Wireless Router as Access Point?

[sayaprayer]

I have a D-Link DI-614+ Wireless Router. Is it possible to use it as a wireless access point? I have two PCs i'm adding to an existing setup at a friends house. He has a wireless router downstairs connected to the cable modem and a wireless access point in his room that connects to the router downstairs. what would be the best way to get a connection to my room upstairs? I've never really used wireless before, can a router recieve a wireless connection and send it through the cable? I have two PC's in my room that I'd like to connect with my own personal router so I can share files. How are wireless PCI cards? Or would it just be faster to run a cable?

Sorry if this sounds confusing lol, if you need clarifying please ask.

 

[hilowe]

1. Yes, it is possible for a wireless router to send and receive a wireless signal. This is how my home network is setup, a Linksys wireless router connected to a cable modem.

2. Cable will definitely be faster. There are currently 3 standards that are used, 802.11a, b, and g. A and g are the fastest, and can only transmit data at 54 Mbps, whereas Cat5e cable will do 100 Mbps.

As for the best way to get a connection, you'll hear lots of opinions, but it will depend on what you want to do with this network. You mentioned filesharing, so a wired connection will probably end up being better for you.

 

[sayaprayer]

You make 54MBs sound like not that much. I have cable and its about 2Mbs, so I'm thinking wireless internet would be ok. Then maybe a wired network for my file sharing. I only want to share files between my two PCs and not my roomates. Does my plan sound do-able?

 

[hilowe]

I have a wireless B network (11 Mbps), which is what my wife uses to surf the internet.

What you could probably do is this. Buy a hub or switch (switch is preferrable). You'll only need a 4-port. Hook your computers to the hub or switch with Cat 5e cable. Then, add a wireless access point. You will have to play with the settings on this, but I believe that you will have to configure this in what it will call "ad-hoc". You'll also have to set your wireless router up for ad-hoc as well.

The only reason I was warning you away from wireless was the fact that you had said file sharing, and I didn't think about this type of setup when I was first replying.

Another thing to remember about wireless is this. 54 Mbps is the maximum throughput. If you have two computers acessing the internet at the same time, speed drops to 27 Mbps, half to one, half to the other. As more computers access the wireless, speeds drops that much more. This is why wireless isn't ideal for file sharing, IMO.