Wireless networking

[Indiana_Jones]

I wanna set up a wireless network in my house, just wanting to get some pointers.

I'm looking at a wireless network card, with 54MB per sec, would that be enough?

Also has anyone used the USB adapter, how well do they work etc?

cheers



-Indy

[Cajun]

currently 54meg is fastest you can get with 802.11(g)

Plenty fast enough, it comes in to problems when you try to transfer tons of large files across the link.

usb wifi adapters are fine, sometimes you come across bad ones, but often a bit hit and miss

[Indiana_Jones]

Well I've seen some 108mb cards for sale on tardme, but NZ internet is never gonna see that speed anytime soon, so 54mb should be fine I guess.

-Indy

[Karma]

And you think it'll hit 54mb soon? If you're talking about internet over the wireless as the main priority then you could run it at 11mbps and still no have a problem.

Make sure that you're using some form of security, mac address filtering is good and lay WPA over the top of that, only someone that REALLY wants in will do.

As has been mentioned, because of interferance sometimes file transfers on wireless can be slow due to repeatedly downloading corrupted packets.

[Cajun]

802.11(n) which is the 108meg cards, isn't an 'offical' standard yet, and in turn you need a router or simlar which has same 108 standard to get that speed

[Delphinus]

yeah go with the 54 802.11g gear. You'll rarely get that speed through it realistically, but it should run at least at 10mbit pretty well.

Dont forget cables as well, they can be very useful. Hybrid network is the way to go. For laptops, wireless is fantastic, but it doesn't really have the throughput to move alot of data. We happily can stream music/video over our wireless network as long as the AP is not too far away.
If you have pc's that are not going to move that you can easily cable to, i would do that.

Also check cordless phones etc make sure they are not running on the 2.4ghz frequency.

[Indiana_Jones]

Well I have to go wireless, the router is down stairs and is quite a while away from my pc, the cabling would be a big hassle.

As for security, where would one set-up a password etc?

-Indy

[YLWDUC]

Keep everything simple by sticking with the same brand for both the card and usb points. Some dollars to be saved in buying a combo pack. Or just by a macintosh, they are brilliantly simple when it comes to wireless

[Indiana_Jones]

I'll pass on the Mac, thanks lol.

I think my phones are 2.4ghz. Is there anyway to change the settings on the network or phone, save me getting new phones lol.

-Indy

[Delphinus]

Well I have to go wireless, the router is down stairs and is quite a while away from my pc, the cabling would be a big hassle.

As for security, where would one set-up a password etc?

-Indy

When you log into the router via web browser

1. Make sure you change the default username password to logon to it.
   
2. Under wireless somewhere you should be able to find an encryption or security button.
   
3. You should be able to choose from WEP or WPA - go with WPA-PSK and set a password (anything you like). Then when pc's etc try and connect to your wireless network they need that password to be typed in

Keep everything simple by sticking with the same brand for both the card and usb points. Some dollars to be saved in buying a combo pack. Or just by a macintosh, they are brilliantly simple when it comes to wireless

Dont worry so much about different brands.. I have a couple of linksys AP's, an asus AP, some asus notebooks/dell notebooks, D-Link wifi adapters, and it all works fine together.

The windows wifi setup with SP2 actually works surprisingly well. I often use it over the 3rd party tools that come with the wifi card. Just seems to be simpler and work better.

[limbimtimwim]

As for security, where would one set-up a password etc?

Check the equipment does 'WPA'. Then you put in a pre-shared-key (PSK, basically a password) in everything that needs to talk to each other.

If the key is not the same, then the access point won't talk to the client. Likewise it lets the client (Say, your PC) know that you are talking to the correct access point, and not some interloper who wants to steal your passwords. Unlikely as that could be.

That is good enough security for most.

[Delphinus]

I think my phones are 2.4ghz. Is there anyway to change the settings on the network or phone, save me getting new phones lol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

You could try getting some 802.11a gear?

the b/g gear uses 11 different channels (3 non overlappying, 1, 6, and 11) and different AP's should use a different channel, but unfortunately phones can be a right pain and will often use the whole spectrum...

[Karma]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

You could try getting some 802.11a gear?

the b/g gear uses 11 different channels (3 non overlappying, 1, 6, and 11) and different AP's should use a different channel, but unfortunately phones can be a right pain and will often use the whole spectrum...

Just changing the channel on the modem to either end of the spectrum will generally solve the problem.

[Delphinus]

Just changing the channel on the modem to either end of the spectrum will generally solve the problem.

Unless the phone takes up the whole spectrum (some do, some dont).

If you can, do a site survey, borrow some gear (maybe an AP and a laptop with some wifi) and set it up then using something like Netstumbler go for a wander round the house see what your signal levels are like, and try and move some data across the network see if it works.

Try that and see if any difference with or without your phone turned on.

[MOTOXXX]

make sure you stay away from dlink

its shit!