Rethinking Frankenrouters
A while ago, I had replaced a Linksys WRT54G with a Netgear switch and a D-Link DWL-G730AP. One day last week, this router stopped being able to get on the WDS mesh I have set up. This is despite the fact my wife’s computer, which is plugged into the downstairs end of the WDS mesh, was working perfectly well.
While the problem was more likely my WDS Mesh routers needd rebooting, the DWL-G730AP was also dropping more than occasionally. Clearly, this router wasn’t cut out for the job.
I took the opportunity to pull out the WRT54G and upgrade it to the latest DD-WRT firmware. I also did the same thing to my WDS mesh routers as well. I configured this WRT54G in Client Bridge mode, which is basically what the D-Link DWL-G730AP was doing. Worked like a champ. Furthermore, I notice far less WiFi dropouts now that I am using something with external antennas.
All of this futzing with WiFi does make me long for the days when my house had CAT-5 in every room. While WiFi is nice, I prefer the family computers be on a wired connection as they are more reliable and are less fiddly. I tried WiFi cards on the kids (and wife’s) computers and it ended up being a tech support nightmare for me.
