In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:00:39 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the oldest
granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who had
"murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do you
have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can easily
locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not intrude
on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled up by the
5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson

Show the kid your wrinkles and explain that super-zoot electronics is
something you do for _other_ people, not something you have for yourself.

If your PC's aren't set up to see each other, then you're probably safe
to just hook up an access point to the router. If they _are_ set up in
some sort of an easy peer-peer network, then you'll probably have to
fiddle with the security settings on each one.

--
My liberal friends think I'm a conservative kook.
My conservative friends think I'm a liberal kook.
Why am I not happy that they have found common ground?

Tim Wescott, Communications, Control, Circuits & Software
http://www.wescottdesign.com

On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:05:03 -0600, Tim Wescott
wrote:

On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:00:39 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the oldest
granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who had
"murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do you
have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can easily
locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not intrude
on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled up by the
5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson

Show the kid your wrinkles and explain that super-zoot electronics is
something you do for _other_ people, not something you have for yourself.

I keep the neighbors at bay by declaring at cocktail parties, "I make
chips"... without further explanation ;-)


If your PC's aren't set up to see each other, then you're probably safe
to just hook up an access point to the router. If they _are_ set up in
some sort of an easy peer-peer network, then you'll probably have to
fiddle with the security settings on each one.

It's all peer-to-peer, but requires password log-in.

Maybe that's adequate?

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

"Jim Thompson" wrote
in message ...
In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson
--

You can do that easily with another (wireless) Router between your
Linksys and your cable modem.
Provided your linksys has a decent firewall, it should work.
It would look like this:

cable Modem---------Wireless Router---------- 8port linksys
Router--------- Lan
|
|
Wireless clients

You may have to recycle the cable modem power to update the bridging to
use the new MAC address of the router.
Also, configure the Wireless Router to a different IP address of your
lan. Something like 192.168.150.1

Cheers

Jim Thompson wrote:

I keep the neighbors at bay by declaring at cocktail parties, "I make
chips"... without further explanation ;-)


Potato or Corn? ;-)


It's all peer-to-peer, but requires password log-in.

Maybe that's adequate?


I use a spare wireless router, plugged into a spare port in the main
router. That allows access to the net, but not the private network.
That makes it easy to turn off, when you don't need wireless. To make
it even more secure requires a little bit more hardware. Linksys/Cisco,
Netgear and other OEMs have some decent information on their websites.

On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:34:56 -0500, "Martin Riddle"
wrote:


"Jim Thompson" wrote
in message ...
In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson
--

You can do that easily with another (wireless) Router between your
Linksys and your cable modem.
Provided your linksys has a decent firewall, it should work.
It would look like this:

cable Modem---------Wireless Router---------- 8port linksys
Router--------- Lan
|
|
Wireless clients

You may have to recycle the cable modem power to update the bridging to
use the new MAC address of the router.
Also, configure the Wireless Router to a different IP address of your
lan. Something like 192.168.150.1

Cheers



Yep, you certainly do need to update the MAC address.

Wouldn't it be easier just to plug the wireless into an unused Linksys
port?

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

"Jim Thompson" wrote
in message ...
On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:34:56 -0500, "Martin Riddle"
wrote:


"Jim Thompson"
wrote
in message ...
In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors
who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year
on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house
with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail
fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson
--

You can do that easily with another (wireless) Router between your
Linksys and your cable modem.
Provided your linksys has a decent firewall, it should work.
It would look like this:

cable Modem---------Wireless Router---------- 8port linksys
Router--------- Lan
|
|
Wireless clients

You may have to recycle the cable modem power to update the bridging
to
use the new MAC address of the router.
Also, configure the Wireless Router to a different IP address of your
lan. Something like 192.168.150.1

Cheers



Yep, you certainly do need to update the MAC address.

Wouldn't it be easier just to plug the wireless into an unused Linksys
port?


Then the Wireless would be on the same lan segment, I thought you wanted
it separated from your 'Stuff'.
The 8Port Linksys would keep them out.

Cheers

On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:49:58 -0500, "Martin Riddle"
wrote:


"Jim Thompson" wrote
in message ...
On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:34:56 -0500, "Martin Riddle"
wrote:


"Jim Thompson"
wrote
in message ...
In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors
who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year
on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house
with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail
fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson
--

You can do that easily with another (wireless) Router between your
Linksys and your cable modem.
Provided your linksys has a decent firewall, it should work.
It would look like this:

cable Modem---------Wireless Router---------- 8port linksys
Router--------- Lan
|
|
Wireless clients

You may have to recycle the cable modem power to update the bridging
to
use the new MAC address of the router.
Also, configure the Wireless Router to a different IP address of your
lan. Something like 192.168.150.1

Cheers



Yep, you certainly do need to update the MAC address.

Wouldn't it be easier just to plug the wireless into an unused Linksys
port?


Then the Wireless would be on the same lan segment, I thought you wanted
it separated from your 'Stuff'.
The 8Port Linksys would keep them out.

Cheers


OK. Now I understand. (Network set-up is not by best suite :-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:00:39 -0700, Jim Thompson
wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

I celebrated Hanukkah a week earlier. December is one long party for
me.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

You need Wi-Fi if you have kids or smartphone users in the house. Kids
are easy. Smartphone, iPad, Android, or laptop addicts are not. Be
prepared to have them spend the day on Facebook updating the world on
YOUR activities.

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

As I recall, it was a BEFSR81, which belongs in a museum, but could
use replacement. What you want is dual band, guest access, WPA2/AES
encryption, and aerodynamic styling.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

How few? If it's more than 4 ports, you will probably need to also
add a cheap 5 or 16 port ethernet switch. However, I think this would
be a good time to think about upgrading to Gigabit (1000baseT)
ethernet. Fast is fun.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

Thank you for not specifying a budget. Fortunately, it's after
Christmas so many things are on sale.

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

It's not so much the size, but what's in the walls. If your inside
walls are stuffed with aluminum foil backed insulation, they will
block all RF. However, since you have ethernet all over the house, it
will be easy to add a 2nd radio in the form of an access point. Note
that an access point is just a wireless router with the router section
disabled, leaving just the wireless access point and ethernet switch
functional.

Some things to know about guest access before taking the plunge:
http://fixhomenetwork.com/blog/guest-network-access-for-linksys-e1000-e2000-e3000-routers/
Note that the guest login is isolated from the desktops, so the
grand-brat is unlikely to do further damage.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

Ask the grand-brats for tech support?

Here's what I suggest:

- Linksys EA2700, EA3500, or EA4500 wireless router depending on your
budget. $70 to $160.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31738-cisco-linksys-ea2700-gigabit-dual-band-wireless-n600-router-reviewed
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31722-cisco-linksys-ea3500-dual-band-n750-router-with-gigabit-and-usb-reviewed
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/31727-inside-story-cisco-linksys-ea-series?start=1
Setup guest access for the grand-brats and other transients. If you
can't figure it out, I'm sure the kids can show you how it's done.
Make sure that you have normal wireless access setup for WPA2-AES
wireless encryption to keep the neighbors out of your system. I'm not
a big fan of WPS (wireless protected setup) but if you don't want to
deal with passwords, it does make life easier.

- Few of todays wireless routers have 8 ethernet ports, so you'll need
to add an ethernet switch. I suggest gigabit ethernet as in Linksys
SE2800 for about $60:
http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-SE2800-8-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet/dp/B004TLIVBG
Just about anything that claims to play gigabit will work so you're
not stuck with buying anything that's "compatible" with the wireless
router.

- If you need to expand the system into the other end of the house
because of weak signals, just get a lower tech wireless route that has
guest access. One of the cheaper model Linksys routers such as the
EA1200 will suffice. You can move it around to other ethernet ports
as needed. If you have to unplug something, just move it to one of
the unused LAN ports on the back of this "portable" wireless access
point. For setting up a wireless router as an access point, see:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-basics/30338-how-to-convert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point
http://wireless.navas.us/index.php?title=Wi-Fi_How_To#Use_a_wireless_router_as_a_wireless_acce ss_point

However, if you're in a rush, and just need something to plug in
immediately, I suggest getting just the EA1200. Configure it as an
access point (not as a router). Nothing to change in the existing
BEFSR81. Setup a guest login. Give the EA1200 a static IP address
that's one digit more than the your existing BEFSR81. If the router
IP is 192.168.1.1, then configure your EA1200 for 192.168.1.2. Plug
it into one of the BEFSR81 spare ports, and have the grand-brat
provide the necessary testing and quality assurance.

What can go wrong? Well, if you just plug the unconfigured EA1200
into your existing LAN, you will have a duplicated IP address. Nothing
will work and you'll blame the grand-brat who will immediately start
crying. To avoid this disaster, take a computah off the network, plug
only this computer into the EA1200, and do ALL the configuring. When
done and you have a new 192.168.1.2 IP address configured, only then
plug it into the LAN.

Note: alt.internet.wireless exists.

Footnote: Happy Holidaze.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Jim Thompson wrote:

I keep the neighbors at bay by declaring at cocktail parties, "I make
chips"... without further explanation ;-)


Potato or Corn? ;-)


It's all peer-to-peer, but requires password log-in.

Maybe that's adequate?


I use a spare wireless router, plugged into a spare port in the main
router. That allows access to the net, but not the private network.
That makes it easy to turn off, when you don't need wireless. To make
it even more secure requires a little bit more hardware.
Linksys/Cisco,
Netgear and other OEMs have some decent information on their websites.

Your setup allows the wireless access to your lan , but you can't access
the wireless lan.
Netbios is not routable, so you wouldn't see any computers with windows.

I think If you made one port a vlan then that would work. But, I never
played with vlans.

Cheers

Jim Thompson
wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not

You can put your own network behind an extra router (with NAT, I have
good experiences with the 3COM officeconnect routers) and connect the
Wifi router(s) to your internet connection.

intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

Make sure your Windows PC's are setup to use non-administrator
accounts.

--
Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply
indicates you are not using the right tools...
nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)
--------------------------------------------------------------

On 12/26/2012 5:00 PM, Jim Thompson wrote:

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...90883&csid=_61


Plug this into your Linksys and she can take it home with her.

hamilton

On 12/26/2012 4:59 PM, Jim Thompson wrote:
On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:34:56 -0500, "Martin Riddle"
wrote:


"Jim wrote
in message ...
In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson
--

You can do that easily with another (wireless) Router between your
Linksys and your cable modem.
Provided your linksys has a decent firewall, it should work.
It would look like this:

cable Modem---------Wireless Router---------- 8port linksys
Router--------- Lan
|
|
Wireless clients

You may have to recycle the cable modem power to update the bridging to
use the new MAC address of the router.
Also, configure the Wireless Router to a different IP address of your
lan. Something like 192.168.150.1

Cheers



Yep, you certainly do need to update the MAC address.

Wouldn't it be easier just to plug the wireless into an unused Linksys
port?

...Jim Thompson

I missed the part about how you're connecting to the internet.
I assume there's a NAT router somewhere in the system.
Here's what I do.
My DSL modem has built-in wireless. I try to keep the bad guys out
with passwords and MAC address filtering. But it creates a real PITA
when I want to do something quick and dirty. I have a wired switch
plugged into the modem too.

So, I have a second wireless router with it's WAN port plugged into the
switch.
I like the Linksys WRT54G. There are a zillion in the wild. And every time
anybody buys cable or a smartphone, one goes surplus. I pick 'em up at
garage sales for a buck. And there's firmware available to give them
much more capability.
Your time crunch may prevent that, so virtually any modern wireless
router should do.

I set the Linksys wireless router as a DHCP server on a different subnet.
Wireless devices connect. The router doesn't know what to do with
the packets, so they get sent out the WAN port.
Your existing wired router doesn't know what do do with the packets,
so they get sent out to the internet.

Depending on how many firewalls you have and where they're located,
some reconfiguration may be required.

The two subnets probably can't see each other on the screen, so you
have to take some deliberate action to make one interact with the other.
So, there is a security risk. You're relatively safe from accidental
damage, but not malicious intent.
You can patch some of that with firewalls.
Or you can enable MAC filtering on the added router if you have fixed
clients.

If you're a hundred feet from the nearest neighbor and there's not
a windowless black van parked in front of the house, you're probably
reasonably safe for short term use.
I just run mine wide open for convenience and shut it down
as soon as I get the job done.

AS always, if you have anyone in the house and/or anywhere near
your computer, make sure all your backups are current.

I don't know if it's true story or urban legend, but it goes like this...

Kid is surfing on dad's computer. OOOOH, music by my favorite band.
Kid starts clicking and is led through the process that uses a torrent
to download illegal music.
Life is good.
Kid goes off to college never realizing that there's a shared folder
with the music and a torrent server running on dad's computer.

A year later, dad gets a registered letter from some RIAA lawyer
accusing him of running an illegal download server and offers
to settle for $4000 per song times the 22 songs being served.
Last I saw, dad was given a pass when he gave up the daughter.
The case was still in the courts, so I don't know the resolution.

Don't know if it's true or false, but it's easy to imagine
something equally disasterous happening.

In article ,
Jim Thompson
wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson

I'm having good luck with a Linksys E4200. Isolation is depends on your
equipment.

* If you have a NAT/router, it can probably serve multiple subnets.
Change all of your existing network clients to use a static IP address
rather than DHCP. For simplicity, the static address can be the DHCP
address they have now. Now on the NAT/router, change DHCP to give out
addresses for different subnet. Any device that pops itself onto the
network via DHCP won't see your other gear until it is manually assigned
an address in the other subnet. The WiFi can operate in bridged mode so
there's nothing on it to configure. I'm not sure if this is secure
enough for an 11 year old.

* More secure solutions are available if you replace your existing
router with the Linksys E4200 or another device that supports WiFi guest
networks. The guest WiFi account runs on a separate LAN from everything
else. WiFi routers don't have much LAN-WAN bandwidth so it's not a good
idea for very fast connections. Trying to get more bandwidth from this
configuration means you'd need to mess with SOHO routers. "SOHO" is
networking term describing a product that is completely FUBAR and has no
hope of working correctly. It might just blow smoke when plugged in.

* This problem is trivial if you're given multiple IP addresses from
your ISP. Set up the WiFi as an independent router and plug it into a
WAN jack
--
I will not see posts from Google because I must filter them as spam

On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:36:00 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:00:39 -0700, Jim Thompson
wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

I celebrated Hanukkah a week earlier. December is one long party for
me.

I know the drill. This 11 year-old is Duane's daughter and is being
raised in the Jewish traditions. So we have a Menorah on hand for
such occasions.


The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

You need Wi-Fi if you have kids or smartphone users in the house. Kids
are easy. Smartphone, iPad, Android, or laptop addicts are not. Be
prepared to have them spend the day on Facebook updating the world on
YOUR activities.

I don't facebook ;-)


Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

As I recall, it was a BEFSR81, which belongs in a museum, but could
use replacement. What you want is dual band, guest access, WPA2/AES
encryption, and aerodynamic styling.

"Styling"? Is that an engineering word ?:-)


I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

How few? If it's more than 4 ports, you will probably need to also
add a cheap 5 or 16 port ethernet switch. However, I think this would
be a good time to think about upgrading to Gigabit (1000baseT)
ethernet. Fast is fun.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

Thank you for not specifying a budget. Fortunately, it's after
Christmas so many things are on sale.

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

It's not so much the size, but what's in the walls. If your inside
walls are stuffed with aluminum foil backed insulation, they will
block all RF. However, since you have ethernet all over the house, it
will be easy to add a 2nd radio in the form of an access point. Note
that an access point is just a wireless router with the router section
disabled, leaving just the wireless access point and ethernet switch
functional.

Some things to know about guest access before taking the plunge:
http://fixhomenetwork.com/blog/guest-network-access-for-linksys-e1000-e2000-e3000-routers/
Note that the guest login is isolated from the desktops, so the
grand-brat is unlikely to do further damage.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

Ask the grand-brats for tech support?

Here's what I suggest:

- Linksys EA2700, EA3500, or EA4500 wireless router depending on your
budget. $70 to $160.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31738-cisco-linksys-ea2700-gigabit-dual-band-wireless-n600-router-reviewed
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31722-cisco-linksys-ea3500-dual-band-n750-router-with-gigabit-and-usb-reviewed
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/31727-inside-story-cisco-linksys-ea-series?start=1
Setup guest access for the grand-brats and other transients. If you
can't figure it out, I'm sure the kids can show you how it's done.
Make sure that you have normal wireless access setup for WPA2-AES
wireless encryption to keep the neighbors out of your system. I'm not
a big fan of WPS (wireless protected setup) but if you don't want to
deal with passwords, it does make life easier.

- Few of todays wireless routers have 8 ethernet ports, so you'll need
to add an ethernet switch. I suggest gigabit ethernet as in Linksys
SE2800 for about $60:
http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-SE2800-8-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet/dp/B004TLIVBG
Just about anything that claims to play gigabit will work so you're
not stuck with buying anything that's "compatible" with the wireless
router.

- If you need to expand the system into the other end of the house
because of weak signals, just get a lower tech wireless route that has
guest access. One of the cheaper model Linksys routers such as the
EA1200 will suffice. You can move it around to other ethernet ports
as needed. If you have to unplug something, just move it to one of
the unused LAN ports on the back of this "portable" wireless access
point. For setting up a wireless router as an access point, see:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-basics/30338-how-to-convert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point
http://wireless.navas.us/index.php?title=Wi-Fi_How_To#Use_a_wireless_router_as_a_wireless_acce ss_point

However, if you're in a rush, and just need something to plug in
immediately, I suggest getting just the EA1200. Configure it as an
access point (not as a router). Nothing to change in the existing
BEFSR81. Setup a guest login. Give the EA1200 a static IP address
that's one digit more than the your existing BEFSR81. If the router
IP is 192.168.1.1, then configure your EA1200 for 192.168.1.2. Plug
it into one of the BEFSR81 spare ports, and have the grand-brat
provide the necessary testing and quality assurance.

What can go wrong? Well, if you just plug the unconfigured EA1200
into your existing LAN, you will have a duplicated IP address. Nothing
will work and you'll blame the grand-brat who will immediately start
crying. To avoid this disaster, take a computah off the network, plug
only this computer into the EA1200, and do ALL the configuring. When
done and you have a new 192.168.1.2 IP address configured, only then
plug it into the LAN.

Excellent suggestion! Thanks!


Note: alt.internet.wireless exists.

Footnote: Happy Holidaze.

Same to you and yours!

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:32:45 -0700, Jim Thompson
wrote:

I don't facebook ;-)

You will. Some of the parents I know are on Facebook solely to see
what their kids are saying and doing.
http://www.facebook.com/jeff.liebermann

As I recall, it was a BEFSR81, which belongs in a museum, but could
use replacement. What you want is dual band, guest access, WPA2/AES
encryption, and aerodynamic styling.

"Styling"? Is that an engineering word ?:-)

Yes. I suspect it's something that isn't found in chip design. It's
a major consideration for home networking. If it looks like something
from a mad scientists lab, it won't sell. This year, projecting
antennas, sharp corners, flashing lights, and white boxes are out,
while internal antennas, rounded corners, no lights, and the black
Darth Vader approved color schemes are in. Yes, there is such a thing
as fashions, style, and aesthetics in network hardware.

It's also a pet peeve of mine, where styling becomes more important
than function. For example, network boxes that can't be stacked on
top of each other. The name of the game seems to be "I want my box on
top of the pile". The Linksys devices I recommended are in this
category. The ultimate example was the old Apple Airport wireless
routers, which looked like a giant mushroom or flying saucer.
http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/itemimages/236/689/236689_large.jpg
Fortunately, Apple eventually came to their senses and switched to
stackable network boxes.

Footnote: Happy Holidaze.

Same to you and yours!

Bah Humbug. It's the traditional post-Christmas rush for me. Two
days out of the box, and I have two laptops with viruses arriving at
the shop today. One more that may be dead on arrival. I expect more
of the same in the following weeks. We had a storm last week. Only
one lightning hit in the area, which unfortunately hit very close to
one of my customers home. Wiped out most of the wireless and
networking hardware. Anything connected with CAT5 or long wires was
blown. Next, I get the call from a business, who wants to spend some
"excess" capital on computer upgrades. The catch is that I have to
spend it all in the next two days so that it can be deducted this
year. Of course, I haven't finished this years billing and
bookkeeping. Meanwhile, I'm dragging around a cold or flu for the
last 7 weeks that won't go away. I hate Christmas.

Incidentally, I helped assemble a fancy treadmill exercise machine for
a friend. In order to get firmware updates, it needs a wi-fi internet
connection. I'll also be installing wi-fi at a customers. They got a
Roku 2 XD IP video media player, which only connects to the internet
via wi-fi. You will eventually need wi-fi. Resistance is futile.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:52:55 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:32:45 -0700, Jim Thompson
wrote:

I don't facebook ;-)

You will. Some of the parents I know are on Facebook solely to see
what their kids are saying and doing.
http://www.facebook.com/jeff.liebermann

I'm the GRANDparent. The PARENTS of all these "kids" (5, 11, 12, 19,
20, 21, 21, and 23... that last one _now_a_working_woman_just_engaged)
keep a watch on their Facebook activities.


As I recall, it was a BEFSR81, which belongs in a museum, but could
use replacement.

Still works ;-)

What you want is dual band, guest access, WPA2/AES
encryption, and aerodynamic styling.

"Styling"? Is that an engineering word ?:-)

Yes. I suspect it's something that isn't found in chip design. It's
a major consideration for home networking. If it looks like something
from a mad scientists lab, it won't sell. This year, projecting
antennas, sharp corners, flashing lights, and white boxes are out,
while internal antennas, rounded corners, no lights, and the black
Darth Vader approved color schemes are in. Yes, there is such a thing
as fashions, style, and aesthetics in network hardware.

It's also a pet peeve of mine, where styling becomes more important
than function. For example, network boxes that can't be stacked on
top of each other. The name of the game seems to be "I want my box on
top of the pile". The Linksys devices I recommended are in this
category. The ultimate example was the old Apple Airport wireless
routers, which looked like a giant mushroom or flying saucer.
http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/itemimages/236/689/236689_large.jpg
Fortunately, Apple eventually came to their senses and switched to
stackable network boxes.

Footnote: Happy Holidaze.

Same to you and yours!

Bah Humbug. It's the traditional post-Christmas rush for me. Two
days out of the box, and I have two laptops with viruses arriving at
the shop today. One more that may be dead on arrival. I expect more
of the same in the following weeks. We had a storm last week. Only
one lightning hit in the area, which unfortunately hit very close to
one of my customers home. Wiped out most of the wireless and
networking hardware. Anything connected with CAT5 or long wires was
blown. Next, I get the call from a business, who wants to spend some
"excess" capital on computer upgrades. The catch is that I have to
spend it all in the next two days so that it can be deducted this
year. Of course, I haven't finished this years billing and
bookkeeping. Meanwhile, I'm dragging around a cold or flu for the
last 7 weeks that won't go away. I hate Christmas.

Incidentally, I helped assemble a fancy treadmill exercise machine for
a friend. In order to get firmware updates, it needs a wi-fi internet
connection. I'll also be installing wi-fi at a customers. They got a
Roku 2 XD IP video media player, which only connects to the internet
via wi-fi. You will eventually need wi-fi. Resistance is futile.

I have a Roku Soundbridge that I use to listen to Internet radio, but
it's connected via CAT-5

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

In article ,
says...
On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:00:39 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the oldest
granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who had
"murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do you
have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can easily
locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not intrude
on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled up by the
5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson

Show the kid your wrinkles and explain that super-zoot electronics is
something you do for _other_ people, not something you have for yourself.

If your PC's aren't set up to see each other, then you're probably safe
to just hook up an access point to the router. If they _are_ set up in
some sort of an easy peer-peer network, then you'll probably have to
fiddle with the security settings on each one.


Most routers now include "Guest" access that limits their access to the
Internet only. That way you can temporarily setup an open WAP just for
the guests and turn it off when the holidays are over.
Basically firewalls the intranet.

Jim Thompson wrote:

It's all peer-to-peer, but requires password log-in.

Maybe that's adequate?

Not adequate if they download something with a trojan, which kids always do.

Put the wireless outside your firewall, in a DMZ.

You need another wireless router.

Your ISP goes into its WAN port.
One of its LAN ports goes into the WAN port of your existing router.
Your PCs are connected to the existing router.
All other ports in the house that somebody might plug into are on the ports
of the wireless router, which is ouside your LAN.

For absolute isolation between 2 LANs you need a Y configuration, with 3
routers, but the kids aren't going to mount that kind of attack.


--

Reply in group, but if emailing add one more
zero, and remove the last word.

On Sat, 29 Dec 2012 13:36:23 -0500, "Tom Del Rosso"
wrote:

Jim Thompson wrote:

It's all peer-to-peer, but requires password log-in.

Maybe that's adequate?

Not adequate if they download something with a trojan, which kids always do.

Put the wireless outside your firewall, in a DMZ.

You need another wireless router.

Your ISP goes into its WAN port.
One of its LAN ports goes into the WAN port of your existing router.
Your PCs are connected to the existing router.
All other ports in the house that somebody might plug into are on the ports
of the wireless router, which is ouside your LAN.

For absolute isolation between 2 LANs you need a Y configuration, with 3
routers, but the kids aren't going to mount that kind of attack.

I'm all password-protected as well, so I'm good.

BTW, This Medialink device (b/g/n) is the cat's meow. The house is
stucco over very heavy mesh, with my office area almost surrounded by
that stuff, but no connection problems what-so-ever.

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Jim Thompson wrote:
On Sat, 29 Dec 2012 13:36:23 -0500, "Tom Del Rosso"
wrote:

Jim Thompson wrote:

It's all peer-to-peer, but requires password log-in.

Maybe that's adequate?

Not adequate if they download something with a trojan, which kids
always do.

Put the wireless outside your firewall, in a DMZ.

You need another wireless router.

Your ISP goes into its WAN port.
One of its LAN ports goes into the WAN port of your existing router.
Your PCs are connected to the existing router.
All other ports in the house that somebody might plug into are on
the ports of the wireless router, which is ouside your LAN.

For absolute isolation between 2 LANs you need a Y configuration,
with 3 routers, but the kids aren't going to mount that kind of
attack.

I'm all password-protected as well, so I'm good.

That won't stop trojans. You need a gateway router between the 'public' LAN
and your LAN.


--

Reply in group, but if emailing add one more
zero, and remove the last word.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Jim Thompson wrote:

I keep the neighbors at bay by declaring at cocktail parties, "I make
chips"... without further explanation ;-)


Potato or Corn? ;-)

Neither: Buffalo.

Michael Robinson wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Jim Thompson wrote:

I keep the neighbors at bay by declaring at cocktail parties, "I make
chips"... without further explanation ;-)


Potato or Corn? ;-)

Neither: Buffalo.


So, you just had to show up to sling more ****. That's so sad.

On Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:22:07 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Michael Robinson wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Jim Thompson wrote:

I keep the neighbors at bay by declaring at cocktail parties, "I make
chips"... without further explanation ;-)


Potato or Corn? ;-)

Neither: Buffalo.


So, you just had to show up to sling more ****. That's so sad.

Suffer the poor village idiots, for they shall inherit the patty :-}

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Jim Thompson wrote:

On Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:22:07 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Michael Robinson wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Jim Thompson wrote:

I keep the neighbors at bay by declaring at cocktail parties, "I make
chips"... without further explanation ;-)


Potato or Corn? ;-)

Neither: Buffalo.


So, you just had to show up to sling more ****. That's so sad.

Suffer the poor village idiots, for they shall inherit the patty :-}


Hopefully before it's dry.

I apologize for not responding earlier, but I've been busy.

The simple solution is add a WiFi router to one of you spare ports.
Configuration would be simple and would keep you present network intact.
Given you seem to have a relatively large house, you might want to add
two WiFi's and them have for the "kids" that they could go outside ans
still play with whatever "toys".

Larry



In article ,
Jim Thompson
wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson

If your present router is secure, you need not worry about whatever
hangs off the end. Just as your provider does not concern itself about
your equipment nor your neighbors equipment, you need not worry about
whatever router security hangs off your present router. Thus, just give
the WiFi a good secure password, configure your various relatives
equipment when they visit and leave your present secure system alone.
When the visitors leave, unplug.

Larry

In article ,
Kevin McMurtrie wrote:

In article ,
Jim Thompson
wrote:

In the annual run-up to Christmas, Thompson-style... scheduled to
accommodate grandchildren in college, meeting the fiancee of the
oldest granddaughter, out-of-state grandchildren, and prosecutors who
had "murder duty" on the 25th, we'll celebrate Christmas this year on
Saturday, the 29th.

The first arrival, 11 years old, from Palm Springs, asked, "Opa, Do
you have WiFi? I need my WiFi!" ;-)

Presently I have a Linksys 8-port router, since I wired the house with
CAT-5 as it was being built, 19 years ago, never thinking wireless.

I have a few spare ports on the Linksys.

What should I get as WiFi, considering the following...

House is essentially 65' x 65', so I need good range. But I can
easily locate transponder 8-10' off the floor.

How do I set it up so grandchildren can access the web, but not
intrude on any of my PC's? Already had the wife's PC's E-mail fouled
up by the 5-year-old :-(

...Jim Thompson

I'm having good luck with a Linksys E4200. Isolation is depends on your
equipment.

* If you have a NAT/router, it can probably serve multiple subnets.
Change all of your existing network clients to use a static IP address
rather than DHCP. For simplicity, the static address can be the DHCP
address they have now. Now on the NAT/router, change DHCP to give out
addresses for different subnet. Any device that pops itself onto the
network via DHCP won't see your other gear until it is manually assigned
an address in the other subnet. The WiFi can operate in bridged mode so
there's nothing on it to configure. I'm not sure if this is secure
enough for an 11 year old.

* More secure solutions are available if you replace your existing
router with the Linksys E4200 or another device that supports WiFi guest
networks. The guest WiFi account runs on a separate LAN from everything
else. WiFi routers don't have much LAN-WAN bandwidth so it's not a good
idea for very fast connections. Trying to get more bandwidth from this
configuration means you'd need to mess with SOHO routers. "SOHO" is
networking term describing a product that is completely FUBAR and has no
hope of working correctly. It might just blow smoke when plugged in.

* This problem is trivial if you're given multiple IP addresses from
your ISP. Set up the WiFi as an independent router and plug it into a
WAN jack