RDT4
join:2002-12-01
Coggon, IA
| [Networking] Advice needed for Direcway Home Network
First of all, I'd like to say thanks to those who put together the SOP for home networking of Dway. I understand that I can not use a router to tie my network together. I'm still in my planning stage of my home network, but here is what I'd like do. My host will be running Windows XP home edition (can't change this one). I'll have 2 other desktops and 1 laptop running as clients. The laptop is running ME and I can either stick ME or 98 on the desktop clients. I'd like to have these 3 clients all wireless. Here are my qustions: 1. What is the best switch/hub I should get? 2. Can I have 3 wireless clients communicating with one WAP? If yes, will this affect the speed of the clients with only one cable connecting to the switch? Or should I get individual wap's for each client and plug them in individually to the switch? 3. Knowing I will have to set up Internet security on my host, would a switch with a built in firewall be worth the investment or will it just slow down my connection. I need help finding a good switch, good wap and good firewall. Thanks in advance to all who have taken the time to help out. I greatly appreciate your experience. |
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seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
out there
 ·Rock Island Commun..
Host:
CenturyLink
Wireless Service P..
Southern California
HughesNet Satellite
WildBlue Satellite
| Hi RDT and welcome to the DSL Reports Satellite Forum,
Any switch would be fine and you want a switch, not a hub. Look for one with enough ports to connect up all you want to connect. Do not count the WAN or Uplink port - you won't be using that one. Linksys is a brand that is commonly found in your local computer stores like Best Buy or CompUSA. You'll usually find NetGear there as well.
Any OS is fine for the client machines. You want the most robust one you can get on the Host machine. XP Home should be fine.
All 3 wireless clients will/can be online at the same time. Over Thanksgiving my two college-age kids were home with their laptops and hooked into the wireless part of our LAN (single WAP) along with my husband's laptop. It all works fine. 802.11B can support speeds up to 11 MBPS - the best you can get from the internet is ~ 1/10th of that. If somebody is downloading a large file the LAN will see some slowdown in the internet connection. Your single WAP should be fine unless the configuration of your house doesn't allow it to cover some areas where you want the laptops to be able to connect.
A software firewall on each machine will be fine. I'd be leery of a hardware firewall - I've only seen those on routers not switches. A router is a whole different critter and more difficult to get to work with this system.
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SRS Earthlink Win2K SP3 1410 ver. 4.0.3.9 Gateway .36 **TxCode 17 - Hughes can fix this if they get off their fat @#$^$$ and do so! |
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RDT4
join:2002-12-01
Coggon, IA
| Thanks for the help Seagreen. In regards to a WAP and the Wireless Nic cards. Lets say I buy a Netgear WAP. Will any brand of Wireless Nic be compatible with the Netgear WAP? Is there any configuration that has to be done to the WAP to have that signal pick up from every wireless client regardless of the manufacturer (802.11b compliant)? Thanks. Rich |
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seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
out there
·Rock Island Commun..
Host:
CenturyLink
Wireless Service P..
Southern California
HughesNet Satellite
WildBlue Satellite
| Yes, any wireless NIC should be compatible with a NetGear WAP provided you are using the same wireless protocol, ie 802.11b or 802.11a. The two protocols do not talk to each other. 802.11G talks to both, I believe but is considerably more expensive.
There is a SSID identity which you will have to enter manually if you do not use equipment from the same manufacturer. Linksys defaults to SSID "linksys", Netgear probably defaults to something similar. Easy enough to change.
Whatever equipment you use there may be some configuration of the WAP. Mine hooked up to the host computer initially by a USB cable which was disconnected once it was configured. I think most are using HTML interface now.
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SRS Earthlink Win2K SP3 1410 ver. 4.0.3.9 Gateway .36 **TxCode 17 - Hughes can fix this if they get off their fat @#$^$$ and do so! |
|
Beefmaster$
Happy Holidays
join:2002-07-06
Tamms, IL
| reply to RDT4
RDT,
Just to build upon Seagreen's very helpful information, I am going to recommend get wireless cards for the clients whose brand is the same as your WAP. This is a good rule of thumb because it eliminates the possibility of hardware compatibility issues.
Definitely go with a software firewall. It's not necessary to install it on all the machines, just the host. The only reason to install it on them all is if you want to keep your configuration options as open as possible for each machine.
For wireless standards, I'd probably go with 802.11a at this point in time. Besides the speed increase, I have noticed that in my experiences it has a larger coverage area, especially helpful since my home is very old and has many walls. 802.11a might be more expensive now, but will probably be a better investment for the length of time.
As far as having 3 clients assigned to one WAP, which is plugged into one switch port. I recall from Cisco training that you will have a slowdown since each port can only support 100Mbps, and 3 clients are connected through that particular port. However, you will only see a slowdown in traffic between the host and the clients, not client to client, since they're not communicating with each other through the switch port. If this is an issue for you, you might want to look into gigabit equipment for your WAP, switch, and Ethernet.
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WinXP Pro - PIII 1Ghz - 512MB - Earthlink |
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Rusty Dusty
join:2002-11-23 | Ahhh,
If all clients are wireless, then he shouldn't need a switch, should he? Just a crossover cable from the access point to the NIC on the Host computer... |
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seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
out there
·Rock Island Commun..
Host:
CenturyLink
Wireless Service P..
Southern California
HughesNet Satellite
WildBlue Satellite
| said by Rusty Dusty  :
Ahhh,
If all clients are wireless, then he shouldn't need a switch, should he? Just a crossover cable from the access point to the NIC on the Host computer...
Not-so-useful answer = it seems to depends on the equipment. ie: which manufacturer?
I seem to remember someone trying that scenario with Linksys (or was it D-Link?) and couldn't make it work. They had to have the switch. Don't know about Netgear.
If the computer store is nearby, go ahead and try it without the switch, using a crossover cable and if it doesn't work, go back and get the switch and put the crossover cable in your junk drawer.
--
SRS Earthlink Win2K SP3 1410 ver. 4.0.3.9 Gateway .36 **TxCode 17 - Hughes can fix this if they get off their fat @#$^$$ and do so! |
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oldsouth
join:2001-06-11
Columbia, LA
| reply to RDT4
Seagreen, I am about to do this wireless networking thing also. Got a laptop for the kids and want to get internet through it. I was looking at a Linksys WAP11 and the card WPC11. Do you know how the WAP11 hooks to the computer? Is it through ethernet? If so do you have any recommendations about a card for that? My computer does not have an ethernet card. Also can you print to the host's printer with the laptop via wireless. I'm pretty in-experienced on this wireless thing.
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Hughes-DPSRS-1370-XP Pro-IE6-Athlon 1000-Proxy on |
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seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
out there
·Rock Island Commun..
Host:
CenturyLink
Wireless Service P..
Southern California
HughesNet Satellite
WildBlue Satellite
| said by oldsouth :
Got a laptop for the kids and want to get internet through it.
I'm assuming you mean you want to share the internet connection to the laptop.
•the host computer needs a NIC of some type•Does the laptop already have a NIC or will you need to add one to that as well?•If you set the printer up as shared the laptop should be able to print to that printer with no problems. Not all printers can be shared - (most HP printers can be shared) There are issues with logons and guest accounts - see my thread here: »[W2K] Sharing a printer w/o password (nothing insurmountable)
I have all Linksys equipment, so what I say is based on this experience. My LAN is configured as you see here: 
With a regular 10/100 Ethernet NIC in the host (OEM, not Linksys) => switch (Linksys) => WAP (Linksys) => laptops (mostly Linksys cards)
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SRS Earthlink Win2K SP3 1410 ver. 4.0.3.9 Gateway .36 **TxCode 17 - Hughes can fix this if they get off their fat @#$^$$ and do so! |
|
seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
out there
·Rock Island Commun..
Host:
CenturyLink
Wireless Service P..
Southern California
HughesNet Satellite
WildBlue Satellite
| reply to RDT4
oldsouth,
If your Host PC and the laptop will be in the same room, you might be able to get away with a wireless NIC in both and set to Ad Hoc mode. The two will talk directly to each other - no AP in between.
Internet and print sharing will be the same.
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SRS Earthlink Win2K SP3 1410 ver. 4.0.3.9 Gateway .36 **TxCode 17 - Hughes can fix this if they get off their fat @#$^$$ and do so! |
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Rusty Dusty
join:2002-11-23
| reply to seagreen
Just a follow up for Seagreen... I had read that also, but believe there may have been other issues. Anyway, being curious, I have wired my Linksys WAP11 right to the Host NIC using a crossover cable, and am typing this on my Toshiba laptop with on board wireless. Surfing, printing; everything works from the comfort of the easy chair.
Give yours a try and see if you have the same results.
Thanks.
Also, I don't think that wireless is as fast as wired, especially multiple sharing.
[text was edited by author 2002-12-01 20:06:15] |
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oldsouth
join:2001-06-11
Columbia, LA
| reply to RDT4
My host computer does not have a NIC, so I suppose I need a 10/100 Ethernet NIC. The laptop does not have a NIC but it has 2 PCMCIA slots(older machine 166mhz), so I thought all I needed on it was a WPC11 wireless PC card. The host will be downstairs and the laptop upstairs about 150' straight through the walls and floor. From what I have read I think the system will go about 300' indoors. I take it that means from where the WAP11 is on the host to the laptop card???? Printer is a HP 970cse. This lan switch in your diagram, is it required or can the WAP be hooked directly to the computer?
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Hughes-DPSRS-1370-XP Pro-IE6-Athlon 1000-Proxy on |
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seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
out there
·Rock Island Commun..
Host:
CenturyLink
Wireless Service P..
Southern California
HughesNet Satellite
WildBlue Satellite
| Oldsouth,
No problem with that HP Printer - that's exactly what I have.
From your description, I don't think your two machines will be able to talk to each other directly. If you do as Techwanabe suggests and use crossover cable to the WAP - I think you're going to have a very long cable run to get the WAP positioned someplace that gives a good signal to the laptop.
The 300' you may have read about is probably open space with no walls, floors etc. In my case when I walked the laptop down the hall (~20') and went around a corner, I lost the signal. WAP likes to be in a wide open space. Example: WAP in my office (smallish room) = no connection to living room (~50'). WAP in living room (wide open space and on top of a bookshelf) = connection to laptop sitting in my office - works fine)
Plan on making yourself a long crossover cable - don't think you'll find one pre-made that is that long. Plan on playing around with the location of the WAP a bit until you're happy with it's coverage.
--
SRS Earthlink Win2K SP3 1410 ver. 4.0.3.9 Gateway .36 **TxCode 17 - Hughes can fix this if they get off their fat @#$^$$ and do so! |
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oldsouth
join:2001-06-11
Columbia, LA | reply to RDT4
Does the 802a systems go through walls better? |
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seagreen
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-14
out there
·Rock Island Commun..
Host:
CenturyLink
Wireless Service P..
Southern California
HughesNet Satellite
WildBlue Satellite
| said by oldsouth :
Does the 802a systems go through walls better?
I think that 802.11a would do less well, but you might want to ask in the wireless networking forum: »Wireless Networking
They would probably have better information for you.
--
SRS Earthlink Win2K SP3 1410 ver. 4.0.3.9 Gateway .36 **TxCode 17 - Hughes can fix this if they get off their fat @#$^$$ and do so! |
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wpfranklin
Funny, It Worked Last Time
Premium
join:2002-11-13
Mattoon, IL
| reply to RDT4
I'm using 2 Netgear 802.11b wireless access points as point-to-point bridges to allow remotely located clients to connect to the switch that my host is connected to. The local WAP connects to the switch along with the host, 2 client PCs and an HP Laser Jet.
The 2 remote clients and the remote 802.11b WAP use a combination of NetGear and Linksys Ethernet over Powerline adapters to connect to each other. The wireless has to travel over 300' through a metal storage barn to get the job done, and it works well.
Spec-wise, 802.11a actually has less range than 802.11b because it uses a frequency in the 5-gigaHertz range, but when operating at lower speeds than it's max rated 54mHz, it seems to have a better distance. This is probably because it has more frequencies to choose from and can find one with less interference than 802.11b can. If you have 2.4-gHz telephones, definitely go with the 802.11a because the phones operate in the same frequency range as 802.11b and can cause problems for your network like slowdowns and failures to connect.
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Bill; G4R, 1250, DirecPC SRS, Usual Receive Signal 79. Host: Win 2K P4-1.8gHz; Clients: 2-Win2K, 2-Win98SE. 4.0.3.9 DAK403_P5. Proxy On |
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nrune
join:2002-06-05
Melfa, VA
|  reply to seagreen
I use an ad hoc network for my laptop at home. I have been able to go just about anywhere in my 2000 sqft home and be connected. I use an orinoco pccard and Symbol PCI card with a unidirectional antenna that works well.
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srs sm5 1110mhz 4.0.3.9a XP 802.11b 1 client XP |
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