Topic awaiting preservation: Wireless routers

I'm moving here in a month or so and I'll be sharing a connection with a friend of mine. I really don't want to run cabling so I was thinking about wireless. I'm not really familiar with much about networking, especially wireless routers, so I figured I'd ask around in here for some hints.

What are some things to look for?
Have you had good/bad experiences with any particular manufacturer?
How secure are these things? (Can neighbors swipe your bandwidth?)

Much thanks in advance.

:::krets.net:::

[This message has been edited by krets (edited 05-22-2003).]

one word....WIFI

and yes, your neighbors.. .COULD swipe your bandwidth... but most likely they wont be that smart.



[This message has been edited by Sanzen (edited 05-22-2003).]

I'm using a 802.11b linksys wireless router for my home network. Its also got ports in the back for cables if you want a hybrid network.

To set up a wireless network you need a router and cards for the computers that will be on the network. The thing that may get confusing is the standards. Here is a quick overview of the standards from the Screensavers.

You then install the router between your cable modem or DSL and computer(if you have one on the network), and then point your browser to the router and configure. Its actually pretty quick and painless.

Make sure the router has MAC address cloning. Some cable and DSL networks(like mine) record your computer's MAC address(an ID unique to your machine). That prevnts you from attaching in other computer to the internet. Cloning tells the router what MAC address to transmit. Put the router away when the cable guy comes by.

I love the linksys gear. I also have one of their cable modems. The set-up GUI is easy to use and I've had no hardware problems.(something will now go wrong)

I don't know if you take a laptop with you when travel, but judging by your posts I'd look into one of the dual-band cards. I considering buying them for my wife and me so we can access almost any network. Otherwise just match your card to the router's standard.

As for security, if you're in a house, the signal won't go much beyond your porch. If you're in an apartment then you might want some encryption. Almost all routers come with some sort of encryption.

--tiki


[This message has been edited by tikigod (edited 05-22-2003).]

Wireless is a reasonable alternative. My roomate has noticed no difference in web stuff and routine transfers across our LAN. Really big file transfers (over 100MB or so) he's noticed some difference. But who does that all the time?

Otherwise, what tikigod said. Set up the security and use the encryption (two different things.)

Thanks man, that really helps.

How about the speed? Are they as fast as wired routers?

:::krets.net:::

Like the others mentioned already, make sure you enable up the security. My neighbors a few houses down got into a big'ol feud when one hacked into the others computer through a wireless router. I used to run cable when I was a tech and I prefer wired connections so I wired my house while it was being built. I was glad I went though the extra work when I heard that story.

~Charlie

WiFi will get you fast wireless internet from like 300 feet from the hub (you still need a nice connection (cable, dsl, etc etc.. ) in your house, set up the hub and you can connect to it wirelessly 300 feet away ... and its good data transfer speed too, 10:100. donno how close your neighbors are or anything....



[This message has been edited by Sanzen (edited 05-22-2003).]

11.0 Mbps on 802.11b, slower than ethernet. You really don't notice on the Internet. I can tell if I'm trying to move a large file between machines.