Have Vonage RT31P2 router, would like wi-fi ....

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 14, 2005 Posts: 3

Dear Forum members,

I have what I hope is a simple question, easily answered (please excuse the ignorance on my part). I am in the UK, with UK Vonage service.

At the moment, I have a Vonage setup (which I am very pleased with) that consists of an NTL cable modem for my broadband connection, and the standard LinkSys RT31P2 telephone adapter that Vonage sent me as part of the setup package.

I find I would now like to share my broadband connection around the house via wi-fi, so that I can access the internet from a laptop anywhere in the house/garden. The telephone would stay where it is.

If I did not have the Vonage service, I would know how to go about setting up my wi-fi, i.e. buy a wireless router and plug that into my cable modem.

But how do I go about setting up a wi-fi hotspot for my house given that I have the Vonage service / Vonage telephone adapter cabled in? Do I still go out and buy a wireless router, and plug that into my cable modem and use it alongside the Vonage telephone adapter? Or do I go out and buy and buy a wireless router with telephone sockets and use this instead of the LinkSys RT31P2 completely? - if so, will any wireless router with telephone sockets be suitable for the Vonage service?

If the answer to the last question is 'No', do Vonage supply a wireless router that will give me the local wi-fi I now need, and let me still have my Vonage telephone service ? I notice on their website that they seem to have installation instructions for what look like wireless routers, but they have no information on upgrading from one of their non-wireless adpeters to a wireless one.

If anybody could throw any light on this for me please, I would be very grateful.

Many thanks. Lol

Posts: 46 · Full Forum Member Joined: Jun 03, 2005 Posts: 46

You've really got 2 options - do you want to treat your wireless PCs the same as the wired ones, or different?

If the same, buy a wireless bridge. If different, buy a router. Either way, plug it into the RT32P2.

Just make sure you buy items that support WPA and use it...

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 14, 2005 Posts: 3

Thank you Cryhavoc for taking the trouble to answer my post.

At present, I just have 1 PC in the house, and it is physically cabled to the NTL broadband cable modem and the LinkSys router that Vonage sent me into which the telephone is plugged.

I am not intending to make this PC wireless, it can just stay as it is. I do, however, want to add something to this setup so that I can use a wi-fi enabled laptop anywhere in the house/garden, which can access the internet via the aforementioned cable modem.

Therefore, I think I can go down the wireless bridge route, if I understood your answer properly. So I have done a search on the web, and something like the Linksys WET54G Wireless-G Ethernet Bridge as described here:-

http://www.broadbandstuff.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=26_33_87&products_id=70&osCsid=3523094cb1b257351811476c6cda86a3

would that do the job for me do you think? (Then just plug it into the LinkSys router that Vonage supplied me with? - it all seems too easy!).

I notice though that this device does not seem to offer WPA, only WEA Encryption. Am I on the right lines with this and can you suggest / recommend a better piece of kit to buy?

Posts: 46 · Full Forum Member Joined: Jun 03, 2005 Posts: 46

I've got no experience of that model, but I've used plenty of Linksys stuff and haven't had problems.

As for WEP, it's better than nothing (assuming you enable it).

Linksys also do a good range of routers (that support WPA and the faster 802.11g), such as:

http://www1.linksys.com/international/product.asp?coid=6&ipid=713
http://www1.linksys.com/international/product.asp?coid=6&ipid=611

You can find them at the likes of http://uk.insight.com/

Worth checking what the laptop supports - if it's only supports 802.11b and WEP then you should either stick with the Bridge or buy an adapter for the laptop that supports 802.11g and WPA.

Posts: 8 · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:11 am Post subject: Bridge or WAP?

I'm embarrassed to raising this question, only to defer to someone else for its answer: Does this gentleman need a "bridge," or a "wireless access point?"

I am under the (possibly mistaken) impression that a bridge needs two anchors, and a wireless card in a laptop can't serve as one. Bridging, then, would require TWO wireless Linksys units, one to send and one to receive, the latter to also act as a router or switch.

Likewise, I thought I knew that a wireless access point (WAP), which is a cheaper and simpler device, could simply attach to his RT31P2 and transmit a signal to his laptop's card.

HELP, please, someone more knowledgeable than I!

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 14, 2005 Posts: 3

Hi Chris -

Thank you for your contribution to this thread, that I started. I contacted the store that I mentioned in my earlier posting(broadbandstuff.co.uk - no affiliation to me) and had this very helpful response from them after explaining my setup to them :-

"All you would need to do is to purchase a wireless access point and plug this into one of the ethernet ports on the RT31P2. This will effectively give you a wireless router which you would be able to connect your laptop to. For this I would recommend the Linksys WAP54G which can be found here: http://www.broadbandstuff.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=75&osCsid=f9a17a66f56909759dfdab50e1dbd913 . These have the added benefit that you can add an extra one of these wirelessly to your setup to boost the signal if you arent getting a signal in all parts of your house and garden"

So the answer seems to be I need a wireless access point that I just plug into my Vonage router, just as you described in your posting, but I am grateful to the first respondent for his response. I hope this thread helps anybody else in a similar position to me.

Posts: 8 · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 9:12 am Post subject: THE Answer

Yes, that sounds right to me (obviously!). WAP's can be absurdly cheap (here in the U.S., www.WOOT.com just offered one for US$20 a few nights ago), which is all to the good. I hope they can be had similarly cheaply in the U.K.

NOT that anyone would do this, because it no doubt violates the usual agreement with the ISP, but it isn't unknown for a neighbor to want to borrow wireless Ethernet bandwidth to power his own Vonage ATA (splitting the cost of broadband access). This is a situation in which "bridging" would be used.

It's a fascinating possibility because a broadband line that ISN'T heavily used for downloads, streaming video, etc., could really power quite a few ATA's worth of simultaneous VOIP conversations. It would be a small telecom node, limited practically only by signal penetration/strength. Incredibly cheap telecom.

But I digress. Good luck with your WAP and laptop. Once you've gone wireless, your relationship with the Internet changes profoundly.

Posts: 46 · Full Forum Member Joined: Jun 03, 2005 Posts: 46

ChrisBieda wrote:

I'm embarrassed to raising this question, only to defer to someone else for its answer: Does this gentleman need a "bridge," or a "wireless access point?"

I am under the (possibly mistaken) impression that a bridge needs two anchors, and a wireless card in a laptop can't serve as one. Bridging, then, would require TWO wireless Linksys units, one to send and one to receive, the latter to also act as a router or switch.

Somewhat true, I'd overlooked that.

Some access points have a Wireless Bridge mode, that allows you to link to APs together. Which is what you're talking about (and what I'd forgotten about). I was thinking more of the true (networking) bridge, which I think is what most APs default to (but it's been too long since I've played in anger with wireless APs).

So, you've got the choice of:

Access Point (probably best suited for this use)
Router (probably OTT)

Thanks for picking up my oversight!

Posts: 13 · Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:57 am Post subject:

is it possible to connect the LinkSys RT31P2 (vonage adapter) to my netgear DG834G(Netgear DG834G) Wireless router via ethernet

or

does the linksys HAVE to be connected to the ethernet port on the computer and not on a wireless router

Posts: 46 · Full Forum Member Joined: Jun 03, 2005 Posts: 46

Details can be trivially found under Help on the UK Vonage site. Start from http://www.vonage.co.uk/help_knowledgeBase_article.php?category=41&nav=3 .