ROTR

Our Linksys WAP54G seems to be serving double-duty. I purchased it along with a WRT54GS (in the venerable WRT54G family) in order to create a bridge between two wired networks, and to provide some decent control over the Hughesnet connection.

Originally, I set up the WAP54G in "AP client" mode, where it acted as a client to the WRT54GS and performed duties as a bridge. There were no notebooks in use at the time, so I was satisfied with this for a while.

Then I started using a MacBook Pro to replace the Mac Mini I had been using, and desired mobility. The antenna is too weak in either of them to reach the WRT54GS, so I figured I'd set things up like so: set the WAP54G to "Wireless Repeater" mode, turn on AirPort on each Mac, and just do without access to the boxes that are still wired.

That worked wonderfully for the 802.11g devices. Much to my delight, it also worked wonderfully for the wired devices -- my WAP54G is now acting as both a repeater and a bridge!

See below for some configuration notes.

(more...)

OK, the title is a little misleading. But I am experiencing an interesting phenomenon: Even though I'm connected at one of the lowest speeds that our modem negotiates with the ISP (24kbps), the experience seems smoother and pages seem to load faster.

Previous setup: Windows XP on a laptop, set up to share the dialup connection with the LAN. Workstations connected to a switch, which is also connected to the laptop.

New setup (in preparation for satellite internet installation): Windows XP on a laptop with connection sharing, no config changes made. Laptop connected to a Linksys WRT54G. Workstations connected to a switch, which is also connected to a WAP54G configured as a wireless client.

What causes the improved performance, which feels snappier with 24kbps on the new setup than 36kbps on the old setup? My only guess is that perhaps the WRT54G's NAT code handles things better and perhaps splits packets up with a smaller MTU, thus requiring Windows to do less work in its own NAT implementation.

Either way, I'm looking forward to the satellite connection, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the breath of new life into the dialup connection that we (hopefully) will only need to use for just a few more days.