Wifi router hotspot

In the past, when the number of home gadgets capable of receiving a WiFi signal was in most cases limited to a single laptop or computer with a wifi adapter, providing multiple connections was not required. And many of them used only a wired connection for Internet access.

Rating TOP-12 Wi-Fi hotspots: review and characteristics of the best models of 2023

Overview and rating of popular models of access points. The main features, advantages, disadvantages and conclusions.

Access points are needed everywhere – at home, in the office in various public places. They are used to wirelessly distribute the Internet using Wi-Fi.

They are not routers – they can't give out ip-addresses or internet from a provider, only connect to an existing network. But how to choose the right access point?

What is a Wi-Fi hotspot?

The first thing to understand is that a router and an access point are different technical units.

The access point gets the Internet from the router and distributes it over Wi-Fi.

Some models can distribute IP, create a separate network and so on, but these functions are limited because they only work via Static IP, or DHCP.

It is also worth bearing in mind that the access point has a single connector, hence the Internet is not transmitted via cable.

Additional functions of routers

In addition, many modern devices support several other formats, which are preferable in one situation or another:

• As a repeater, the router increases the signal propagation area of the main fixture. Pairing this plan involves creating a common Wi-Fi network, but extended. In this case, if you connect another device to the second router with a network cable, then that device will also have access to the World Wide Web.

You can read more about repeater mode and its configuration here.

• If you want to turn the second router into a working AP, but without establishing connection to the first network wire, the best option would be to "aerial" them through the WDS.

Connecting Access Point (AP) Mode on Routers

Router as an access point is set up through the web interface, you can learn how to enter it here. In new routers from modern manufacturers, the Access Point format can be activated in different ways. In some models AR is activated with one button on the control panel and the routers, connected with a cable, are ready to work. This way of configuring the Access Point format is found in routers ASUS и Zyxel. The other method of enabling the "Access Point" is more laborious and involves the user manually entering the updated IP address of the add-on router and stopping the DHCP-server. This method is typical for routers from TP-LINK.

Connecting Access Point and the master device connected to the Internet

Both devices are connected to each other by pulling the network cable from the LAN connector on the first router (in the Home Network) to the second router. You can use the same cable to connect the devices to the second router to access the Internet.

About the third network segment

Conditions

The building in question is divided into a production and an administrative and household area. The ABC is connected to the rest of the corporate data network via FOCL.
Between the workshops the network is carried by twisted pair cable designed for internal laying, four pairs of which are occupied by two telephone lines, and the remaining four – uplink for a small local network of the production room. The cable is secured by knots tied by it to the supports. The cable by my calculations should have already torn, i.e. it is about to break because you can't use indoor cable to connect the buildings.

It is necessary to connect the small local network of the workshop with the network of the ABK, it is easier than to make another quality connection between the buildings. In addition, you need to connect to the KSPD machine with MS DOS, to which you need to reset jobs. At the moment, the machine tasks are carried on floppy disks.

Solution

The location of production facilities in the shop is that running a cable from the control room to the machine, and from the control room to one of the switches of the shop will require a much longer cable than the line of sight when you organize a wireless bridge (about 120 m and 190 m, respectively). If you use twisted pair, you need to install a switch, repeater or other link layer device (an additional point of failure) somewhere on the shop floor to meet the standard for maximum segment length.

To reduce the installation work to a minimum, I choose the option of organizing WIFI-bridge, following the example of another shop. The main WIFI-router will be Mikrotik RB2011UAS-2HnD-IN, and clients D-LINK DIR-620 A1 with firmware ZyXEL Keenetic and TP-LINK TL-WR743ND.

Configuring and setting up the router as a base station

Separately, I have to say that the cable broke a couple of days earlier than I had planned the installation. I had to quickly set up the routers in the morning, installing them in the shop. It took about two hours to set everything up. Of course, if I hadn't prepared the routers, it would have taken me much longer to install the cable.
First, I set up the Router OS of the main router. In this example, I don't use many of the features that can be set up on a Mikrotik router. Some might find its use redundant, but I cared about its stability. For 4 thousand rubles, I have not found any access points or routers that could show the necessary reliability. Although for this money you can buy good home Internet centers ZyXEL, Asus.

How to set up your access points

Preparing .

For local configuration we will need a personal computer or laptop, user rights to configure network parameters, primarily IP addresses and subnet masks.

The first step is to connect to a wired network. Access points will be located in hard to reach places, the street point after installation is expected to be accessible only via WiFi. Therefore, it's best to get everything set up to the max before physical placement.

The first thing to do is to get an IP address to connect to the device.

• Reset the access point to the factory settings and connect using the IP address specified in the instructions.
• If the access point has been given a DHCP IP address, you can find it out from the DHCP server.
• You can do in a simpler way – use Zyxel One Network utility, which allows you to find Zyxel network equipment in the local network. This way is especially good if the point has already been used and you want to see its previous settings, but for some reason you don't know its IP address.

Setting up the root access point WAC6303D-S

After you enter your login and password, you will see the initial setup wizard for the access point.

The process itself is fairly straightforward and allows you to do a maximum of general configuration "in one go".

Figure 7: Setting the password and network settings.

At the end of the work there will be a final window with the possibility of checking.

Figure 8. The final window of the wizard.

After the wizard finishes you will be taken to the main Dashboard web interface screen with the main settings.

Figure 9. The Dashboard of the WAC6303D-S web interface.

Everything is mixed up in the Oblonsky house

What is the result now, that is, in the range of network equipment?

• Most home access points also have router functionality, in varying degrees of truncation, but it is still there.
• Many of the corporate access points are also combined with a router (take the same Microtic).
• Almost all home routers have basic access point functionality, i.e. they can connect client devices wirelessly.
• Corporate routers are also often equipped with a built-in access point.

That is, we have a large number of devices, which, regardless of the name (access point or router) are multifunctional and partially or completely duplicate each other.

But, although with great difficulty and very relative, some differences can still be found. In this case, with devices for the corporate segment is easier – they are more highly specialized. With home devices it is more complicated.

Access points, both home and corporate, are more are focused on the transmission of wireless traffic, and these features are the main focus of the manufacturer. Most of the time, they do not have an interface for connecting devices via a wired network and have only one port to receive data from the router. Router capabilities in access points are usually limited just enough to meet the basic needs of the application for which the manufacturer has positioned them.

Routers routers, on the other hand, are focused on their core business: distribution, routing, traffic managementboth wired and wireless. The WiFi router provides additional ports in order to connect the devices with a network cable. At the same time, depending on the price and versatility of the model, router may not have all the features of an access pointFor example, it may not be able to work as a wireless client or repeater.

So what's better to buy?

"So what should I buy? What's better?" – asks the totally confused user.

The best way out is to to be guided not by the name of the device, but by its functionality. If you need advanced wireless functionality – check whether the access point or router that you want to buy has it, or whether they can only provide connection of devices to the network via WiFi. If you need the functions of a router and an access point at the same time – choose a suitable device from either WiFi routers or multi-functional access points/routers.

Let's consider the choice of devices on examples of use at home or in a small office. For corporate clients the tasks are usually much more varied and manifold, so we will not touch upon them within the scope of this article. But when choosing equipment you can always turn to our experts for advice.

You already have a WiFi router, You have a local network, and your devices are connected to the router via WiFi. But the coverage does not "reach" all corners of the house / apartment / homestead and you want to expand it without using a network cable. The best thing to do in this case is to buy access point with the support of wireless repeater mode, ideally the same manufacturer as the router, but you can also pick up an analogue. You can also buy a second router, but you must make sure that it supports the repeater mode at a decent level of bandwidth for your tasks.

You have a local wired network in your home or office but you want to add a wireless segment to it as well. This is also where access point especially if it is designed specifically for the purpose of organizing wireless corporate coverage, as Ubiquiti UniFi or Mikrotik cAP. But if a router with the features you need in this situation is cheaper, you can buy it, but its configuration will be a little more complicated.

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