Wireless Bridge Vs Access point

[Sui]

I want to get more internet access for the living room without buying a wireless adaptor for each device.  (game consoles, pc media box, room for expansion )  Looks like my options would be to either buy a bridge or an access point.

The bridge is designed for the single purpose of getting a wireless signal to wired devices.  The access is made to get a wired access and turn it into a wireless, but most all of these can be used in reverse to serve as a bridge.  Most access points are cheaper.... why?

Is there any advantage of one over the other?


I have an extra 8 port switch that could be used but I would prefer to get one device to help limit clutter.  The multiple ports is to save me the trouble of switching cables.  I do not expect to multiple devices using the internet at the same time. 

[Sui]

Access points tend to only have one port since they are designed to go from 1 wire to a wireless network.  Doing it the other way around will require the use of switches if you want mutliple connections.  Access points can help relay signals to increase your wireless range.  There are some issues with mac addresses.

Bridges can be one to one, but they tend to have multiple ports.  Do not know about repeating wireless signal.  It is made to deal with mac address issues.

A wireless router can act as an access point.  (this is how I have to use mine due to great dislike between it and my cablemodem)  However working the router as a wireless to wired bridge seems to only be possible with 3rd party firmware updates.   It can deal with mac address issues.


Conclusion:
If you have an extra switch, and do not mind the additional devices, then an access point will be a low cost solution. Even with the price of a switch it will be cheaper than most multiport bridges.  Personally I'm concerned with the mac addresses.

Bridge is simple, to the point, and will not require additional hardware.   It costs the most but the extra money might be well spent if you dislike clutter.

Wireless router is the best solution if you can find one that does not require 3rd party firmware, and will work with your current wireless network.  Good price, low clutter, more flexibility.



Right now I'm leaning towards a bridge.  It might be the least trouble in the long run.

[Warriv]

GG for resurrecting  a topic from almost 4 years ago, but here it goes.

Sui, what did you end up doing?  I'm going to have to pull off the same scheme next year in my apartment as we only have a 10Mb wireless connection and no wall jacks .  I know there are issues with all of these just curious how things worked out for you.

[Sui]

I got a 4 or 5 port bridge.  I can check the model after work if you want.

I have my wii and xbox360 connected to it.  Having the extra ports is really nice when someone brings over a notebook and they do not want to mess with wireless settings. 

Initial setup took an attempt or two after I moved.  (probably keeping my old wireless information)  Once I got it working I've not messed with it since.  Power outages etc.. haven't caused problems.

[Warriv]

That's good to know. I'm for sure going to have to get one seeing as I plan on bringing up 5 towers for funsies (all utilities included ) and none of them have wireless cards.

[BioGenx2b]

Resurrecting old thread with some relevant info:

I've got a Linksys WRT54G ver.6 that I've had for a few years now but had no use for it. I needed a wireless adapter but had none, and my D-Link router which would have natively supported it was not available at the time. Thus, after some internet searching, I found a way to use custom firmware on the device. Now it's using DD-WRT Linux-based software and has all the features that a device which would normally cost 4 times its initial price has. Suffice to say it took a little bit of work, but I now have a working B/G wireless bridge that's fairly simple to use and set up, and it works like a charm.

Long story short, if you've got some old hardware that you think might do the trick for you, see what you can do about upgrading the software on it before you go and spend money on expensive new hardware. You might just save yourself a hefty price tag, and learn something in the (arduous but worthy) process.

[Nibsosaurus]

omg necro lololol

Soooooo
I was reading that you can take a laptop with wireless capabilities, fiddle around with it and use it as a wireless adapter for your 360 (through use of a crossover cable and bridging your wireless and wired connections).
With this knowledge it seemed logical to me that you could take it a step further and instead use the internet now coming out of your laptop to hook up to an extra router I have lying around, and then connect devices to that (my dad bought a pogoplug for work/leisure, and has tasked me with setting it up...he doesn't want it in my room where the modem is located); however, I'm not having any luck getting this set up....any help? :>

[Quaker]

Are you using the router to connect the laptop to the internet? Or, are you trying to use it as a hub? Using a router as just a hub could cause problems in this case.
Another question - do I understand you correctly - the modem is in your room and you want the laptop and pogoplug somewhere else?

If I was trying to do this, this is what I'd try:
- connect a wireless router to the modem.
- set up the laptop to connect to the router, and therefore, the internet, wirelessly.
- connect the other devices to the laptop using a small HUB.
- set the other devices to connect to the internet through the laptop. This is easy to do with computers when you set up an internet connection using the Connection Wizard, but I don't know how you set up a Xbox to connect.

The pogoplug could be a problem. I'm not sure if you could get the pogo to upstream through the laptop, but it's worth a try. You may need to open certain ports in the router and point them to the pogo - which depends somewhat on what ports the pogo uses and how you set up an IP for it. (A static IP would probably be best.

[Nibsosaurus]

The modem is a modem/router combo, what I want to do is take the laptop's wireless connection and allow access to it via its ethernet port (I've tried bridging the two connections and simply sharing the wireless connection, and neither seem to work).

I followed some guides on how to do this for just the xbox (I'd imagine if it worked for this it would work for anything), and going through word for word its still not working :<

[Quaker]

Did you use a hub to connect the Xbox to the laptop? If you tried connecting the Xbox to the laptop's LAN port directly, you would need a "crossover" cable - a special ethernet cable with 2 of the wires reversed. A hub would not require a special cable, but of course, you'd need 2 cables - 1 from the laptop to the hub and 1 from the Xbox to the hub.

Er, I guess I should stop saying "hub" as this seems to mean a USB unit these days - so "network switch" would be a better word. This is an example of what I mean:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817111009CVF

There are even cheaper ones, but the auto detect/auto switch aspect is nice and simple to use.

This is an example of a crossover cable:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200386CVF
but, if you want to connect more than one device to the laptop, you'll need a network switch and then you can use regular cables

(The prices in the above links are in CDN dollars)

[Nibsosaurus]

Thought I mentioned I was using a crossover cable in the first post, looks like I left it out. =X

I've tried directly connecting xbox to laptop with the crossover, and using the old router as a hub-esque sort of deal (neither work Oo)

[Quaker]

Did any of the methods you used involve setting up ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) on the laptop?

[Nibsosaurus]

I've tried using ICS on the laptop's wireless connection, and bridging the wireless and ethernet port, and neither have produced any results