[Cialug] Wi-fi recommendations

[Daniel A. Ramaley]

Thanks everyone for the ideas! I'll take a look at the different 
suggestions. I guess what i want out of an access point is something 
fairly basic. I already have a DHCP server, so i don't want it to do 
that; it should merely extend my wired network rather than setting up 
its own subnet and everything like most wi-fi access points want to do. 
I just want it to add a layer of WPA2 and support multi-channel 802.11n 
on both 2.4 and 5 GHz. It was fairly easy to configure the Airports to 
work that way. And i honestly don't care what firmware it runs. I 
normally have strong preferences for open source, but for an appliance 
that i configure once and then forget about, i don't care. I think of 
wi-fi access points like i think of my microwave: set a few basic 
settings (on the microwave, the clock, on an access point, turn on WPA2 
and set a strong password), and then ignore it.

On 2014-03-10 at 09:47:33 Daniel A. Ramaley wrote:
> My home wireless network is based around Apple Airport hardware.
> Unfortunately, it has recently come to my attention that Airports do
> not work with all devices. I have had no problem getting laptops made
> by each of Apple, Dell, and HP to work. My Android phone, a Galaxy
> S3, also works perfectly. But a Kindle tablet will not connect, nor
> will a Chromecast. From asking Google i found that it might be
> possible to connect a Kindle to an Airport, if you downgrade the
> Airport firmware to a specific version, turn off 802.11n, and
> sacrifice a chicken on the eve of a blue moon.
> 
> So... my question is, what would people recommend for a home wireless
> network that supports all devices?
__
Daniel A. Ramaley
Network Engineer 2

Dial Center 122, Drake University
2407 Carpenter Ave / Des Moines IA 50311 USA
Tel: +1 515 271-4540
Fax: +1 515 271-1938
E-mail: daniel.ramaley at drake.edu