Internet Set Up

erty176 · May 25, 2015

Hello all,

So I am a complete internet noob, and I wondered what the necessary components were for a wireless setup, as well as any recommended hardware. I have a giant cement wall that runs through the length of my house, so keep that in mind. I know there are alternate setups including power-line and things, but these simply do not make sense for my use case scenario. In addition if anyone has experience of using a third party modem/ router(are they the same? if not what is the purpose of each?) with their ISP, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Erty

TheKDub · May 25, 2015

IMO the modems and routers from ISPs are usually pretty shitty, you're better off just buying your own.

I think I've got a motorola surfboard sb6120 modem, not sure on the exact model number, and I've also got an Asus RT-AC66U, both work great

MblaZe7run · May 25, 2015

Hello all,

So I am a complete internet noob, and I wondered what the necessary components were for a wireless setup, as well as any recommended hardware. I have a giant cement wall that runs through the length of my house, so keep that in mind. I know there are alternate setups including power-line and things, but these simply do not make sense for my use case scenario. In addition if anyone has experience of using a third party modem/ router(are they the same? if not what is the purpose of each?) with their ISP, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Erty

You'll need a modem AND router, they are different devices. Combo devices do exist, but I dislike them heavily. Why have another device added to something already working so hard..?

Basically, a modem translates the signal you get over a telephone line, fiber line, or coaxial line, into something the computers can understand. It stands for MODulator/DEModulator, shortened to MODEM. Breaking the words to their lengthened form, you can more so understand that it converts to one signal, then back to the origin signal.

A router that you would purchase for home use is actually three devices, in the industry, we call them Integrated Services Routers. These devices combine the function of switches, which navigate network traffic across wired devices, access points, which navigate network traffic across wireless devices, and the router, which controls where network information goes. Think of it as an intersection. The router portion is the traffic signal, the switch is one road, and the access point is another road. This video from Techquickie actually helps clear up the router aspect quite well: https://youtu.be/hM8gZzSDKrw?list=PLQMVnqe4XbictUtFZK1-gBYvyUzTWJnOk

As far as recommendations, with that cement wall, it adds a challenge. Wireless signals don't penetrate cement well, especially if it is rather thick.