Engage warp drive...

I'm getting a broadband connection at last!

[giggle]

Hi

I leaping into the 21st Century at long last with the installation of a 512 broadband connection. No more drumming my fingers while the next page loads with my 56k dial-up.

My question is: I want to install a wireless network around my house, but I've never been through the process before, what is the best kit configuration to buy to utilise my new connection speed.

I live in Thailand and, whilst my Thai is OK, it wasn't good enough to discuss which wireless equipment I need.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, then it's off to Pantip Plaza tomorrow to buy the kit.

Cheers

Mick

[macrost]

Mick,
Go look for a Linksys 802.11b wireless router. It also includes 4 ports for cat 5 networking too. Then depending on the computer (desktop or laptop) you will need for a desktop a 802.11 b wireless pci card. For a laptop you would either need a wireless usb or pcmcia card.

Hope this starts you off on the right foot!

Hope I got the frequency right.

[photon]

802.11g is faster than 802.11b, and not much more expensive. For the record, I've got a D-Link DI-524 that I'm on right now. Setup was fairly easy, and I've experienced no problems with it so far.

One caveat about 802.11g: It transmits at the 2.4 Gigahertz range, so there could be intereference with some cordless phones or--in my case--in-house video transmitters.

And welcomwe to the world of broadband!

[duckhunter]

I second the D-Link. Right out of the box, I had my buddy who is a network security specialist...... err hacker turned professional, run his bag of attack scripts on my IP and he said it was tight. Good to know.

[giggle]

Thanks Macrost, Photon and DuckHunter.

Connection gets installed on Tuesday (can't wait).

One final question: What's the range of the wireless network?

The reason being that we're moving our internet business from an office to my home and the other two guys are using GotoMyPC to handle the customers (the customer database will be here at my house and updated by the other two) I've developed a VisualBasic back office the automatically handles alot of the customer traffic but the customer queries etc. have to be handled manually.

[one bloke likes spending time on the Thai islands and, even though business is good, there's not actually that much for him to do now. What he does have to do he can log in from an internet cafe and do in an hour a day].

My other collegue is buying a house in the same complex as me (we're both married) - it's about two hundred yards away and I was wondering that if he had a wireless connection would he be able to connect to the network in my house?

Sorry, I don't want to appear like a complete idiot, but, does 802.11b or 802.11g just mean the protocol or does it indeed mean the speed? What I mean is: is there a fast 802.11g and a slow 802.11g? If so, what speed is fast?

Thanks

Mick

[duckhunter]

giggle,
I don't believe the lowend wireless base stations will reach that far. Seems like mine gives out in under 50 yds. Not sure but I would imagine there is 802.11 equipment available to boost signals, just never looked. You can bridge two routers if they can see other.

The 802.11g is the faster of the two. The b transmits at 10 MBPS and the g transmits at 54. The catch is most highspeed connections only offer 10MB so your internal network is fast but your internet connection will not exceed 10MB.

[macrost]

If you want to extend the range, I do believe there are access points with repeaters that boost the signal. I can't remember right now exactly what they are called but I think I'm close. :)

[JonR28]

actually b is 11MBPS but whose counting. Most 11G routers are backwards compadible I think so its good to get the G's. Linksys sells a powered 2dBi antenna version of their wirelss 802.11g wireless card which could get you pretty far, probably not 200 yards, but they do sell boosters, you could ask a neighbor between you to let you put a booster in their garage or something, lol.

[duckhunter]

let you put a booster in their garage or something

Offer him free access on the 512 highway you're going to have and I bet he'd buy the booster for you.