Help! Wireless Networking Problems..

[McFly007]

I don't actually have one yet but I'm planning on setting up a wireless network between two computers in my house. I'm looking at a dlink wireless router w/ two wireless dlink NICS...is this all I need to set up the network (along with my Cable Modem connection)? Whats this access point thing I see here? I just want both comps to have internet access.

 

[JackMDS]

Wireless Primer:

Wireless LAN consists on two main components.

1. Access Point (A/P).

Access Point is the Main Transmitter/Receiver that mediates between your LAN, and the Wireless computers, to the rest of the Network. It is connected to a regular RJ-45 port on LAN's Hub/Switch, or Router. It usually supports an excess of 100 clients.

2 . Wireless Client Card.

Wireless Client Card is the LAN card that you should install on each one your network computers, that you want to be Wireless.

Most Client cards are PCMCIA, which work very well with Laptops.
For Desktop, it is usually better to use USB Wireless Card. Most PCI Wireless Cards with fixed antenna (stuck behind the PC) yield inferior results versus the Flexible Antenna on a USB card.

Conventional Wisdom* claims that the Orinoco Gold (About $90) is the best Wireless Client Card (has PCMCIA, and USB versions).

This link:
ORiNOCO PC Card - Gold.

If you don't have Cable/DSL Router, you can buy a Wireless Cable/DSL Router, which is a Combo unit that includes Router to share the Internet, Switch for Wired Network and A/P for Wireless clients (plus more goodies).

The SMC Wireless Barricade is considered one of the favorites.

Wireless Routers Compared



When it comes to Wireless your mileage may vary, there are too many environmental variables that are unique to each individual setting.

 

[McFly007]

So what you're saying basically is if I purchase the wireless cable/dsl router and two wireless NICs (PCI), I won't need to buy some separate Access Point thing? This isn't exactly a LAN, I'm just trying to give cable modem access to both computers without the hassle of wires...

 

[JackMDS]

Yeah, if you buy Cable/DSL Wireless Router, you don?t need an Access Point.


Be careful about PCI Wireless cards, they are not in real existence, in the entry level wireless cards.

What is mainly available is a Wireless PCMCIA (the type that goes into Laptop), and a special PCI adapter that let you stick the PCMCIA into Desktop. The adapter is about $40 in addition to the Wireless PCMCIA.

Look again in my previous posting you probably better off buying good USB Wireless adaptors.