Trying to set up ultimate home network!

[skerfoot]

Ok, maybe that's overselling it a little.

I'm moving into a house that has Ethernet cables installed to at least some of the rooms. I want to take advantage of the wires to create a seamless wireless network that works throughout the house, much like you see in office buildings or college campuses. On top of this, I want to extend the range to work in the yard at some distance from the house. I do not really understand networking, so advice would be highly appreciated. There seem to be lots of big commercial systems available (for the campus or office building), but nothing obvious for the little consumer with big dreams. I'm trying to work out if my current equipment can be co-opted for this purpose.

I plan to make use of the ethernet cables in place to set up wireless access points at different points throughout the house. I have a couple of Expresses that I'm currently using to extend a wireless network. Are these appropriate to use for this purpose (extend a wired network, rather than a wireless one)?

Currently, I'm using an Extreme as the "hub to the spokes". There are only 3 Ethernet outputs, and I'm not sure that this is enough. I'm also planning on adding a home server (driven by a mini) to the system, so I'm quickly running out of ports. Is it as simple to add yet another router to the system to create more ports?

Has anybody else tried something like this? Is there a more appropriate system out there that is better designed for what I want to do?

Thanks

 

[miles01110]

Impossible to say. You don't give any indication of how big your house is, what the construction is, how far you want to extend the network, which frequency space you want to use, or how much you are willing to spend.

For most people the router and one repeater is more than sufficient to cover most of their house and yard. Seems like you already have that.

 

[Rocco83]

Impossible to say. You don't give any indication of how big your house is, what the construction is, how far you want to extend the network, which frequency space you want to use, or how much you are willing to spend.

For most people the router and one repeater is more than sufficient to cover most of their house and yard. Seems like you already have that.

+1

Also something to think about if you are going to start hooking up wireless bridges everywhere you have an ethernet hook up is to try not to overlap your wireless signals too much as it will simply be counterproductive.

 

[fhall1]

....add a gigabit ethernet switch (or two) to your setup (5 or 8 ports)....you don't need another router

 

[skerfoot]

Impossible to say. You don't give any indication of how big your house is, what the construction is, how far you want to extend the network, which frequency space you want to use, or how much you are willing to spend.

For most people the router and one repeater is more than sufficient to cover most of their house and yard. Seems like you already have that.

Large yard, but the house isn't too big. Single story, wood-frame with a finished basement. Want to cover the whole thing. I'm in a small 2-bedroom now with a deck, and I'm not too impressed with the coverage now, which is why I'm concerned about coverage in the house. Speeds are fast enough in the rooms near the extreme, but move away from that and onto the deck covered by the express and it's noticeably slower. I want to avoid these holes.

+1

Also something to think about if you are going to start hooking up wireless bridges everywhere you have an ethernet hook up is to try not to overlap your wireless signals too much as it will simply be counterproductive.

Helpful point, thanks. I guess the way to avoid overlap is to walk around with a smartphone and look for signal strength and only add another node where there is a hole?

....add a gigabit ethernet switch (or two) to your setup (5 or 8 ports)....you don't need another router

Nice. That solves a problem, thanks.