What to do when you find that your 802.11g wireless network just doesn’t cut the mustard anymore? Well you could go out and buy a swanky 802.11n ‘draft’ wireless all-in-one router and rip out what you currently have….. or you can try and cobble something together which will extend the range of the existing wireless network by using a ‘repeater’.
I already have a 802.11g wireless network which has been in place for eons and is provided by a D-Link DWL-2000AP+ wireless access point. This was connected into a separate 100Mbps switch which also has a Debian Linux server hanging off it which provides DHCP, DNS etc. and this is in turn also acting as a router to an ADSL modem. Part of the reason why this is all separate is hysterical historical due to the way it evolved and it suited me to in effect operate two separate LANs with the additional security of the Linux router/firewall. However, I recently also picked up a cheap, slightly used D-Link DSL-G624T all-in-one ADSL wireless router, firewall etc to assist in problem solving a home broadband connectivity problem for a relative.
When my home wireless network started dropping out at the far end of the house (where I have an old workhorse PC with a D-Link DWL-G520 PCI wireless card), the only viable short-term solution other than the aforementioned draft-n replacement was to try and put all the components into action to extend the signal. To cut a long story short(ish), some of the old kit has been decommissioned, the LAN has been ripped apart and plugged back together in a slightly different form and the DSL-G624T is now providing the main wireless connectivity with the DWL-2000AP+ moved downstairs configured to work in conjunction with the main wireless router and ‘repeat’ the signal.
Only time will tell whether this is a workable solution and if it provides robust connectivity. Monitoring it earlier it looks like it is dropping the occasional packet but whether this will be have any effect in the real world when the main uses are browsing/email we will have to wait and see.
