home wifi network setup question

[diduknowthat]

Hey guys, my parents are moving into a new house and I am in charge of setting up a wireless network for it. The problem is, the house is big, old and has thick walls. My friend has a similar house and the walls really creates dead spots in the wifi network. Another problem is that the cable line comes in through the basement, and there are no ethernet ports in the house.

So, right now I'm trying to decide what is the best way of setting up a network. I figure I can either use a series of wireless n routers, one on each floor, to create a large network. I'm not exactly sure what I would need to make it so that it looks like one network, instead of 3 separate ones.

Another route I've been investigating is using internet over powerline adapters. This way I can get three adapters and have my routers plugged into those.

What do you guys think is the best method? If I were to use purely wireless routers, what would I need to buy? If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear.

Thanks!

 

[Fluffysheep]

I would try to stay away from having so many wireless routers in a house environment. Have you thought about perhaps getting one router and using a wi-fi repeater to get the signal to un-reachable areas?. Also I have used the broadband-over-powerlines adapters before and they work just fine so that may be a good option for you.

 

[Geoff]

Wireless repeaters aren't ideal, as it severely reduces performance, and powerline adapters don't work so well in houses with old wiring. The best option would be to have 2-3 wireless access points connected to a router.

To make them all one network you should set them up as access points, connected to one main router, and use the same SSID on all AP's.

 

[Speedydowt]

WRXguy1 speaks wisely but misses out a couple of key details.

Acesspoints one each floor is a valid one- definitely a good idea to wire these directly to a central switch or switchplane on a router, doing so will require either
1) An ethernet cable from the switchplane or switch direct to the access point- will most likel require drilling holes, running the cable outside the home and drilling back inside and running cable to desired location- time consuming but by far the best method that will provide the most stable and the most bandwidth.

2) Powerline adapters (as discussed by WRXGuy1) however contray to what WRXguy1 says:
Old houses may have updated electrical wiring circuits to keep up with electrical legislation and safety requirements. Your best bet is to "trial" some powerline adaptors in the new house, plug one into the basement (where your internet line in is) and the other as FAR away in the house as possible- what were trying to simulate here is the virtual circuit crossing as many ring mains in the consumer unit as humanly possible. connect a laptop or pc to powerline adaptor and check your speed- if the speed is good, you know powerlines will work fine, if it doesn't form a connection with the other powerline you know home's electrical system inst capable of using homeplugs.

Next thing is, to form "one single ESSID" you'll need to do as WRXguy1 says, make sure all your access points have the same SSID, however make sure they are all on non overlapping channels (1,6 and 11)