802.11 Newbie guide

wildcat · 05-24-03, 03:18 PM

I have seen a few questions about wifi so I did a little research and Posting some info I think people will find useful.

What is WiFi?

WiFi is the "friendly" term for the 802.11b Ethernet standard. It's the cousin to standard 802.11 wired networking and runs at a maximum of 11 megabits/second. It runs in the 2.4 gigahertz spectrum and shares that spectrum with microwave ovens, some satellites and 2.4 gigahertz cordless phones. 802.11b has a range of approximately 150 feet. Plenty enough range for the household (even good if you want to take a stroll in the back yard) and it can even penetrate walls.

Security

If you choose to use encryption, the data is harder to read. Encryption is available in two strengths: 64 bit (which really runs at 40 bit) and 128 bit encryption being the strongest available. You can tell your base station who's allowed to connect and who isn't. If a hacker is using a wireless network device to listen in on your traffic and they good at hacking, they might be able to intercept and read your data as it's transmitted over the air. However, they would have to be within range of your network, yet manage to not be noticed by others.

What about 802.11a and 802.11g?

802.11a access points and cards are on the market now. However, they run at on a different radio band and are not backward compatible with 802.11b networking products so you'll have to upgrade everything if you're an existing 802.11b user. For now, the 802.11a network cards are 32 bit cardbus, which modern notebooks can use, but not PDAs because their expansion card bus is 16 bit. So don't hold out for the faster 802.11a if you're a PDA user!

802.11g, which we should be seeing in consumer products in 2003, does run on the same band as 802.11b and will likely be available in 16 bit card format. Keep in mind that PDAs don't transfer network data all that fast through their expansion card slots, so running at 802.11g's 54 megs vs. 802.11b's 11 megs won't make much of a difference to you. And if you're running a 10baseT, DSL or cable modem network, you're limited to less than 11 megs, even in your wired network.

Note: This information was compiled from various websites. I do not take claims for writing this.

05-24-03, 09:54 PM

Thanks. I'd like to see some people add to this.

05-24-03, 11:34 PM

here are some adds:

Connecting the Axim to the outside world:

Most people will be interested in getting a WiFi CF card for their Axims. You can put a WiFi card in your PC and connect the Axim to the PC for purposes of syncing, transferring files, and accessing the internet. You can also put a WiFi card in your Axim to connect to internet services at public places like Starbucks, some hotels and airports, etc.

If you only need to connect the Axim to one desktop PC you only need a card for the Axim and the PC, and they can connect directly to each other in "ad-hoc" mode. If you want a larger wireless network at home you will need to add a "wireless access point" which can serve as a router or switch to connect all of the wireless PC's into the network. If you do this then your devices will be set to "infrastructure" mode.

Settings:

When configuring the Axim and the other devices you will need to worry about things such as:

SSID: This is an identifying name. All devices to be connected need to have the same SSID.
DHCP: This will allow the router to issue IP addresses to the other devices. This can be enabled or disabled. All devices that you desire to interconnect need to have the same setting.
Mode: All devices need to be set either to "ad-hoc" or "infrastructure"
WEP: The security setting and security keys need to be set the same for all of the devices.

Syncing:

Here are a few tidbits that may help:

Activesync on the PC has a setting that must be checked to allow for syncing over the network.
Activesync on the Axim will maintain a list of the names of the PC's that it syncs to. You may have to manually select the name from this list that you wish the Axim to sync with.

(feel free to correct/add to this as necessary)

rayweil · 05-25-03, 09:35 AM

I'm considering Wi-Fi for my home. At present, I'm using the basic dial-up modem. I'm looking into ADSL. My question is this:

Is it better to buy separate ADSL modem and a Wi-Fi access pointto connect to the main PC? Or its it more economical to buy a combined ADSL modem, Wi-Fi access Point?

Thanking you in advance.

yesdig · 05-25-03, 12:41 PM

rayweil... I believe you need to purchase a cable/dsl modem seperately from the wifi router. I am not aware of any combo units with modem too. (I may be wrong).

05-25-03, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by yesdig
rayweil... I believe you need to purchase a cable/dsl modem seperately from the wifi router. I am not aware of any combo units with modem too. (I may be wrong).

I believe this is correct, I've never heard of a modem/wireless router combo.

05-25-03, 04:16 PM

Wireless "hotspots" are popping up around the country. Hotspots are places that have wirelss internet that can be accessed publically. Some hotspots, such as those in Starbucks, can only used for a fee, while others are free.

Paid hotspots are offered through hotels, cafes, airports, and other locations through companies such as T-mobile and Boingo. T-mobile has 2364 locations currently only in Airports, Airline clubs, Starbucks Cafe, and Borders bookstore. T-mobile offers several plans:

Unlimited National - (1 year plan): $29.99 per month
Unlimited National - (Monthly plan): $39.99 per month
Prepay 300 (300 Prepaid minutes): $50
Pay as you go (Minimum user session is 60 minutes per login): ($0.10 per minute)

Boingo has over 1300 locations currently in Airports, various hotel lobbies, cafes, coffee shops, and others. Boingo's plans offered are:

Boingo Pro: $24.95 a month (includes 10 Connect Days, Connect Days are 24 hour periods at one location)
Boingo Unlimited (Unlimited monthly usage): $49.95
Boingo As-You-Go - $7.95 for two connect days plus $7.95 for extra connect days
Some Boingo locations are free hotspots; the require no fee.

Some other hotspot companies are: Wayport, Hotspotzz, and The Cloud (UK).

Some wireless hotspots are available for free. Free hotspots may be offered by hotels or cafes, but some are offered by individual, private users. There are many websites to help you find free hotspots:

Free Hotspots.com: http://www.freehotspots.com/
LocFinder: http://www.locfinder.com/locfinder.php - 3810 locations
NYC Wireless: http://nycwireless.net/
McDonalds Wireless: http://www.mcdwireless.com/
Wi-Fi ZONE Locator: http://www.wi-fizone.org/zoneLocator.asp (Not all free)
Intel® Centrino™ mobile technology hotspot locator: http://www.intel.com/products/mobile...ots/finder.htm

The number of free hotspots will grow as wireless technology becomes cheaper and more common.

There is a third type of hotspot that is free, but maybe not supposed to be free. These are wireless networks found using a scanning program on a PDA or Laptop. Many people hunt for these laptops in a "game" called Wardriving (also Warwalking, Warchalking, etc.). In Wardriving, a you get in the car, take a wireless enabled laptop, a program like Netstumbler (some people also use Antennas) and drive through an urban area likely to have opened wireless networks. Some people do this just for fun and move on, while others use the network connection to access the internet. There is another technique, called Warchalking in which wardrivers or warwalkers find the network connection and mark, with chalk, on the sidewalk a symbol telling if the connection is: "Open Node, Closed Node, or WEP Node". This allows others who know the symbols to use these access points. More information on Wardriving related activities can be found at:

http://www.warchalking.org
http://www.wardriving.com/

All these websites and companies are all united towards a grand goal - having internet available anytime, anywhere. One day we'll be able to check email, surf the web, visit http://www.aximsite.com, or buy video games while sitting by the beach, walking through a city, driving across the country, or lounging in our own bedrooms.

BartonFlyer · 05-27-03, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rayweil
I'm considering Wi-Fi for my home. At present, I'm using the basic dial-up modem. I'm looking into ADSL. My question is this:

Is it better to buy separate ADSL modem and a Wi-Fi access pointto connect to the main PC? Or its it more economical to buy a combined ADSL modem, Wi-Fi access Point?

Thanking you in advance.

Actiontec do a combined ADSL modem/Wireless access point with either 1 ethernet or 4 ethernet ports - dead easy to set up and works well - much better than two boxes - Hope this helps

tfkuerzi · 05-28-03, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rayweil
I'm considering Wi-Fi for my home. At present, I'm using the basic dial-up modem. I'm looking into ADSL. My question is this:

Is it better to buy separate ADSL modem and a Wi-Fi access pointto connect to the main PC? Or its it more economical to buy a combined ADSL modem, Wi-Fi access Point?

Thanking you in advance.

I utilize an ADSL connection for my home/business network connections, and recently switched to the Netgear DG824M Wirelesss ADSL Modem Gateway with 4-port 10/100 Mbps Switch. Setup couldn't have been easier and the system has worked flawlessly. Shop around for the best price, but I was able to pick one up at Amazon.com for about $230.00.

aonaran · 05-30-03, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by emplynx
I believe this is correct, I've never heard of a modem/wireless router combo.

Actually when I worked for a small rural cable co in Port Perry Ontario we had one from a company called High Speed Surfing (no kidding, that's the name of the company)

It offered 802.11b as an add-on module (or VOIP as another module)

We used it for homeshow demo setups at the arenas in the towns we serviced. we'd set it up, plug our machines into the ethernet ports (it had a few) and offer wireless to the other businesses around us.

They get a little warm after a few hours of use though, so i wouldn't recommend buying one for any more extensive use than that.