# what do i need to create a wireless network



## robina_80

basically i want to go wireless i want to connect 2 laptops and one desktop to the internet what do i need.
P.S how i get internet is through a tv digi box with rj5 ethernet connection and what do WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS do and ROUTERS do


----------



## computerdude2004

You need a router that will accept the RJ-5 cable, I think that is an ADSL router.  You then need for each laptop, a wireless PCMIA card.  For the desktop PC you need a wireless PCI card.  If you get a router with a built in switch you can connect it to one of the laptops or the Pc via RJ-45, ethernet, cable, but you don't have to connect any computers with an RJ-45 cable.  You can connect all wirelessly if you choose.  Be sure your wireless devices are compatible with eachother.  Usually wireless G and wireless B are compatible.  Wireless G, 802.11G, is faster the Wireless B, 802.11B.  Wireless A, 802.11A, is not compatible with either connection.  If you use wireless A, all devices must be Wireless A.  Linksys has wireless router's with a speedbooster, I don't know how that works.

Here are the differences in the different speeds - http://www.linksys.com/products/wirelessstandards.asp


----------



## robina_80

you know the "Netgear WGT624 108mb Wireless Router and Firewall"is it a 4 port switch aswell so i can connect pcs to it, or do i ahve to get a wireless access point aswell.


----------



## computerdude2004

Do you have the router? Look on the back. If there is more than two ports, most likely there is a switch on it. From what I can tell their is a built in switch for four computers. You don't need the switch at all if you plan on connecting all of the computer's wirelessly. Make sure that those computer that you do connect wirelessly are compatible with your router, meaning that the PCI card, for the desktop if you plan on connecting it wirelessly, and the PCMIA card, for the laptop if you plan on connecting it wirelessly, are able to handle the 108mb connection. Most wireless G networks are not super wireless G, meaning they can't handle the 108mb transfer rate of the network. You wireless cards should be from Netgear and should be part of the same wireless category as your router, so they should be Super Wireless G.

I looked more on Netgears website. You should choose the 108MB products from this pages - http://www.netgear.com/products/consumer/prod_adapter_wireless_hm.php - if you want your wireless card to work on your wireless network at the 108mb range. Use the WG511T PCMIA card for your laptop to connect wirelessly and the WG311T for you PC to connect wirelessly. If you are connecting any computer through an RJ-45 ethernet cable all you need is a network port. It doesn't matter what speed the network port is, although you probably want at least a network port with 10/100 as it's speed, so it can transfer at 100mb/s. If the network port is slower than the port on the switch it is ok, it just won't work as fast. The wireless is what you are worried about because you want your signal to be the same.

Even if your router didn't have a switch you wouldn't need an access point, you would need a switch and then you have a cable going from the router to the switch and then cables going from the switch to the PC's that you want to connect via RJ-45 cable. The think I am not so sure about is whether your router accepts a RJ-5 cable for an internet connection.  From what the website says, I don't think this router allows an ADSL connection.


----------



## computerdude2004

I found this webpages - http://www.netgear.com/pdf_docs/WGT624_ds_04Nov2003.pdf - and this one - http://www.netgear.com/products/details/WGT624.php - In the PDF page you can go down and look at your specs.  It shows that you have a 4 port RJ-45 switch that have a speed of 10/100Mbps.  The Internet connection has to be a RJ-45 cable though.  You say you have your internet coming in on a RJ-5 cable.


----------



## robina_80

i just read the pdf file for the netgear 108mb router that you gave me, and it is a 4 port switch aswell. cool man. so i can connect to the internet wirelessly and have a LAN connection in my house wirelessly aswell.
but this is what i dont understand, why has the router got 4 rj45 port switches  im going to connect my pcs wireless to it!!!


----------



## Best Buy

I would look at the Belkin Pre-N wireless Router with MIMO technology- it may be a little overkill but it is definately something to look at-

800% wider coverage and 600% faster than other 802.11g routers (also about twice as expensive)


----------



## computerdude2004

The four port switch is optional.  You don't have to connect anything to the switch if you don't want to.  That option is just there for those people who don't want to void a warranty or something by opening their computer to stick a wireless PCI card inside.  They have one or more computers that are near eachother and they plug them in via ethernet cable.  Some people might have a wired network and then they buy the wireless router so that they can connect a laptop for the work wirelessly or something.  Have you tried hooking up your internet cable.  You said your internet came over a RJ-5 cable, which is a phone cable.  In order to have your internet connection go through the router your connection has to be on a RJ-45 cable, or ethernet cable.  
Right now it sound like you have to have your internet connection on one PC and then use the router as a wireless way to route the network and set up the computer with the connection so that all computers access the internet from this computers internet connection.


----------



## computerdude2004

Best Buy, the router that we are talking about is faster than regular wireless G, 802.11G.  Normally wireless G runs at 54Mbps and this router runs at 108Mbps.


----------



## Praetor

> Normally wireless G runs at 54Mbps and this router runs at 108Mbps.


Yes and no. The 108 is simply due to driver trickery that *assumes* 2:1 compresson and such (if youll notice 54x2 = 108). The transmission speed will physically be limited still, to 54Mbits. EVEN SO, theres no way in hell the transmission will ever be anywehre near the theoretical limits (even more so if you are operating in an environment with 802.11b devices). A return rate of 30-40% is awesome


----------



## robina_80

when is the 802.11n coming out then ive read louds of reviews about it i want it !!!


----------



## computerdude2004

802.11N won't be coming out for awhile.  

*Q: *Are you designing for 802.11n, which we understand represents a notable speed increase for 802.11? What is the state of the 802.11n standard? Has it been finalized or is it nearing finalization?

*A: *The IEEE has scheduled final discussion of 802.11n for late 2006. In the meantime, there are two industry groups associated with this standard, nSynch and WWiSE. The WWiSE group includes Realtek, Broadcom, Texas Instruments (TI), Conexant, Airgo, STMicroelectronics and more. The nSynch group includes Intel and Atheros.

I found this here - http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20041119PR201.html

http://news.google.com/news?q=802.11n%20%2Brelease&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=wn

Right now you are just going to have to live with speedbooster's and stuff on wirelessG networking devices for a faster connection.


----------



## robina_80

whats the difference between a;
wireless router and a
wireless access point


----------



## computerdude2004

An access point allows you to connect different users to a network and a router will do the same, but it will also allow you to connect multiple users to multiple networks.

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/hardware/networking/0,39001739,39115106,00.htm


http://www.speedguide.net/faq_in_q.php?qid=146

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%2Bdifference+between+access+point+and+router


----------



## robina_80

thanks man you really know your stuff dont you. you been great help


----------



## robina_80

my last question on this topic, i hope. how many computers can you connect to your wireless router wirelessly, isnt it i dont know but isnt it 256 wireless ports or is that way to much


----------



## robina_80

computerdude2004 if your reading check this out "Buffalo 125Mbps* Wireless Broadband Router with AOSS" do you think its better than the netgear 108mb i cant decide this one or that one??????
P.S. the buffalo 125mb has got a star above it (*) does that mean it wont run that fast also i was checking the pci and pcmcia baffalo 125mb cards and they say they only transfer 54mbs NOT 125mbs


----------



## computerdude2004

Usually companies say that their wireless router's can handle anywhere from 32 to 45 wireless connections.  It is recommended that you get another router, or access point if you connect more than 10 computers wirelessly.  The Netgear 108MB router can also have up to four computer plugged into the built in switch.  If you wish to connect more than four computers using network cable than you need to purchase a seperate switch and have a cable going from one of the ports of the switch on the back of the router to the switch that is separate.


----------



## computerdude2004

I looked at Buffalo Technology's website. The star is there so you know what bracket to look in to find the speed at which the device will operate. The PCI and PCMIA cards operate at 125Mbps. They sound like find network devices. Buffalo Technology isn't a big brand name like Netgear, but I guess that really doesn't matter if it works. Here are the pages I looked at to find the PCI card and PCMIA card - 

PCI - http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=46&categoryid=7

PCMIA - http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=47&categoryid=7

Router - http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=2&categoryid=6

Make sure that you have some place to plug a PCMIA card into your laptop. Most laptops do, but some don't. It should be a slot on the outside of the laptop. You don't need to open the laptop up to insert a PCMIA card.  What you must have looked at for speeds was below where it has the 125Mbps speed.  Those cards will also work on a wireless G and wireless B network as well, and below the 125Mbps it is stating that.


----------



## robina_80

im going to get the Netgear router. what have you got computerdude


----------



## computerdude2004

I have a Linksys WRT54G.  It runs at 54Mbps, but works fine for what I want to do.  I don't game or tranfer images over my network, just word documents and stuff.  I don't need a fast network for that.  My cable internet connection is also across the network.  The WirelessG network's speed doesn't affect my internet speed.  My network has four computers on it.


----------

