Category: Network

After a long hiatus, PC Tech Journal is back!

First step was to pick a new hosting provider. This is when I realized I already had the 1&1 hosting package called “Unlimited Plus”. So I decided to give it a shot.

Two days later, after a number of trial and error, I was able to restore my blog here. It definitely wasn’t easy and I was really lucky to have an old cPanel backup handy. Which brings me to my small comment of the day. How can 1&1 not have a nice clean backup interface the same way cPanel has? One that backs up all your site data (including databases, email, etc.) in one click? This lack of feature is making me rethink my “choice”. I started looking at other options, but couldn’t find a clear winner, so I’ll be looking some more.

Anyways, it’s good to be back!

Why did this problem come about?

I recently bought a D-link DIR-628 wireless gateway/router. My goal was to get move up to the 5ghz signal. The advantage is significant: the actual throughput of your wireless access point is much better using 5ghz n/a signal rather than 2.4ghz n/g/b signal.

What I didn’t realize was how much I needed support for 802.11b and 802.11g. An oversight on my part? Partially: I could have bought a device that supported 5ghz and 2.4ghz simultaneously. But I didn’t, and I realized I needed to get that signal back and running.

What were my option? The most logical one is to go buy a Wireless Access Point. The funny thing is that Wireless Access Points are more expensive than Wireless Gateway Routers, yet are harder to find and do much less.

Next on the list was to connect a older wireless gateway router into my newer router. That could work, except that I would get a new set of IPs and possibly a firewall in the middle of my home traffic. I didn’t like this idea.

My solution was as follows. To implement it, you might need an Ethernet crossover cable, and a Wireless Gateway Router hub that is cooperating. In my case, I used an old US Robotics 802.11g wireless router that I had lying around.

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