Wireless Networking
- Friday, August 29, 2003Network Standard: A, B, or G
First you'll need to choose what wireless standard you want. I'm using B, but there's also A and G. My advise, just get B. If you want more info about the differences check out these pages from Linksys:
Wireless Standards: A vs. B vs. G
What Standard is Right for Me?
Base Station
I've had great sucess with a Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Broadband Router. I found it real easy to setup. Because it's a "broadband" router, it also handles the connection to my DSL line, so the computer doesn't have to. I can just turn on the computer, and can immediately check email. No connecting at all. It's real nice and it works for both cable or DSL.
Network Adapter
You'll also need a network adapter so your computer can connect to the network. For a wireless laptop, you'll want something like the WPC11. Of course, many laptops built now have wireless networking built in, so you might not need anything if you using a machine with Centrino. For your desktop you can use either a wired LAN Card which is installed inside your computer, or you can use a Wireless PCI Card. If you use the wired version, you'll need to be physically located near the base station.
Security
Once you're up and running, you'll need to think about security. Check out this link for details. It's a fairly dense topic, so look for a more detailed post focusing on this topic.
See Also:
Network Ports and Cables
Troubleshooting a Wireless Network
Broadband Routers
Wireless Networking
posted by Kevin Watts | 
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