Setting up wired (1000Mbps) + wireless network

[Reuben D. Budiardja]

Hello
I am planning to setup a home network. I want the wired LAN to be able to run 
on 1000Mbps, since gigabit NIC and switches are getting less expensive these 
days. So my plan is to have

1. A computer (M1) connected with the Cable modem that has (at least) 2 NIC, 
one for the cable modem, the second one to connect to the switch.
2. M1 will act as firewall and router. This is because 1000Mbps capable 
routers are still too expensive for me. 
3. Other (wired) computers will connect to the switch.

Now my question is this. I want to add wireless capability to the network. So 
I searched for wireless access point (WAP) to connect it to the switch. Well, 
in newegg.com, WAPs are more expensive then combo Wired + Wireless router. Go 
figure ! Plus a lot of the combo router has better encryption (ie. a lot of 
the WAPs that I looked at don't have WPA).

So I am thinking of just getting the combo router. Will that be a problem if I 
connect it to the switch then (since it by itself is a router) ? Will it 
require more setup in the computer M1 that acts as a router ? I have 
experience setting computer with two NICs and a switch to build a LAN using 
IPTables (actually using shorewall as front end), but basically that's all.

Thank you for any help or pointer.

RDB

-- 
Reuben D. Budiardja
Dept. Physics and Astronomy
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN