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I am buying a 2-story home (new construction) and I'm trying to decide the best way to set up wireless so it spans both floors with good coverage.

What kind of router should I be looking at for N and ABG? I have 2.4 ghz N router (dir-655) and n-card, b-card, and g-card devices (including a WII and an iPhone).

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If wired internet is an option for you, I would seriously consider wiring the house with CAT5e or even CAT6 cable. Seeing as it is a new build, it may be too late to add it to the plans but it is also something you can do as a weekend project if you're so inclined and savvy enough.

If wireless is the only option, I would go with either a Wireless N router in the middle of the house on the bottom floor, closer to the ceiling if possible, and a wireless extender/repeater upstairs.

If you want to go the Apple Airport route (I've recently had a lot of success with setting up and implementing these devices in homes), you can get an Airport Extreme base station for downstairs and an Airport Express for upstairs to extend the network. Both options would work for what you want/require.

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I think most solutions are going to be much like this. Two separate devices, one as a base station and one as an extender. – Trezoid Sep 23 '10 at 4:16
It is the only for-sure way to get a consistent signal without degradation, unless all the nodes or computers on the network are on the outskirts of the wireless range. – brandon927 Sep 23 '10 at 4:53
Can I use my existing dir-655 as a wireless extender? Or does it have to be wired into the network? – Caveatrob Sep 23 '10 at 5:15
Unfortunately, the answer is no. I'm not familiar with that model of router but you may be able to set it up as an access point off of another router. Again, I'm not sure but in theory it should work. If all else fails, D-Link also offers a wireless access point which you could install on the second floor, routed off of the DIR-655 d-link.com/products/?pid=663 – brandon927 Sep 23 '10 at 5:26
What's the ceiling/floor/wall construction and approx floor size in sq'm (or ft if you like). Any reasonable wireless router should generally cover a fair house size unless the construction method uses wire mesh/metallised foil in the walls/floors. If you need multiple APs and there's no chance to fit any cable then you could use a power line extender. – Linker3000 Sep 23 '10 at 8:21
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