I am looking to build a Wifi AP setup. Right now I have a RB750 and the final missing part now that I am so happy running on it is to move Wifi to a RB setup and throw my Linksys WRT300N with dd-wrt in the trash.
I am new to this so please be kind I am learning.
I was looking for advice on what hardware to buy. I share my media server to all my wifi clients in the house with heavy usage.
I was thinking RB493 and 1-2 Wifi cards but I am confused on what ones and if maybe two can I group them for better speed? I would maybe then turn my RB750 into just a switch.
First of all, is cost an issue? A base 493 with case, 2x wireless cards, antenna’s and connectors, will cost around $265 USD. Do you need/want Gigabit ethernet (add about $50 for 493G)? I don’t believe you can combine 2x wireless cards for better speed, (at least not for consumer devices, I.E. Laptop, Game Console, ect.) but you will be able to use more wireless devices at better speeds by using one card for half of devices and the second for the other half. For home use it shouldn’t matter what wireless card you buy, just remember to match antenna connector of the card, with antenna and such.
p.s. I am very happy with my 493G / 2x R52Hn / Maxxwave Case
Price is not really the issue. I just want a stable device I can manage and that can keep up. Gig-E might be a better idea but its not a need at this point It could be latter. The other reason is to just learn and I see ways I can use this hardware with my company.
Two cards is usually overkill for home use. Also, if you are not sure what you are doing you can interfere with yourself and actually hurt your speeds more than you help them.
R52Hn are great cards but also look at F52N-PRO. We haven’t had them very long but they have been great since we got them.
True. But that is a special case and most people don’t have 5Ghz in their portable devices. Two different cards, one at 5 and one at 2.4 won’t hurt anything. Two cards at 2.4 will cause problems at if not setup properly.
Another reason for two cards would be the fact some of my older stuff only syncs up with WEP where I would rather run WAP for most. So with two I could split off that way.