What hardware is needed to share DSL?

you need a wireless base station and wireless cards in the computer. apple makes their own, its called the Airport Base station and Airport card. they also have the Extreme version for newer machines

I use a Linksys Model WRT54G Router. It's a wireless 802.11G (which is also compatible with 802.11B) router with 4-port switch. My iBook runs wireless and I have my PS2 connected directly to the router.

I highly recommend the Linksys. It took all of 1 minute to setup, and I have had absolutely no problems.

The Airport Extreme Basestation is nice, but it is EXTREMELY overpriced and everyone I know who uses one constantly complains that it is always dropping their connection. I've never lost my connection with my Linksys, and it has been running constantly since I bought it in January.

I'd go with a Linksys G router, i've used and installed numerous ones, and they're never any trouble... while those damn Netgear routers.. well, i just say i dont like them.

Other people will tell you differently. I'd go with a Linksys WRT54G

We have DSL at work and run all our connections via ethernet. There are 3 separate LANs hooked up to it. Couldn't tell you brand names though, our ISP (Choice One) came in and hooked it up, I just connected all the ethernets to the Router. this includes about 14 PCs (for the sales, estimating, and Invoicing folks) and 6 Macs for the Pre-press and production depts. Works for us.

Upgrading to DSL

I just upgraded from dial-up to DSL, for my dad. Since my dad uses a iBook, and i a G4, i had him get the SBC Yahoo! DSL. Its not bad for only $29.95/month. Anyway when i ordered it online i ordered the 2wire wireless router/modem. The guy i talked to on the phone said that in order to connect more than one computer to the modem you would need a hub, or switch. But, i wanted it to be wirelessly, so i would not have to pull cables. This 2wire modem works great, i haven't had any problems with it. The modem/wireless router does cost an extra $50.00 though. But, compared to the cost of some of the linksys routers, it is cheap. I think the linksys routers have built in firewalls though, but i guess that after looking at my modem from the 2wire page its modem does too.

SBC Yahoo! DSL

My 2wire Wireless DSL Router/Modem Specs

Torajima said:

Do I just need a wireless router? Connect the DSL modem to the router, connect the router to the PC, and have the Mac connect wirelessly?

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You got it!

I also recommend Linksys stuff. I use a Wireless-G access point (my DSL modem has a built-in router), and it works flawlessly.

This was a good thread to read, I am moving into a place off campus next week and I called Bellsouth on Tuesday to order their Fast Access xtreme (3 Mbps/384 kbps) and I've been wondering what would be involved with networking it to my roommate's PC and my PowerBook through Airport Extreme since the guy on the phone with Bellsouth made it seem as if it wouldn't be possible unless you had a special DSL Gateway box that they sell you for an extra $5 per month.

RBMaraman said:

I use a Linksys Model WRT54G Router.

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I'll also put my recommendation in for this router.

I would go with whichever wireless router that is the cheapest. But I would stay with a big brand name (i.e. Linksys, Netgear, Belkin, etc).

Amazon has the Netgear WGR614 for $37 (after rebate) right now. That's the cheapest I've seen. If you can get something else for less, I'd go for it.

RBMaraman said:

The Airport Extreme Basestation is nice, but it is EXTREMELY overpriced and everyone I know who uses one constantly complains that it is always dropping their connection. I've never lost my connection with my Linksys, and it has been running constantly since I bought it in January.

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i disagree, i dont have any major problems with my base station, and for what its worth i actually like it. its white, has usb/lan/wan/modem/antenna ports, easy to use airport admin utility, the bridging stuff and etc...

But yeah, linksys makes great and cheap stuff...and thats all you should need.
The SBC Yahoo deal is nice (i did it too, dont wanna pay for cable ), but i dont want the wireless networking kit they have, doesnt sound too good.

kingjr3 said:

I'll also put my recommendation in for this router.

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I have it too, it's good, but I wish the port forwarding worked like my brother's wired router, (any external port to any internal port on any IP, instead of just opening the external range to a specific IP), but I don't think you're concerned with that

Counterfit said:

any external port to any internal port on any IP, instead of just opening the external range to a specific IP

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???

I forward several different ports to several machines? What exactly do you mean? You can forward any port to any IP address on your subnet.

übergeek said:

i disagree, i dont have any major problems with my base station, and for what its worth i actually like it. its white, has usb/lan/wan/modem/antenna ports, easy to use airport admin utility, the bridging stuff and etc...

But yeah, linksys makes great and cheap stuff...and thats all you should need.
The SBC Yahoo deal is nice (i did it too, dont wanna pay for cable ), but i dont want the wireless networking kit they have, doesnt sound too good.

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When I posted the quote you replied to, I suddenly remembered a thread where you mentioned a problem with your AE Basestation. I did a quick search and I found this quote:

Quote übergeek:
i love mine, only stops working after a few weeks, sometimes the interference from the phone/microwave oven is annoying though...but thats something i cant do anything about.

My Linksys basestation is located right next to a 2.4GHZ cordless phone, and about 4 feet from a microwave. I've never experienced trouble. If the AE Basestation is that sensitive, I'd say that is a BIG problem.

Don't get me wrong, I think the AE Basestation is a great product. It's one of the very few wireless stations that has a 56K modem, and the USB printer port is a big plus. But, if its signal is easily interfered by a phone and microwave, I'd say its not a very good product. IMHO.

Hey, i just put a US Robitics Wireless router in my house. Works Great for my three computer. Unfortunately, none of them are Macs right now... but i assume they should integrate pretty easily.I havn't had any problems with my router. It was real easy to set up: plug it in, instal the software, set the encription keys. Real easy.

I'd recommend pretty much whatever is cheapest. But stick with a name brand. and buy from a reputable source, so if it turns out to not work, you can send it back.

Torajima said:

Do I just need a wireless router? Connect the DSL modem to the router, connect the router to the PC, and have the Mac connect wirelessly? If so, what routers would people suggest that are Mac friendly and easy to set up (on both the PC and Mac side)? Don't really want a Basestation, as I think they're overpriced.

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Well you need a router that handles both wireless AND wired, which sounds obvious - but not all of them do it.

My home network is older, and is 802.11b based. I've got a D-Link DI-614+ wireless router that also has 4 100Mb wired ports. It works well; and since it's managed via the Web it's friendly for any OS. I think most will use a Web interface, but make sure before you buy (although you have a Windows PC so that could be the "management box" if necessary).

Anyway the combo wired/wireless routers are probably $70 or $80 at most, and probably can be had for much less.

i have had good experience with 3com wireless routers, so that's what i recommend. actually the wireless side is not so important, because most wireless routers are the same, function-wise, but the difference lies in configurability. web interface for device configuration seems to be a must.

one other thing about your setup needs attention: the dsl modem. basically there are two kinds of dsl modems - either bridged or routed ones. you should ask your isp if they support bridged connections and if they do, be sure to get a bridged dsl modem. it gets latencies down. routed dsl modem should only be used with direct connections (computer connected straight to the modem).

[if you think about it, having routed dsl modem means that every single ip package you transfer will first have to go to the wireless router, then it asks where next and goes to dsl modem, and then it again asks where next and goes outside your house. that's one extra step compared to bridged dsl modem, which means the dsl modem becomes invisible and your wireless router sees outside world instead of dsl modem. and your ip packages have one less step to go, which means more speed and in real world the difference is huge.]

RBMaraman said:

When I posted the quote you replied to, I suddenly remembered a thread where you mentioned a problem with your AE Basestation. I did a quick search and I found this quote:
Quote übergeek:
i love mine, only stops working after a few weeks, sometimes the interference from the phone/microwave oven is annoying though...but thats something i cant do anything about.

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i cant really do anything about inteference...all base stations have problems to an extent. Really, the only thing that happens is that the conversation on the phone gets staticky. And the base station stops working thing is usually because my ISP sucks ass (sbc) and it usually the connection problem not the airport basestation.

Right now though i'm sort of unhappy because for some reason i keep getting disconnected. Meh.

übergeek said:

i cant really do anything about inteference...all base stations have problems to an extent. Really, the only thing that happens is that the conversation on the phone gets staticky. And the base station stops working thing is usually because my ISP sucks ass (sbc) and it usually the connection problem not the airport basestation.

Right now though i'm sort of unhappy because for some reason i keep getting disconnected. Meh.

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I think i read somewhere that the Airport Basestations are known for dropping its connections. I have never had a problem with my modem dropping its connection, but i have had one instance when SBC's service was out for about five hours.

I have been looking for the Linksys but keep seeing it for $100. I could have sworn I saw the G model for $80 once and Circuit City, or am I crazy?

just don't buy a d-link.... too hard to set up and drops my connection all the time! the AE base station at school doesnt as often.. could this b a problem with ae cards?

Torajima said:

Thanks for the replies... we've got a Netgear access point at our main office, and it has been a bit finicky... it has been a real pain trying to get it to work with PCs, Macs, and PDAs at the same time. Probably because all 3 seem to handle wep passwords a bit differently.

I'll probably go with the Linksys router, but has anyone tried Dlink?

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yes read my post below. do not get them! its horrid!

Powerbook G5 said:

I have been looking for the Linksys but keep seeing it for $100. I could have sworn I saw the G model for $80 once and Circuit City, or am I crazy?

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Your not crazy. I bought my Linksys G router from Circuit City in January and I paid $80 for it. It was on sale for 2 weeks, I believe. I noticed that the price went back to $100 about a week after I bought it.