Networking device to broadcast wifi from an ethernet port

Question

First of all, I am not looking for a specific product at all but more so just what you would call a device to which you can connect an ethernet cable to it and then broadcast wifi from that device?

I have ethernet running through my house so each room has an ethernet port. I want to be able to attach some sort of adapter to one of these ports which would allow me to have a wifi hotspot. I know that I could use a wireless router and simply turn DHCP off on it but that is a waste to me since I would not be using the 4 ethernet ports on it at all.. so hoping for a cost savings. Again, I am just looking for what you would call such a device.

Answer 1

you can use a raspberry pi to achieve what you mentioned above but for that you will also require a usb network card. I myself have a pi which does the opposite i.e. it converts the wifi connection to ethernet connection.

The following websites might help you in configuring your pi:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-WiFi-Access-Point-out-of-a-Raspberry/

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17702

Answer 2

About the cheapest way to do this with a standalone device is by using a router that has access point or bridged mode. Routers are usually the cheapest solution because there is a much bigger market for them. You should be able to find something in the $25 range for basic WiFi.

If you want to go as cheap as possible you can connect a WiFi adapter (usb or pci) to a Windows PC and enable Internet Connection Sharing. I'm sure it can be done in Linux & Mac as well but I don't know those systems as well. You can get some cheap adapters for under $10.