Best way to integrate my Amiga into my home network?

[mingle]

Hi all,

Okay, I have an A4000 with Ethernet card in one room, but no connectivity (cabling).  

My wireless router (connected to my cable modem) is in another room, with an XP PC connected via one of the ethernet ports. A laptop uses the wireless connectivity.

I'm thinking of putting another XP PC in the room next to my A4000 and getting a wireless PCI card for it.

Would it be possible to connect my Amiga (via CAT5 ethernet) to the ethernet port on this wireless-equipped XP PC to get it onto the network?

Or would it be possible to buy a cheap wireless router and connect the Amiga to that and somehow configure the router to connect to my main wireless router/modem?

Sorry if I'm a bit clueless, but networking has never been my strong point! :-)

Cheers,

Mike.

[desiv]

Probably the easiest way would be a wireless bridge.
It's a hardware device that does what you want to do with your XP with Wireless and wired connections.

Although, you can do that as well..
Here's a decent page on the XP bridge:
https://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/crawford_02april22.mspx

desiv

[Matt_H]

What you need is a "wireless bridge" - where you plug a wired ethernet device into a wireless hub/switch which connects wirelessly to your main router.

I last set up something like this 2 years ago. At the time, dedicated wireless bridges were stupidly expensive, but the Linksys WRT54G could be flashed with a replacement firmward (DD-WRT) which would allow it to work as a wireless bridge. The WRT54G has since been redesigned, so I don't know if it's still compatible with DD-WRT. DD-WRT supports a lot of differnt routers, though, so there's a good chance you can get something off the shelf and modify it.

Off-the-shelf bridges may have come down in price since then, too, so that might an option as well.

[CSixx]

May not be the "best" way, but you can use your house electrical wiring for ethernet.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156233

[LoadWB]

I second everything before me, as I worked with all of the proposed solutions.

The PowerLine networking stuff works well.  I have deployed the older NetGear 12Mb devices (now discontinues) and the LinkSys 100Mb units at several places, including my home.  The LinkSys units can even communicate across phases, although doing so increases susceptability to interference -- which my APC SU1400RM2U has inexplicably begun introducing into the circuit which heads my powerline networking, to my shigrin.

I cannot vouch for other brands or models.

The Windows XP bridge idea would work (I have done this myself) though it requires the XP machine always be running, and the WAP in bridge mode would work too, (yup, I have done this, too.)

Now, budget may be an issue.  By the time you purchase the LinkSys powerline units, you could purchase a Deneb with a wireless USB adapter.  WAP/routers can be had for under $80 these days, and the XP solution would only cost you the PCI wireless card, which I have seen as cheap as $15.

[bbond007]

May not be the "best" way, but you can use your house electrical wiring for ethernet.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156233

I have some older Netgear powerline 85mb adapters that work really well.

They are a rather expensive solution and They don't go the full 85mb (I think I tested them at around 65mb). Still, they are very nice... Just overpriced. I got them when CompUSA folded and liquidated everything.

Another really good (and less expensive) alternative is to get a router that is compatible with:

http://www.dd-wrt.com

I would suggest this router:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124190&Tpk=wrt54gl

the "l" is for Linux.

With the dd-wrt you can set up the router to act as a bridge.

Also, the 3rd alternative is the Linksys WET11 wireless bridge which will probably cost more than the WRT54GL and only has 1 rj45 port. With the wrt54g/dd-wrt combo you can plug up to 4 wired devices into it.

[bbond007]

What you need is a "wireless bridge" - where you plug a wired ethernet device into a wireless hub/switch which connects wirelessly to your main router.

I last set up something like this 2 years ago. At the time, dedicated wireless bridges were stupidly expensive, but the Linksys WRT54G could be flashed with a replacement firmward (DD-WRT) which would allow it to work as a wireless bridge. The WRT54G has since been redesigned, so I don't know if it's still compatible with DD-WRT. DD-WRT supports a lot of differnt routers, though, so there's a good chance you can get something off the shelf and modify it.

Off-the-shelf bridges may have come down in price since then, too, so that might an option as well.

Did not see your suggestion for dd-wrt, however I do know that the WRT54GL is compatible. The "L" stands for linux. That model brings more ram than the WRT54G.

In fact, there is also a version of the WRT54G running VxWorks rather than linux. That one is more complicated to flash (need to use TFTP and a "VXworks killer"). It also has a very limited amount of RAM.  Because of the limited ram you can only run the scaled down version of dd-wrt.  Additionally, the antennas on that one are not upgradable.

I have owned all 3. The old original one is still working well. The new WRT54GL works well as a bridge. I bought the WRT54GL to replace the VXworks version which I killed the wireless on by plugging in the wrong voltage "Wall Wart".

[Karlos]

Just use a big length of cat 5 cable. All my network enabled machines (PC, AmigaOne and main A1200) are on wired connections. Wireless is reserved for anybody bringing a laptop or whatever.