Absolute best range router, regardless of cost

[hoorah]

Hey guys,

I have a client that lives in a very large estate on the ocean. The walls are massively thick and the house spans a good area. They have a Dlink DI624 wireless router with a few linksys range expanders, but everytime someone resets the router (or trips over the cord), they claim they have to setup the range expanders again, and the range expanders don't even cover the area that they want it to anyway.

I'm looking to get a router with the absolute maximum possible range. Cost is of little concern, but would like to keep it to consumer devices. I'll be putting encryption on the new wireless router, so while I'd like to keep the range expanders as redundancy, I've heard that setting them up with encryption is more difficult, and the clients are less than computer saavy. Basically, while the range expander setup may work now, I want something that will continue to work after I'm gone and the range expanders don't work.

I was thinking along the lines of the Linksys 3 antenna MIMO router I've seen at best buy for awhile, but when I went on best buy's site to search for it, they were promoting the wireless Pre-N device and couldn't find the MIMO device.

Remembering that cost is of little concern, which should I buy? The Pre-N? Range is more important than speed. For reasons I won't get into, running any wires is not a solution.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[JackMDS]

There is No such "Magic Router". Buy few units interconnect them and create an Access System.

Link to: Wireless What Should I Get?

The best Method to Extend Wireless Coverage depends heavily on the Specific Envioroment.

Look at these pages they describe most of the options that are within the means of Entry Level users, and choose the one that fits you envioroment best.

Link to: Extending the Distance of Entry Level Wireless Network.

Link to: Wirelessly Bridging Home / Network.

Link to: Hi Gain Antenna for Entry Level Wireless.

In general, the best Method involves using multiple units connected with wire to the source.

Or WDS ( Wireless Network - Configuration Modes. ) system using Hardware of one Brand across the board.

Wired connected Access Point is the best since WDS cute the "Speed" into half past the second unit.

:sun:

 

[spidey07]

I say get some cisco or proxim 802.11g access points and wire them up.

You're all set and it will be up all the time with range that consumer stuff can't do.

The APs are beteen 400-600 dollars but will do anything you could ever want them to do.

 

[hoorah]

Jack,

Thanks for the links. I actually read through all of them when I was searching through old posts before I posted.

I know I can do WDS or access points hardwired to the router, but I'm not allowed to run lines anywhere. Makes this task pretty difficult. I also wanted the system to be as absolutely as simple as possible, because although I enjoy working with a view of the ocean, I don't want to have to keep coming back free of charge to re-sync APs to routers.

I went and bought the SRX400 from Linksys. Range is moderately better, but not by much (compared to a dual antenna Dlink DI624). I have had absolutely ZERO luck getting the linksys range expanders to work. I just can't connect to them once they sync with the router, and have tried with multiple computers too. Will have to mess around with those later.

Now I'm off to go buy more stuff for my clients. Its like another full time job....

 

[MAW1082]

This will cost about seven hundred, but it's pretty top of the line.

Cisco Wireless Access Point

Cisco Antenna

This is just an AP so you'll have to get the 'router' separately but it will be worth it.

 

[ktwebb]

They guy lives in a large estate on the Ocean. Safe to assume he/she will spend some money? If so then keep your linksys or whatever for your routing functionality and take the advice already given and buy one or two enterprise class AP's. I prefer Cisco but Proxim also makes good equipment. I would recommend spending a little money and cabling to two strategically placed AP's. This should, and should is legitimate, cover most any house within reason. Repeaters suck and I'd never put them in a house that the owner could spend the money to eliminate them. If it's a must then the Cisco and proxim Ap's will repeat as well and typically be much, much more reliable in the process

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: hoorah
I know I can do WDS or access points hardwired to the router, but I'm not allowed to run lines anywhere. Makes this task pretty difficult. I also wanted the system to be as absolutely as simple as possible, because although I enjoy working with a view of the ocean, I don't want to have to keep coming back free of charge to re-sync APs to routers.

Can't use HPNA or Powerline networking to get networked back to to a central router?

 

[JackMDS]

So happened to be that Network aspects of computing is a little different than what usually posses the regular Hobbyist.

They take the: ?What is the Best Power Supply, or Video Card, etc.? and move it to Networking.

Well the other stuff is Uni- or at best Bi- Dimensional.

Networking is Multi dimensional.

Do not understand what it is that I am talking about?

Visit the General Hardware Forum.

:sun:

 

[spidey07]

Jack. I know what you mean.

There really is no "best" in networking. There are just devices that do better than others for a specific need.

Hard part is making sure you have all your needs correctly defined.

 

[Twr1]

There may be a way.

Houses in hurricane prone areas are typically built with block or concrete walls but have conventionally framed wood ceilings/roofs, much better to shoot a signal through. You could try temporarily mounting an AP up high in the attic and then test for connectivity in the rooms you want coverage in. Add repeaters or higher gain antenna as you need them. Using POE capable routers and repeaters would let you reboot from a more accessible place.

Option #2
The house has a flat roof and you don't want to go to an outdoor solution yet. Mount a repeater in the poolhouse (they've got a poolhouse right?) and shoot the signal back through the windows of the house.

You can test with the equipment you have and upgrade as needed.