Suggestions Needed: Good Wi-Fi Solutions

[Maxxi]

Hi everyone,

I am already more than happy with my Cablenut and TCPOptimizer settings and on the whole tweaking the connection. Just as a reminder, I am currently using RoadRunner (DHCP) via Time Warner in Manhattan, NYC. With caps set to 2048/384 for my area, I am getting scores around 2050/512 which, logically makes me very happy. Downloads start at around 1MB/s and drop off (staying around 500-300KB/s for a long time) to about 220KB/s. Although I would really love some of that OOL bandwidth my grandmother savors over at Lido Beach.

But, getting to the point, I would like to ask you guys for some advice concerning Wireless LAN solutions. I have recently acquired ($$$) a notebook that is in desperate need of this internet connection. I thought of something called Internet-Connection-Sharing… clever aren’t I?

As it stands the desktop is hooked up to the cable modem via a Linksys 10//100 NIC. The connection has a static IP address (or at least it has remained static for the last two years) negotiated via DHCP (don't these two cancel each other out [static vs. DHCP]?).

Anyhow I was thinking of getting a PCI Wi-Fi NIC for the Desktop, a PCIMCIA Wi-Fi NIC for the Notebook and a Wi-Fi Router... I am shooting for the Linksys EtherFast® Wireless AP + Cable/DSL Router w/4-Port Switch and the Linksys NICs.

11mbps and IEEE 802.11b (isn't c and d out already?) should do the trick. The apartment is relatively small and the walls are mostly plaster. I’ve also heard about a really good Orinoco solution (can anyone comment?) and some 22mbps setups. Thanks ahead of time for all advice.

PS - Maybe I should look into something else? Forget Wi-Fi, look for Bluetooth, stick to traditional cables and NICs?

[YeOldeStonecat]

Nexland Wavebase is really good.

"A" solutions are also out, 54 meg speeds (20 - 25 in the real world). "B" being the first...11 meg speeds (3-5 i nthe real world).

Agere Orinoco makes some sweet higher end units. Very nice stuff.

"G" is the next one coming out this fall, with combo units (both A and B will work on access points) Good for offices, not as important for homes where you have a small handfull of set computers. If web surfing is all you do...then the lower cost "B" is all you need...as don't forget, the 11 meg at best isn't your bottleneck, your WAN connection is...1.5 usually at best. 2.0 in your area....still "B" wireless isn't slowing you down. Online game a lot? Well, expect a little rise in your pings.

[Maxxi]

I personally do not play a lot of games (but my younger brother does) that is why I own a notebook and he is going to inherit the desktop (a very good gaming setup).

My primary concern is whether "in real world terms" the Wi-Fi solutions of the B protocol are any good? I understand that 11mbps translates to around 3-5 in reality, but can I also assume that this particular speed is maintained within a good range (say 50-100 feet) away from the router? I would be dealing with one plaster wall and possibly another. File transfer between the computers does not really concern me that much and for the few things that I see possibly being copied to and from, 11mbps (ok let's say 5mbps) will do just fine.

Another thing I am not clear on concerns the router itself. If I channel the Cable connection through the router to the desktop ALONE (say the notebook is off) would that grant me full speed and acceptable pings? Further more, is it a good idea to replace the PCI NIC with a Wi-Fi substitute and go wireless here as well? Or should I just stick with the present setup and re-rout the desktop to the router via a physical network cable?

[YeOldeStonecat]

If your bro plays a lot of online games, I'd keep him on wired fast ethernet to the router...such as the Nexland Wavebase....which includes a built in 4 port 10/100 switch, and wireless. (one router doing both)

LAN transfers of files, and wether to go B or A...tis up to the user. Are you really transferring HUGE files (gigs worth) on a daily basis, or just occasional files under a hundred or even under 10 megs, where waiting either 9 seconds, or 29 seconds, really makes no matter to you.

Walls, distance, interference, etc....every house is different. What works for one person in their environment isn't necessarily true for another.

[Maxxi]

So if I got this correctly, you suggest I keep my brother on a physical line (leave the original NIC intact) to the router. Using the routers wireless capabilities allow my notebook to access the internet connection and share files between the two computers.

That is exactly what I wanted to do. Huge file transfers are taken care of with swappable hard drives and my University’s (Cooper Union School of Engineering) bandwidth… besides I don’t download DivX movies or ISO images of software at home, not to mention anything bigger.

All I want is for my Dad, Mom and me to be able to check email or browse the net while my brother is out there fragging another group of AvP2 or Quake fanatics.

One last thing: What is the price of the Nexland Wavebase? Thanks for all your help.

[twwabw]

My only other suggestion is to stick with 802.11B. I've installed a couple of 802.11A units, and while their transfer speeds are indeed much faster, their range is dramatically reduced compared to 802.11B. If the WAP is in clear site, the A's work great, but if you plan on shooting through any walls, etc., they diminish rapidly.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Originally posted by Maxxi
So if I got this correctly, you suggest I keep my brother on a physical line (leave the original NIC intact) to the router. Using the routers wireless capabilities allow my notebook to access the internet connection and share files between the two computers.
One last thing: What is the price of the Nexland Wavebase? Thanks for all your help.

Yeah....unless running the wire is a major pain and effort...why bother changing him? Is the router going to be near him? Plus he already has a standard NIC? Plus he games a lot? If all the above are "Yes"...then there ya go.

A lot of people get so concerned about transfer rates. But look at what you use your network for. Websurfing? Then who cares about 11 megs or 54 megs, or 3 megs, or 100 megs, whatever. Your broadband is slower than any of them. File transfers....pretty much the only time I can see that being important to a home network is for video editing peeps, or those who store movies, MP3's, on a server, etc, and want to access them from any workstation in the house. Like I mentioned above, if you occasionally transfer say a 10 meg file, and it takes 3 minutes longer because you're on a strained B wireless than a faster A wireless.....is that REALLY that bad? It's sure something I could live with.

Looks to be 399 clams:

http://www.nexland.com/products/product.cfm?id=5

[Maxxi]

Once again, thanks a lot. I quess I am all decided and have had all my questions taken care of. You are very correct to point out that as far as this little wireless network goes all I really need is 11mbps and even that is almost 50% too much. Right on with the transfer theory. I can easily live with a B class wireless just as well. Hell - back in 1994 I used to access the net in text mode via a unix server using Zmodem, Xmodem and Kermit protocols.... those were the days... now we've become so spoiled that a 11mbps connection seems not to cut it anymore.

[Andrzej]

:) someQ
1. what with security on wireless?
~80% do not use it ...
is it reduced so much speed transmision? :(
2. interferency with US(2.4GHz) cordless phone? :(
3. did you think about print server? :2cool:

[Maxxi]

Czesc Andrzej,

Widze ze wiecej Polakow na tym forum. As a matter of fact security with wireless comes with the price range one deals with. For example, most wireless routers come equipped with a hardware firewall of some sort (this lowers pings and improves throughput in comparison to software – Norton Internet Security 2003, etc). IP and packet filtering is also taken care of through this contraption. Most of the good (read expensive) routers also come with RC encryption. 128bit RC4 being the best and cheapest for home networking. Simpler models support 64bit encryption. The only downside is that 128bit encryption really slows things down (an 802.11b 11mbps router real world speed: 4-5mbps with 128bitRC4: 2mbps) and raises the pings by about 100ms). Access control comes standard and enables the setup of secure networks, preventing eavesdropping as well as hacker access to local networks. Interference with 2.4GHz phones is non-existent. The Wi-Fi signal is way too strong; besides microwave interference is much more dangerous to Wi-Fi installations… although the latest models from Nexland, Linksys and Orinoco deal with that as well.

A printer server? Expensive models come with one built right into the units… cheaper solutions allow us to buy add-on printer servers and integrate them into the WAN.

Personally I don’t care about Wi-Fi security for the masses. As far as my wireless network is safe and WELL SETUP in terms of SECURITY and ENCRYTPION - I am more than happy.
Whether or not the next guy is getting hacked days on end is not my problem. I know I won’t and don’t.

I am currently using a LINKSYS setup:

BEFW11S4 = an EtherFast® Wireless AP + Cable/DSL Router w/4-Port Switch (IEEE 802.11b)
WMP11 = an Instant Wireless PCI Card (IEEE 802.11b)
WPC54A = an Instant Wireless PC Card (PCMCIA, IEEE 802.11b)
WPS11 = an Instant Wireless Print Server Version 3 (IEEE 802.11b)

http://linksys.com/products/group.asp?grid=22

http://linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=23&prid=173

PS - Powodzenia.

[Andrzej]

Pozdrawiam,
pamiêtam ¿e przedtem pisa³eœ o Chello...
Thank you for your detailed advice
I already have modem dedicated by my ISP
| tpnet.pl service: NeostradaPlus (asdl, PPPoE, dynamicIP 512/128) | (http://www.dslreports.com/archive/tpnet.pl)
| CellPipe® 22A-GX | (http://www.lucent.com/products/solution/0,,CTID+2013-STID+10476-SOID+1367-LOCL+1,00.html)
| from LucentTechnologies | (http://www.lucent.com/)
NIC | Linksys LNE100TX v5'1 (EtherFast® 10/100 LAN Card) | (http://www.linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=26&prid=31)

From yesterday I'm a hapy owner of router | Asmax BR804v | (http://asmax.pl/prod.php?nid=52)
:( unfortunately for me it has NOT wireless option & print server
"to be TOTALY happy"
but see on | AsantéTechnologies | (http://www.asante.com/)
you can see "similar" as a FriendlyNET VR2004C
| model~AC is: Router+4pointSwitch+Wireless+VPN -inONE | (http://www.asante.com/products/routers/VR2004/index.html)
:2cool:
PS Trzymaj siê
muszê ju¿ iœæ spaæ

[Maxxi]

Ja rowniez,

Chello to bardzo dobre rozwiazanie. Lacze (napewno lepsze niz Autocom) jest wystarczajaco szybkie i choc wieczorem bardzo czesto zbyt wiele ludzi obciaza tamta siec to transfer plikow i tak nie spadal ponizej 30KB/s. Zwykle utrzymujac sie na poziomie 50-60KB/s.

Jezeli chodzi o Neostrade, slyszalem wiele dobrych opinii. CellPipe podoba mi sie, karta sieciowa tez jak najbardziej na miejscu. A router - nie wiem czymu mialbys niebyc zupelnie zadowolony? Wedlug parametrow wyglada super!

Jedyny powod dla ktorego wybralem Wi-Fi to fakt iz w domu rodzina korzysta z dwoch nootebook-ow i jednego desktop-a. Desktop to domena gier mojego mlodszego brata w tym ciagle pojedynki za pomoca sieci. Jezeli chodzi o mnie jak i o moich rodzicow to wolimy czesciej popracowac niz sie bawic a lacze przydaloby sie w kazdym pokoju... zdala od halasow generowanych przez system 5.1 i gry brata.

Dzieki Wi-Fi mieszkanie nie uleglo zmianom - przynajmniej pod katem estetyki - a poczte rodzice moga sprawdzac juz nawet we wlasnej sypialni. Ja piszac jakies wazne dokumenty wysylam je zdalnie do drukarki, ktora w pokoju brata po chwili zajmuje sie tym co do niej nalezy. To koniec koncow bardzo wygodne rozwiazanie w przypadku posiadania notebook-ow... przy paru desktop-ach i tak bawil bym sie w tradycyjne okablowanie... szczegolnie w obrebie jednego pokoju.

Pozdrawiam,
Maxx

[Andrzej]

Przepraszam za spóŸnienie.
;)wydawa³o mi siê ¿e piszesz z PL....a teraz z NY?

router jest super - czeka³em kilka miesiêcy na wersjê RB804wv
tak samo silny ale z bezprzewodow¹ opcj¹
jak mi powiedzano "za rok" to kupi³em do domu RB804v bo MOCNY ! :2cool:
"za rok" to bêdzie ju¿ inna epoka w bezprzewodowych i nie tylko.
dziwne ale przyœpieszy³ transmijê (pisz¹ ¿e powinien zredukowaæ???)
kable ci¹gnê do innych pomieszczeñ za oknami
BTW czy mo¿esz mi pomóc?
nie mogê przestawiæ w routerze MTU na 1492 (jak ma ISP & ja w PC)
w testach wychodzi ¿e "router obcina mi prawie 10%" na poziomie MTU=1362:(

a'propos wyœwietlaj¹ siê Tobie PL ogonki na US OS????
Pozdrawiam Andrzej

[Maxxi]

Zeby zmienic MTU w routerze najpierw sproboj programem (TCPOptimizer, MTUTool). Mozesz je znalesc na tej stronie lub www.cablenut.com Jezeli to nie pomoze to musisz odwolac sie juz do sprzetu. Masz pelna recje ze PPPoE chodzi optymalnie dzieki 1492.

Na poziomie sprzetowym (z tym routerem nie mialem doczynienia) nie jestem w stanie pomoc. Nie rozumiem dlaczego router nie ustawil sie automatycznie na 1492... dziwne.

Pod XP Eng mam oczywiscie ogonki, przy instalacji systemu trzeba tylko wybrac (podczas ustawien klawiatury) ze bedziemy korzystac z aplikacji napisanych dla innej (w naszym przypadku wybieramy Polske) strony kodowej. Do tego dodajesz inny rozklad klawiatury: Polski (Programistow). Tak samo jak pod 9x/ME.

Trzymaj sie,
Michal

[Andrzej]

Pytam bo w Twoich postach nie mam ogonków.

O router zapyta³em .... wpisa³eœ w profilu ITprofessionalist.
Przestawienie na MTU=1492 w OS nie pomaga.:(

W routerze wybra³em:
AdministrationSettings|
SystemParameters | EnableTCP MTU AdjustmentFunction
oraz wpisa³em
MTUsettings =1492
i TE¯ nie pomaga:(

[Maxxi]

Nie ma ogonkow - bo wole pisac bez nich. ¹ê朿Ÿ³óñ

Nie rozumiem dlaczego router nie przyjmuje tych polecen. Powinnien. Jestes pewien ze siec sama nie ogranicza cie do 1362? Jest tez bardzo mozliwe ze router sam obcina czesc MTU dla wlasnych potrzeb. Zamiast 1492 masz wiec 1362. Ale tak jak piszesz nie powinno tak byc.

PS - IT Professional wpisalem bo brzmi to lepiej od technika/serwisanta w CompUSA ktory dodatkowo jest na 4 roku Informatyki i z trudem wiaze koniec z koncem (czytaj egzaminy z praca). :P

[Old Fart]

DHCP is a protocol that allows static or dynamic IP addressing. If you reserve a particular IP for a particular MAC address, the IP is static, and will not change as long as that NIC is used to connect to the DHCP.

If no reservation is set in DHCP, your address is dynamic, and based on the length of time the DHCP lease is set for, means that if you dont disconnect for long periods of time, you could theoretically have the same IP forever, as long as your lease doesnt run out, even if your ISP is running Dynamic.

[Andrzej]

przepraszam znowu pad³ server mono.
doœæ czêsto - w zesz³ym tygodniu by³em odciêty przez 5d.
ad REM ruter niczego nie "zabiera"
bo po ustawieniu w SO MaxMTU=1362 oraz IPMTU=1362
ruter wysy³a zapotrzebowanie na MTU=1362 MSS=1322 - jak przedtem:(

nie sprawdza³em co bêdzie jeœli MTU w SO bêdzie ni¿sze ni¿ w routerze...:)

PS skoñczysz uczelniê zaczniesz NOWE ¿ycie - tymbardziej POWODZENIA, wytrzymaj warto...

[Maxxi]

Sam juz nie wiem co dalej zrobic. Nie rozumiem dlaczego router ciagle wymusza ta felerna wartosc MTU. Jezeli cos znajde (grzebajac przy moim) to dam ci zaraz znac. Narazie poprostu sie poddaje. Mozesz sprobowac sciagnac ze strony producenta najnowszy firmware do tego modelu - moze to cos da? Moze jest to znany problem akurat z tym router-em z ta wersja firmware-u ktora akurat masz. Nie mam wiecej pomyslow.

Dziekuje za slowa otuchy. Staram sie jak moge i licze na to ze masz racje.

Pozdrawiam,
Michal