Info on WPA2, compatibile APs and DIR-655

[argint]

Hi All,

Firstly congatulations on a first rate site. Im hooked. and rely on this place to get 'reality-based' information.

Im seeking opinions/thoughts from others on a WiFi upgrade we wish to implement.

We are a small, yet growing business.

Current configuration:

• - 8Mb DSL in to a USRobotics MaxG W Router upstairs office, with a booster arial.
• - USRobotics Range Extender downstairs
• - USRobotics Wirelss bridge feeding powerline adapters for our printer requirements downstairs.
• - WPA/AES encryption enabled (cannot use WPA2 on router because the range extender doesnt support it, only WPA)
• - Number of associations varies, as people are rarely in offices all at one time, but day by day we can have 10, peaking at up to 20.

Concerns with current system:

• - The range extender occasionaly loses its connection with the upstairs router. Its odd but its often first thing in the morning when we come in to work (I know, it doesnt make sense!) I think a cable from upstairs to downstairs is really the way to go here
• - The firmware is really dated - 2005, and no more updates likely.
• - Router is probably being stretched already, Im sure we can get better performance than this with newer processors, better firmware and hopefully better range.
• - No Gigabit ports available, I have a Buffalo Linkstation Pro Duo, siting in a box, as its no use for my regular full image backups when i do maintenance on laptops (I try to image before I make changes, then image after, deleteing the pre image when im happy that things are working ok after a period of time). We really need a wired Gigabit port for this.
• - Lack of monitoring facilities with this basic setup, Id really like to be able to monitor the router activity, maybe SNMP, but I dont think Ill get that, unless someone kows better. Logging is very basic too.

To summarize:

• If we upgrade to a DIR-655 and run a cable down to a compatible AP, would we see better performance using WPA2 on all connecting devices? I think we would have to dump our exisiting equipment, since the bridges and range extender only have WPA. ie does everything need to be running WPA2
  
• Does anyone know of a good set of compatible devices to accomodate our requirements?
  
• Are we asking too much of these routers wo wish to have a max of about 20 people connected at once? What happens when too many people connect?
  
• Could we even get 2 ADSL lines and a balancer or something to give us more bandwith that fed in to a wireless router?

We want to have a system that can grow with us, and hence my questions, I dont want to keep fumbling with different equipment, making bad choices.

Apologies if I have aske too much here, but any help is greatly appreciated

Thak-you in advance

Alan

 

[scotty]

A DIR-655 is a pretty solid home unit. I've been running a couple for a while now with no complaints (albeit only in small home environments).

It sounds like all of this is for a home office / small business scenario. A DIR-655 could certainly handle most of your situation, but for more than about 5 users, and a business relying upon it, I would personally start to look more towards a small-business grade device. 'Small-biz grade' devices tend to be build a little better, with better hardware, better warranties, support, options, etc. Perhaps give something like a linksys RV042/RV082 a glance. On top of having a bit better hardware, it has things like 2 WAN ports, which you can use for 2 ADSL connections that you mention (the DIR 655 does not). On top of that, it supports a couple nice features like port-based VLAN'ing and QoS, which might come into play down the road if you ever want to segment your network, or perhaps implement VOIP. It's not to say a 655 couldn't do the job, but in my personal experience once you go beyond a handful of users, consumer grade routers start to make me worry, especially if a business is relying upon it. They could do the job, but personally (having done small-biz network consulting for about 10 years), I always recommend slightly beefier devices. Something like an RV042 (or Sonicwall TZ180, Watchguard X10e, etc) would definately be the better choice IMHO to grow with the business and limit the 'fumbling' with different devices.

That aside, your questions. I dont think WPA2 makes a big difference performance wise, but Tim might be able to answer that better. And yes, all devices need to be WPA2 compatible (most newer devices, or Vista/XPSP3 devices will be). 2 ADSL connections will typically require a router that supports 2 WAN connections. As mentioned above, a DIR655 (and most consumer grade devices) wont. As far as monitoring goes, I'm pretty sure the DIR-655 doesn't support SNMP (again, not common in consumer level devices). It does, however, support basic logging and can email the logs to a specified address. More advanced logging/monitoring will probably require you to step up to a higher grade device.

 

[argint]

Thank-you for your reply Scotty. You are right - Ive been "fumbling". The equipment we have has allowed us to get where we are but I think I can really justify the move up to a small-biz solution.

Im looking at a Netgear FVS336G. Dual WAN - that seems atractive if we grow further, in balanced mode. Gigabit ports. SNMP monitoring etc and other "biz-class" facilities.

From this, I could attach reliable access points as required throughout the building, as long as we can get the CAT5 wiring correct. G-mode is fine for us, so these Aps should be cheap I would imagine.

I think this is the way to go for us, rather than relying on these multiple, consumer grade devices.

Also - this would allow me to connect up our Buffalo NAS on a Gigabit port, making networked image backups a closer possibility.

It doesnt look like tha Netgear device has jumbo Frames though or a DMZ, which would be handy. Im guessing the jumbo frames would be useful for the NAS device, though, from reading the many articles here, nothing is guaranteed!!

Out of interest - does anyone know of a better solution than the FVS336G, that offers the same facilities - maybe more? ie dual WAN, good firewall, DHCP, Gigabit, Jumbo frames, monitoring etc?

Im very grateful for your prompt response, its given me the kick I needed away from the consumer grade items!

Many thanks

Alan