Which is better for me: AP or 2nd router?

[jas282]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my newbie question! My current LAN setup in my house is as follows:

TWC cable ISP coming in from street into my ARRIS / Motorola SurfBoard SB6183 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - (SB6183). FWIW I own the modem. The modem is connected to a ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router, and that wireless router feeds the entire network via Wi-Fi (no Ethernet-connected divices). The Wi-Fi connections are generally a couple desktops, a couple laptops, two phones, two tablets, guests)

This setup works fine. Simple enough, right?

My wife thinks the Wi-Fi downstairs is a little "iffy" in spots, and I agree. I goal in this upgrade is:

(1) To have the original ASUS RT-N66U be the router that the modem plugs into, but to also connect a desktop and a printer to it via Ethernet cables. I also want this router to continue to provide a wireless network.

(2) Get a second AP (or router?) going via Ethernet from the ASUS RT-N66U above and run it downstairs. This AP (or router?) would need to broadcast wireless (same SSID and password) AND have an Ethernet cable out to a downstairs desktop.

I've read the sticky on how to make a second router (not yet purchased) be my AP, but would this work best? Or should I run Ethernet and have wireless broadcast from just another AP? (not a whole router?) Also, could it be the same network SSID and password? If I get another router, I'd get another ASUS RT-N66U... but if it can work with a simple AP, which should I consider? I get great cable speeds (300mbps) out of my current router's Ethernet ports and would like all the "hard-lined" parts of this network to be capable of those speeds.

really truly appreciate the help.... thanks in advance!

 

[kanewolf]

I would recommend a second N66U and run it as and access point. It will simplify things because you will be able to run one firmware version on both devices. The user interface will be familiar, etc. Having the same SSID has good and bad things. Your devices might get confused and connect to the less optimal one. It is hard to troubleshoot a WIFI problem when you can't tell the devices apart.

I would set them with unique SSIDs and manually select which one to connect to. Seamless roaming between the WIFI sources is iffy with hardware that isn't designed to work that way.

 

[bill001g]

Mostly you buy a dedicated AP when you need to run them on PoE. They many times only have a single ethernet port so you could not use them as you want. You would think a AP would be cheaper than a router but it is not most times.

Generally for a home user there is little reason not to buy a router and just not use the extra feature that you do not need.