Has anyone played around with them? I'm thinking about getting one for my house but I don't know if it would work for my situation.
Six computers scattered all over the house over three floors. Would a wireless LAN work in my situation?
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Has anyone played around with them? I'm thinking about getting one for my house but I don't know if it would work for my situation.
Six computers scattered all over the house over three floors. Would a wireless LAN work in my situation?
Yes and no.
I have played with a couple different wireless systems and had problems with them.
First of all they are slow. 8-11Mb/sec. as opposed to 100Mb with copper.
Second. The wireless systems I have dealt with were all "hubs", I have not seen any wireless switches. What this means is that when you connect multiple computers they will share that 8-11Mb of bandwidth and slow down even more.
Third. Most of these systems use the same frequencies as things like cordless phones remote control toys and garage door openers. (Took me a while to figure out why my network went haywire when the neighbor pulled in his drive.)
Fourth. I also encounter bad interference from Microwaves, power tools and vacum cleaners.
Wireless is a nice idea but it has a way to go before I will trust it.
These guys boast a range of 1600 feet from the base so I don't see why not.
<a href="http://www.linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=22&prid=157" target="_blank">http://www.linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=22&prid=157</a>
Personally I used cables in my house for better speed.
The Linksys was one of the ones I tried. I was better than Netgear, but I still had problems. I got pings in the 4-500 range even 5 ft from the hub.
I cabled my house a couple months ago 5 locations with 3 jacks per. cost me less than the wireless system.
I have been using a D-link wireless access point for about a year.
You don't have to go totally wireless. Just get a access point and plug it in to a hub or switch. Then get a wireless PCMCIA card for a laptop and you can anywhere you want in the house.
With machines scattered around the house you may need two access points if you go totally wireless.
I get speeds of around 5-6Mb. It works fine for sharing my DSL, but when I'm moving large files around the LAN it's slow.
Newer and faster 802.11a is out now. It's much faster (45-55Mb/s), but not backwards compatible.
I have read good things about SMC's implementation.
I live in a rural area where wired broadband is not available, so the only option is wireless. I'm using a Cisco aeronet 350 series card, and get about 1.5 mbps throughput being 25 miles from the transmit tower. My ping times are really good too, less that 20ms average -- not too bad for a wireless WAN. I wouldn't want to use these adaptors for a wireless home network, though. There like $300 U.S. each. I think wireless LANS are mostly just a gimick, except for laptops. It is not that tough to run copper, and since its so much faster and more reliable, I think its the best soulution. You just have to be optimistic about running the wires. Don't look at going into the crawl space as a chore, but an "opportunity" to also check out the plumbing under the house. Don't look at the attic as a fourth-floor torture chamber, but rather as a place to spend some time in quiet reflection . . . while running cables. :)
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by jimmm33:
<strong>I have been using a D-link wireless access point for about a year.
You don't have to go totally wireless. Just get a access point and plug it in to a hub or switch. Then get a wireless PCMCIA card for a laptop and you can anywhere you want in the house.
With machines scattered around the house you may need two access points if you go totally wireless.
I get speeds of around 5-6Mb. It works fine for sharing my DSL, but when I'm moving large files around the LAN it's slow.
Newer and faster 802.11a is out now. It's much faster (45-55Mb/s), but not backwards compatible.
I have read good things about SMC's implementation.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have used the dlink products as well, and they are pretty good. One thing, i never was able to use two access points together. I called tech support, and they said i should connect two access points with a wired hub to link them?
The really bad thing about wireless products is they really depend on 'line of sight' trasmissions. I had an application where customer had 20ft between all four adapters to the access point, but because of several angles involved, and steel studs, i got almost no signal. What a nightmare.
Why dontcha get one of them 802.11 gizmo's? It's wireless networking. The price has dropped dramatically lately and you can hook up that whole mess of comps you got going on pretty easily.
Some good reading on Wireless Networking for home and business use can be found <a href="http://www.80211-planet.com/" target="_blank">here</a> at 802.11 Planet.
They have good tutorials and News and such.
I would recommend the tutorial on <a href="http://www.80211-planet.com/tutorials/article/0,4000,10724_953511,00.html" target="_blank">minimizing wireless interference issues</a>.
good luck~
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by craigmodius:
<strong>Some good reading on Wireless Networking for home and business use can be found <a href="http://www.80211-planet.com/" target="_blank">here</a> at 802.11 Planet.
They have good tutorials and News and such.
I would recommend the tutorial on <a href="http://www.80211-planet.com/tutorials/article/0,4000,10724_953511,00.html" target="_blank">minimizing wireless interference issues</a>.
good luck~</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yep,.. I'd say within the next 5 years (maybe sooner) 802.11 will be the new ethernet standard.
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by rusabus:
<strong>I live in a rural area where wired broadband is not available, so the only option is wireless. I'm using a Cisco aeronet 350 series card, and get about 1.5 mbps throughput being 25 miles from the transmit tower. My ping times are really good too, less that 20ms average -- not too bad for a wireless WAN. I wouldn't want to use these adaptors for a wireless home network, though. There like $300 U.S. each.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ouch. Someone took you to the cleaners. That Cisco card can be found for around $125.00 to $150.00. And, yes, it includes the little antenna thingy. I don't know how long ago you got it, but $300.00 seems a little high. How the heck are you able to get a ping of 20ms from 25 miles away? I can't even get a ping that fast from 25 feet. :) :cool:
I live in a 3 story with 4 PC's scattered throughout the house. My wife didn't want cables hanging through the house. I tried the D-Link wireless solution. Cable Modem>>>Router>>>Access Pt.>>>D-Link USB card. All was well within line of sight or on the next floor immediately above the AP, but on the top floor or a distance (within the house) away from the AP and nothing. Finally hired a contractor to drill some holes and ran CAT5 wire from the Router in the basement between the walls & floors to the main floor and top floor. System works like a charm. And no hanging or running wire along the floor or ceilings. :)
Thanks for all the information!!
I think I'm going Major Kongs route...run cable through the walls.
I called for an estimate and they said 500 dollars for 10 drops down to a patch panel in the basement.
Not too shabby!!!!!
I just set up a wirless network in a clients house..10,000 sf (and he calls it a cabin)..3000 sf per floor, using a dsl modem connected to a D-Link wireless router with built in 4 port switch..one wireless access point per floor..distributed at various locations so they weren't above one another..and three pcmcia wireless cards..works like a charm.
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Low Level Owl:
<strong>Thanks for all the information!!
I think I'm going Major Kongs route...run cable through the walls.
I called for an estimate and they said 500 dollars for 10 drops down to a patch panel in the basement.
Not too shabby!!!!!</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$500!!! I wouldnt hire someone to do it for $100! Why not do it yourself? It's very easy!
We use wireless at our school and the only problems that we have is moron users reloading their machines and not knowing how to set up the network for their machine. Other than that its great, we run on a T1 and average 100-200KBps on downloads with the CATV and the wireless average 120-200KBps. We are using linksys for the hubs and linksys with the cards. Just be sure that you dont put the access point right next to something that will cause interference such as central air unit, fridge, etc, really just any large appliances.
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by savagegerbil:
[QB$500!!! I wouldnt hire someone to do it for $100! Why not do it yourself? It's very easy![/QB]</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I would do it myself if I were living in my own house. But being as I don't own the house, I'd rather let pro's make holes in the walls.....
I dont see how you could have any problems unless you are using inferior cards. I work at an ISP that does wireless because we live in a rural area and that is the only way to get decent bandwidth around here. We have some links that go for kilometers with special antannas, but you can still drive down the street a few blocks and still be in range. If you want to run cable and that is easier then do it! Its cheaper. If you have a laptop and want to roam around the house then you would want a wireless bridge and a card for your laptop and you should have no problem. If you get a good card(like an orionoco) then you sould be able to get a few hundred feet away from your house and still get a decent signal.
I believe the biggest problem we were experiencing is our location being very close to Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base (just down the road - real close). Somehow we were getting quite a bit of background noise and interference. Several calls to D-Link support was absolutely worthless. Another problem was the D-Link Access Point would not reset itself when it lost the signal. After the fact I was told the LinkSys and Intel units were better, but knew it would be cheaper to go the cable route. Since I'm not in any condition :( right now to drill the holes I just hired the original house builder $50 to drill me some strategically placed holes.