If I'm in the wrong group, or if there is a group better suited to addressing this question, please let me know and I will repost there.
We have a small business (art school for kids) and we want to allow customers to use our internet access as a perk when they are waiting. I am somewhat network savvy, so I understand the basic concepts of routing, switching, firewalls, etc., but I'm not so savvy that I know the available equipment and intricacies of each. IOW, I'm not exactly a n00b, but then I'm not an expert either otherwise I wouldn't be asking.....
We just got DSL at our business. We have a Siemens DSL modem that is currently hard-wired to our computer. I'd like to be able to connect one or two more computers to this computer and the internet, and these can either be wired or wireless. Additionally I'd like to be able to provide a wireless access point for our customers separate from the business network.
If I understand my requirements correctly, what I think I need is a small router that can separate the two networks, and wireless switch for the customer access point. What I don't know is if a wireless router can do both jobs.
My home network is a wireless router (2Wire 1000HW) that is fairly well locked down. I use a 128 bit WEP and I don't broadcast the network name to keep casual attackers out. The advanced settings allow for public access to the network from the internet (disabled), a bridge network to allow broadband IP addresses to be used on the local network (also disabled, but not sure what this means), and a private network with DHCP addresses.
A pointer in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
rmichael