By Ki Grinsing

Wired to wifi

Generally when you sign-up for a broadband DSL internet services, a modem (with routing function) is provided by the ISP and connected to a single computer. Typically the modem includes one USB port and a single Ethernet port. To share single internet connectivity with two or more computers within the household wirelessly, you require a wireless access point and connected to the modem-router.

You may consider D-Link DAP1522 Wireless Access Point to create a wireless network which can also be used as the wireless bridge.

What this product does

The model of the device is lovely with the neat curve sides and the front is decorated with some LED lights as an indicator of port-related activities.

Selectable dual band AP

The D-Link DAP1522 wireless access point is powered by the 802,11n dual band technology with internal antenna and is backward compatible with the 802.11b/g standard devices. Unfortunately, this is not simultaneous dual band but selectable to work either in 2.4GHz or 5GHz band. Basically it is a single band AP which can only operate in a single band in a time. Moreover, the device includes 4xGigabit Ethernet ports for high speed wired connection.

Advanced security

To secure the wireless connection, the DAP1522 access point support the latest industrial wireless encryption WPA/WPA2. Always use this strong wireless encryption for security reason since wireless signal is prone to the eavesdropping by the users within the wireless coverage.

3-modes of operation

The DAP1522 is equipped with a 3-mode switch to let you select the operation modes of the device: the Auto, AP and Bridge modes. In the Auto mode, the device will work automatically either in AP or bridge mode.

Wireless Access Point Mode

The D-Link DAP1522 wireless access point can be configured as the wireless access point to create a wireless N network within the household to share the internet connection with some computers using both wired and wireless connection.

Connect to native modem

Please note that in the wireless access point mode, you can only connect the device to the modem with routing function. You cannot connect it to the native modem device. The native modem device does not support the NAT function which is used to share the single internet connection with some computers in the internal network.

Slide the switch to the AP mode position and connect one of the Ethernet port to the modem-router Ethernet port. The figure 1 shows a common networking diagram with DAP1522 configured in the wireless AP mode. This way you can add your game console a gaming wireless adapter for connecting the device to the wireless network.

AP mode diagram

Please refer to the following figure where the DAP-1522 operates in AP mode.

figure 2 dap1522 in AP diagram

In traditional wireless access point, the device includes only one single Ethernet port. But this DAP1522 supports four gigabit Ethernet ports. With one port connects to the modem, you still have three ports for wired connection to the computers.

Any types of wireless adapters can connect to the network but you cannot connect adapters with mix bands because the DAP1522 support single band in a time either 2.4GHz or 5GHz band. If most of your wireless clients support dual band, you can take benefit of working with 5GHz band which is less interference than 2.4GHz band. This is ideal for streaming HD video and fast responsive gaming experiences. If you have multiple home theater devices with Ethernet port ready including XBOX console, Blu-Ray players and HDTV you can connect them  to the second DAP1522 which is configured as the wireless bridge as shown in the next figure 2 below. Or you can consider Buffalo multi-port wireless internet adapter (WLI-TX4-AG300N).

Wireless Bridge Mode

In wireless AP mode, you connect the DAP1522 to the modem-router in order to create a wireless network. The second mode you can use for this device is the wireless bridge where you connect up to four Ethernet-base devices to the AP1522 to become wireless clients for the existing wireless network.

Bridge mode diagram

With your wireless network in home and with your existing home theater devices (including XBOX console, HDTV with Ethernet ready, Blu-Ray player etc) you can connect them to a single DAP1522 access point to join into your existing wireless network. If your existing wireless network is powered by the dual-band router (such as D-Link DIR-665 selectable dual band router) you can take advantage of selecting the operating band in 5GHz band for maximum data throughput and clean network.

Figure 1 DAP1522 in wireless bridge mode

The figure 2 shows the wireless networking diagram where DAP1522 access point is configured as the wireless bridge. Up to four Ethernet-based devices connect to the DAP1522 to become wireless clients to the network.

Pros and Cons

The DAP1522 D-Link wireless access point is an affordable solution for connecting your home theater devices to the clean network (5GHz band).

Pros:

1. In Amazon, customers provide positive reviews with this device with averagely nearly 5 stars customer ratings for the ease of use, performance, documentation and reliability.
2. Includes four gigabit Ethernet ports for multiple connectivity for Ethernet-based devices

Cons:

1. Doesn’t support simultaneous dual-band but selectable
2. Can support only in two modes: AP and Bridge

Other Options:

If you have multiple home theater devices to connect to the internet, consider the WNHDB3004 wireless home theater networking kit adapter to connect up to four Ethernet-based home theater devices to the internet wirelessly. Click here more detail about WNHDB3004 specifications.

Or you can also consider D-Link DAP-1562 wireless media kits. This is a dual band selectable Wireless Media Streaming Kit with 4×4 spatial streaming delivering high speeds of up to 600Mbps. Unfortunately you can only connect one Ethernet-based device to the DAP-1562. One DAP1562 device #1 works as the wireless AP and connects to the network while the other device #2 works as the wireless bridge connects to one Ethernet-based device.