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Wireless Recommendation

Discussion in 'Community Broadband & Computers' started by moustafa, Sep 18, 2004.

  1. moustafa

    moustafa New Member

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    I have adelphia cable modem in the basement. I want to use my laptop also in the 2nd floor. Any recommendations for the wireless router and the wireless adapter thatI need to buy to work in this setup?
    Thanks,
     
  2. Dwarflord

    Dwarflord New Member

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    I think the 2 most widespread options are D-Link and Linksys. I have had both. I prefer D-Link because I find their hardware more reliable (my linksys died on me 1 month after warranty expired), better/longer warranty, easier to configure (thats obviously preference), and I think w/ D-Link you can get 802.11g compatible hardware that will get you 108Mbps, instead of 54Mbps if you get the 802.11g AirPlus products (both router and PCMCIA card)- you can read up more on their equipment on dlink.com. Good luck and let us know how it worked out for you.

    DwArFlOrD
     
  3. Twriter

    Twriter Get a Mac!

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    To expand a bit on what Dwarflord said.
    There are three wireless technologies available:
    * 802.11b - This is the oldest and slowest of the three. However its speed (11 Mbs) is certainly MUCH faster than your link through Adelphia (1 Mbs or less typically, 2 Mbs on rare good days).
    * 802.11g - This is newer than 802.11b, and has even faster throughput (54 Mbs max) and can interact with the slower 802.11b equipment. This is the most popular technology sold today.
    * 802.11a - This is also newer than 802.11b, and has the same speed as 802.11g, but its sole advantage is that it uses a different frequency, and thus is less susceptible to interference.

    The 802.11b and 802.11g technologies use the 2.4 Ghz frequency, which is also used by many cordless phones. This range can get interference from other sources, such as microwave ovens. I have a mixed 802.11b and 802.11g network in my house and we are getting interference fron a source that I haven't been able to identify. When it happens our network is unusable for several hours at a time.

    The 802.11a networks use a different frequency (I forget which one) and is less susceptible to local interference, but the equipment is harder to find and costs more.

    Some wireless networks can even go to double the speed of 802.11g and 802.11a, which is 108 Mbs. You need all your wireless devices to be from the same manufacturer so they can interoperate with each other. This extra speed is not necessary if your main use is accessing the internet. The weak link in that chain is the cable modem speed, which is typically 1 Mbs or less. Where you will see the difference in speed is when you share files from one computer to another. If you do a lot of computer to computer transfers, then you may appreciate the faster speeds (54 Mbs or 108 Mbs).

    When you install your wireless network hardware, you need to take care of a few techie items:
    1) make sure your network is free from interference from other wireless networks and is not interfereing with their networks.
    2) make sure your network is secure.

    To make sure your network is not being interfered with or is not interfering with others, you need to do a channel check. Wireless networks have 11 channels available. Your wireless router has a default channel, most likely channel 1, 6, or 11. In a community like Broadlands, the chances of your neighbors having a wireless network that is in range of yours is quite likely. From my house I can pick up signals for five networks, including two on channel 11 that are interfering with each other. Conduct a channel survey to find out which channels are used and unused in your neighborhood and select an unused channel that is NOT adjacent to other channels (if possible). I use a progam called MacStumbler that can survey all the channels and keep a running log. I run it for 24 hours just to make sure I get a complete log. If you are using Linux or Windows, you should be able to find a similar application for channel surveys.

    To secure your network, follow the instructions in your router's user guide. My suggestion is to NOT activate all the security methods in one session! Start by making sure you have a connection, then turn on each method one at a time and run for at least an hour or so before doing another one. This way, if there is a connectivity problem, you will know which method to troubleshoot. Of the many methods available, I suggest turning them on in roughly this order:
    * Administrator's password
    * 64 bit encryption (minimal amount of encryption)
    * 128 bit encryption
    * network password (I'm assuming you'll do the network name as part of the setup)
    * limit IP addresses (see below)
    * limit MAC addresses (see below)
    * Closed network (hide network name)

    Limiting IP addresses
    In most cases you set up your wireless router as a DHCP server that assigns the IP addresses to your computers. The router has a range of IP addresses it can assign. One popular option is to limit the range of numbers it can hand out. For example, if you have three computers in your house, you could limit the range of IP addresses to three (192.168.1.100 through 192.168.1.102) This way, if all 3 computers are in use and someone outside tries to hack in, the router won't have an address to give him, which locks the intruder out.

    Limiting MAC addresses
    Every network device has a unique MAC address (Machine Access Code), which is like a serial number. Many routers have an option where you can enter the list of MAC addresses for your wireless devices and then the router will communicate with ONLY those devices. An outside hacker won't have his card on your list and therefore can't get access to your network.

    Of course, no network can be made 100% secure, and a high-powered techie with expensive equipment can circumvent all of the above. Fortunately, I've yet to hear of anyone actually doing this. If you take the steps above, you'll keep out 99% or more of the problem makers.

    --- John B.
     
  4. Pictor Guy

    Pictor Guy New Member

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    802.11a uses 4.8-5.2GHz and has many more channels than 802.11b/g. So it's better for areas where you have many other networks. It won't pick up interference from newer 5.8GHz phones. My old 802.11b network had too much interference from other WiFi networks, 2.4GHz phones and the microwave. The one downside I would always hear about with 802.11a was the reduced coverage due to the properties of the higher frequency. But I've found the opposite since there is much less interference on the higher band. I also don't think there is much of a difference in propagation qualities in the 2.4 and 5.2GHz bands contrary to popular opinion.

    After a down turn in 802.11a usage it seems to be gaining favor again due to all the interference on the 2.4GHz spectrum.

    FWIW, I was able to find very cheap 802.11a gear a while back since it looked like everyone was jumping on the b/g wagon. If you look on ebay you might still be able to pick up some good deals on overstock Netgear 802.11a gear.

    __________________________________________________________
    Some software money can't buy. For everything else there's Micros~1
     
  5. hbrunton

    hbrunton New Member

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    Not sure if things have changed over the past few months or if I'm just the problem...but fyi, the Linksys Wireless G Cable Gateway was not compatible with Adelphia's network. I could not get mine to work and the Adelphia tech told me that he has heard from a lot of people who could not get it to work (couldn't resolve the MAC address). I swapped to the Motorola Cable Gateway.
     
  6. hbrunton

    hbrunton New Member

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    Just to clarify...the cable gateway would replace the Adelphia cable modem. Advantages is that you don't have multiple boxes.
     
  7. moustafa

    moustafa New Member

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    Thanks guys for all the info. I am glad that I live in a community that has such knowledgable people who are willing to share.
     

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