential depending on how many antennas they use (2, 3, or 4). There can also be variances between different chipsets used to make the cards.

Another important thing to note is that if the wireless card you're using does not support 802.11n, then you will not be able to transfer using the higher speed and greater range 802.11n allows, even if you buy a router that supports it.

I hope that wasn't too confusing.
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post #10 of 11
11/1/10 at 8:15am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
Yes they do. In order to explain this, I have to get a little bit technical, so bear with me. There are currently 4 major wireless standards that govern access speed. These standards are known collectively as 802.11 and are defined by the IEEE. Each standard version is known by a different letter, and both the router and the wireless card must support the standard in order to transfer information using it.

The standards are as follows:
  • 802.11a has a signal of up to 54 Mbps but has a shorter range
  • 802.11b has a signal of up to 11 Mbps and a wider range than 802.11a
  • 802.11g has the same signal strength as 802.11a and the same range as 802.11b
  • finally, 802.11n has a signal strength up to 150 Mbps and roughly double the range of 802.11b/g

Obviously, 802.11n is the most recent standard and most current notebooks have wireless cards compatible with it. However, since it gets its extra range and speed by using multiple antennas, wireless cards will vary in their abilities to harness all the potential depending on how many antennas they use (2, 3, or 4). There can also be variances between different chipsets used to make the cards.

Another important thing to note is that if the wireless card you're using does not support 802.11n, then you will not be able to transfer using the higher speed and greater range 802.11n allows, even if you buy a router that supports it.

I hope that wasn't too confusing.

What this looks like to me is that the router takes the signal and can transmit it in various outputs (a, b, g, n). These are transmission signal strengths.
A wireless card has to be able to receive the strength being transmitted, upgraded cards receiving stronger signals.
Antennas exist. In the laptop?

If there is a built in wireless card, as is the case with the Lenovo and the Dell, the reception of the signal by these computers is subject to the ability of the card within. Regardless of the signal strength.

Can there be an external wireless card inserted to increase the laptops ability to receive a signal?
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post #11 of 11
11/1/10 at 10:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mijale View Post
What this looks like to me is that the router takes the signal and can transmit it in various outputs (a, b, g, n). These are transmission signal strengths.
A wireless card has to be able to receive the strength being transmitted, upgraded cards receiving stronger signals.
Antennas exist. In the laptop?

If there is a built in wireless card, as is the case with the Lenovo and the Dell, the reception of the signal by these computers is subject to the ability of the card within. Regardless of the signal strength.

Can there be an external wireless card inserted to increase the laptops ability to receive a signal?
Yes, antennas are built into the laptop. And you are correct that laptop signal reception is predominantly determined by the ability of the card within in combination with the computer's distance from the router or access point.

While there are external wireless cards, they are designed as replacements, not supplements. In other words, you could use either the internal or external wireless card, but they wouldn't help each other.
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