[This is part 4 of a 10 part series titled: “So You’re An IT Noob“]
In the previous entry, we discussed how to get your church up and running with an Internet connection. In this part, we’ll be looking at being able to share that connection with your staff/volunteers with a network.
In a later post, I am going to delve into the world of Cat-5 cable, routers, switches, and other aspects of a wired LAN, but for this entry we’ll assume you’re going to go wireless.
Thankfully, wireless Internet access is not something determine by what platform you’re running. A computer running Windows, Apple OS, Linux etc can all connect to the same wireless router. So this begs the next question:
Which wireless router should I get?
Often, this is a question similar to, “What’s a good car to drive?” or “Who has the best hamburgers?”
Believe it or not, the answer is not crystal clear and is often objective (see the Mac vs. PC debate). For example I will voice a subjective viewpoint and say one brand of router you should never purchase is anything made by Belkin. I have never had a good experience with their products and I wouldn’t recommend them to my enemies (well…maybe).
So what’s an IT noob to do?
First, you’ll have to examine your budget. While that $50 router works well in your house, it may not serve you well inside a large office or small church. We’ll assume that for a piece of hardware like this, you can get something that will work for you and allow you to grow a little. Aside from a few exceptions, a good wireless router can be purchased from $100 to $150.
Second, you’ll have to examine your needs. As we discussed in Part 3, we’re looking at this from the perspective that you have a small office space for you and your staff because at this point, you don’t have a permanent facility. What kind of range do you need? Do you need a single band wireless router or dual band? You’re probably not going to want to use that same router you have in your house. I would also suggest you go with a dual band router. Without getting into specifics, I will just say that a dual band router will be less prone to interference from other wireless devices in the area.
Third, examine your skill set. You’re a noob. You’re going to want something that is relatively easy to use. Once you’re more familiar, then you can start talking about getting routers which offer features such as traffic prioritization, virtual servers and UPnP support. Confused? Keep it simple.
So which one? How do you choose? Let’s look at some brands and then I will offer up some suggestions.
D-Link, Linksys (Cisco) and Netgear are the most common brands available. Asus and Vizio are also making them but are still geared more towards the home market. It’s easy to get inundated with all different types. Go to any electronics store and you’ll be hit with a mass of them when you get to that area. Here are some suggestions but be sure to utilize the Google and do as much research as you can.
A sleek (no antennas) device which is dual band, it also offers the ability to attach a USB storage device creating a NAS (network attached storage). Easy to set up and works on both the PC and Mac. What I like is the setup runs from the CD so no having to take up valuable space on your computer.
Another well designed option, this is also a dual band router and supports attaching a USB storage device as well. Setup is easy and offers more room for growth once you familiarize yourself more with how these devices work.
I am listing this one under the assumption some may be in a 100% Apple environment. Nice design. What I like about this one is that it can be used for attaching a USB drive for network based storage but also has the ability to share a printer as well (though you’ll need a USB hub to do both). Like with most Apple products it is very easy to set up and it can support Windows computers. The only downside is it is limited to 50 users, but that shouldn’t be a concern early on.
What suggestions do you have?
Coming next: Productivity software for your team!
Ben Terry says
Are you familiar with ruckus? Which ones do you recommend for a fairly larger church that is already well established? A lot of our stuff has been given to us for free and now in the process of buying new equipment.
Jay Caruso says
Ben I have heard of Ruckus, but I haven’t used their products. The term “fairly larger” church is pretty subjective and other factors can contribute such as building materials and location.
I am going to cover access points in a later post (in one where we talk growth) but that’s the best way to go in my view. I am not a big fan of repeaters. WAP’s are very easy to set up and can be hidden away in ceiling’s or behind cabinets once installed.
Eric J says
When you say behind cabinets do you mean behind cabinet doors inside of an easy to get to cabinet? Or covered up by them?
Installing AP’s in the floor of the basement pointing up towards the sanctuary works really well we’ve found out.
Jay Caruso says
Anywhere as long as you can get the power cord and cat5 cable inside. We had one hidden in a credenza in our conference room. Another one we hid up in the ceiling and another one we hid behind a desk in somebody’s office.
Eric J says
I’m looking to buy a buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH wireless router as it ships with dd-wrt firmware pre-installed and is very hackable 😀
http://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Technology-AirStation-Wireless-WZR-HP-G300NH/dp/B0028ACYEK/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1JIQZ79XIGI42&colid=2PLMIK4FGMQKZ