My understanding is that a regular WiFi access point connects a group of machines, each with wireless adapters, to a regular Ethernet system. What you want is AAF, that is an Ethernet cluster with a shared wireless link. I'm fairly sure these exist, but not at the price level of the former. Perhaps you should consider using a Linux system as a bridge. Fit this
with
an 802.11g adapter so it can connect to the local access point, then set
up
masquerading to allow other machines beyond it to access the wireless network. This ought to be cheaper than buying a custom box to do the job.
I may well be mistaken because I hadn't even heard of 802.11g until a few weeks ago, but I thought that a device like the Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router might do the job...
The following is an extract from this page http://www.linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=508 "The Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router is really three devices in one box. First, there's the Wireless Access Point, which lets you connect Wireless-G or Wireless-B devices to the network. There's also a built-in 4-port full-duplex 10/100 Switch to connect your wired-Ethernet devices. Connect four PCs directly, or daisy-chain out to more hubs and switches to create as big a network as you need. Finally, the Router function ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection."
This product is close to the £100 mark which isn't TOO bad if it's going to save me having to buy two separate lots of hardware. Can anyone shed any light on whether this device really could do what I want...
What I need is a device that: -Will connect my 4 computer LAN (2 XP, 1 XP/Linux dual boot and a Linux
Box)
to ADSL
- Will also connect my LAN to a 802.11g WiFi internet service in the
future
...or whether I'm just misunderstanding it. Do I need any extra hardware as well, and are there any similar devices that could do the job for less money?
Thanks Ben Francis