Wireless networking

[Anders]

Hello all,

I want to network wirelessly a few PCs and a Laptop as well as share a broadband connection. The PCs will most likely be new cheapy Dell Celerons. I was thinking of going for LinkSys, they seem to come well recommended.

Hardware:
Linksys ADSL Modem & 54G Wireless Router (WAG54G)
A PCI Card for each PC: Linksys Wireless-G PCI Card - Network adapter - PCI - 802.11b, 802.11g (WMP54G)
For the laptop: Linksys Wireless-G Notebook Adapter (WPC54G)

Basically I want to check that this will work, and that I won’t be wasting money and look like a fool? The PCs will come with Windows XP Home, will these be fine to network?

Also what sort of range do you think I will get out of this? Will the wireless network work over two floors? Will the wireless network reach into another building which is about 15 metres away (I would like it to)?

I could do with a reply soon. Thanks.

Anders.

[Aaron]

I've got a wireless network using Linksys kit (11g broadband router, 11g PCI and PCMICIA cards) and it works flawlessly. It's very reliable and the documentation with the Linksys hardware is superb.

Windows XP Home will be fine and XP makes setting up networks a doddle.

As for the range... it's difficult to say. At a push, I can surf from the garden with my laptop (20m and three walls) but I only get speeds of around 2Mbps. You might be lucky, you might not. It's probably best to buy part of the kit first, test it and buy the rest if it works.

[scottyman]

find out if you can get the external antenna.
don't bother with wireless where you don't have to (had got high latency) especially for the desktops. my linksys hardware works fine = had no problems with it.

[Anders]

Thank-you for the quick replies. Well at least I don’t seem to have gone wrong choosing LinkSys. I did rather suspect that ranges were dependant on the layout and the type of walls etc. 2Mbps would be more than enough for using ADSL wouldn’t it? Given that the broadband will only have 512Kbps of bandwidth.

Is an "external antenna" simply what is says on the tin, an antenna that you put outside? How does it connect to the network? Have you any recommendations on one? One of the reasons for choosing wireless is so I can network the two buildings, would you recommend doing it another way?

[scottyman]

oooh - that's a bit tougher - i think as per broadcasting requirements it's a little dodgy. Mind you I think it's scale - I put in a 35meg link between two sites, and that was lots of fun.
external antenna often has a power booster to get the broadcast levels up - you have "external" external antennas and "internal" external antenna - i.e. replace one of the antenna on your box with one on a fly lead, with a higher broadcast power - forget what the numbers are like, but it allows you to extend your range quite considerably depending on the building structure.

[Anders]

Ah right, thanks Scottyman. I will have to look around to find somewhere that sells them, although I am not sure where to start looking. If you know of any good places/antenna could you let me know please? I’d hope I can use an internal-external antenna then as that sounds easier. As I said above buildings are ("only"?) 15 metres apart.

How far apart where your two sites? Did you do it with wireless?

[scottyman]

i'm having the same problem trying to find one - will let you know as soon as I know.

[Anders]

It does not seem to be easy to track down an external aerial. Can I place another wireless router/access point towards the edge of the range in order to extend it? i.e. put one in each building. Would that be the correct piece of hardware to use?

Hope that makes sence.

--edit--

Just found something called a "Signal Booster". Linksys seem to do one although it only seems to be for 802.11b and does not seem to be widely available. Anyone know if there is one for the g standard or where to get this one from in the UK?

http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=38&prid=548

[nichomach]

Check with Linksys, but you may be able to use the WAP54G Access Point as a repeater with your WAG54G. You can with the WRT54G as per Linksys Knowledgebase article ID KB10934866 ( go to http://kb.linksys.com/ and search for that article number). That would certainly extend the range, were it located carefully.

[Anders]

Ah well found nichomach, thanks. I have e-mailed their technical support to find out if the same is possible with the WAG54G. I will let you all know the answer in case anyone else is interested.

Additionally, is there an easy way to wander round measuring the signal strength? Is the simplest method a laptop with a wireless card?

[nichomach]

Additionally, is there an easy way to wander round measuring the signal strength? Is the simplest method a laptop with a wireless card?

Works for me...

[Rythmic]

If you're still looking for new antennas - ebuyer (of all places) does a range of 35

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...subcat_uid=489

[Anders]

Thanks Rythmic. It is difficult to know if any of those will fit the Linksys products. Anyone know if Aerials have standard connectors?

No response from Linksys yet. So much for "a reply with-in 24 hours", not that I really expected them to manage that.

[scottyman]

sorry matey -
they have known connectors -
off to varsity now, but will take mine apart - I it's an RP-TMC - but will dig out the webpage later on today

Edit!
Here's a website showing some pics:

http://wireless.gumph.org/content/3/...onnectors.html

It's a female RP-TNC on my BEFW11S4

Don't know if the unit supplied by ebuyer with this connector is actually the one you want. The comment listed states that it's not the same as the image. It's worth checking it out with them directly.

Scotty

[Anders]

I never got a reply from Linksys in the end, sigh.

It is pretty simple to wirelessly network Windows XP machines, but what if one of the machines is Windows 98? Someone told me it would not be possible to wirelessly network a 98 box, which I find difficult to believe. So firstly, is it possible? Have you got any tips/guides for me?

Thanks again.

[Kumagoro]

you can easily network a win98 machine by createing a network boot
disk or something like that. when you click on the setup a home or small office network, in network places in XP.

Then you stick the disk in the 98 machine and start the exe file.