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completely compatible with each other; a wireless product from one manufacturer that carries the WiFi logo will work with any other
manufacturer’s products that also carry the
WiFi logo. Furthermore, WiFi products are
priced within the reach of the average consumer (more on pricing in a moment).
Wireless networking products marked as
802.11b, or WiFi, work in the 2.4GHz band,
have a maximum transmission speed of
11Mbps, and operate in a range of around 100
feet indoors. If the WAP has a direct line of
sight to the outdoors, the operating range at
11Mbps jumps to 500 feet. Of course, you can
still get a connection beyond 100/500 feet, but
transmission speeds drop off.
The 802.11a standard is the most common
specification for business-oriented wireless
products. Wireless devices that use the 802.11a
specification work in the 5GHz band and have
a maximum transmission speed of 54Mbps.
They also have an indoor operating range of
around 300 feet and an outdoor range of a little over 1,100 feet. As you can imagine, the
cost of 802.11a equipment is typically more
than the average consumer wants to spend.
The stand-alone WAP
As we mentioned earlier, if you already have
an existing home network and want to add
wireless networking, you’ll just need to add a
WAP to your network. A WAP physically connects to your home network’s hub or switch
via a standard network cable. The WAP then
PROPRIETARY ENHANCEMENTS
When you’re investigating home network-based wireless technology, you may encounter a new enhancement on the 802.11b
standard being promoted by such manufacturers as D-Link and
U.S. Robotics. This enhancement also operates 2.4GHz band
but is being promoted as having a maximum transmission
speed of 22Mbps. In addition to the increase in speed, there’s
an increase in the operating range that puts it in the realm of
802.11a. Now keep in mind that, at the time of this writing, this
enhancement is not WiFi compatible. In other words, it’s a proprietary technology that may not be compatible with wireless
networking products from other manufacturers.
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Wireless Networking Survival Guide
allows a computer equipped with a wireless
network card to communicate with the network. You can get a basic WAP for anywhere
from $100 to $200 from companies such as
LinkSys, U.S. Robotics, 3COM, Belkin, DLink, and Netgear.
The broadband router/WAP
combination
If you’re just starting out and are building a
broadband home network from scratch, your
best bet is to get a broadband router/WAP
combination. As you can imagine, these
devices provide all the same features as a
broadband router and also function as a WAP.
You can get a broadband router WAP combination for anywhere from $100 to $300 from
leading vendors, including those we mentioned above.
The wireless network card
If you’ll be connecting desktop PCs to your
wireless network, you’ll need to get wireless
PCI network cards for each system. These
range in price from $10 to $50. If you’ll be
connecting a laptop to your wireless network,
you’ll need to get a wireless PCMCIA network
card. You can spend anywhere from $25 to
$90 for this upgrade.
If you don’t want to mess around with
opening up your desktop PC or with PCMCIA
cards for your laptop, you can get a USB wireless network adapter for around $50.
If you’re purchasing a new laptop to connect to your wireless network, you should ask
the manufacturer about getting a built-in wireless adapter. Not only will this save you from
having to insert and remove your wireless network device all the time, but you’ll also find
that the built-in antenna is more powerful than
those used in the typical wireless networking
PCMCIA card.
Depending on where you shop for your
wireless networking devices, you may be able
to track down a bundle deal that provides
both the WAP and a set of wireless network
cards.