Care Of Windows XP Wireless Networking A, B, C

In order to help you buy and install your wireless network I'll cover 3 areas and follow that with a few suggestions from Amazon:

• Which wireless standard should you use
• What equipment do you need
• Installing your network
• Buying your wireless network adaptors in association with Amazon

Then I'll follow up with an important section on setting-up the security for your wireless network.

 

Which Wireless Standard Should You Use?

There are three wireless standards.  If you don't really want to know about them just remember that we recommend you go with 802.11g (pronounced 'eight owe two eleven g') which is sometimes called Wireless-G.  When you buy your wireless equipment ensure that it says it supports 802.11g.

Here's a bit more information about each of the three 802.11 (pronounced 'eight owe two eleven') standards:

1. 802.11b (pronounced 'eight owe two eleven b'): slowest performance (but still typically much faster than a broadband internet connection), most common and cheapest solution.  Good range of between 100-150 feet reduced by walls & ceilings and other objects, but typically works well in a family home.
2. 802.11a: Good performance but not great range, typically 25-75 feet that doesn't travel through walls and ceilings well.  Its advantage is that it can cope with many more simultaneously connected computers so is more common in offices than homes.
3. 802.11g: Our Recommendation - Good performance and good range of between 100-150 feet reduced by walls & ceilings and other objects, but typically works well in a family home.

What Equipment You Need

In summary you need two things:

1. Either a Wireless Router (sometimes called a Wireless Access Point) or a Wireless Broadband Router supporting the wireless standard 802.11g
2. A Wireless Network Adapter for each client computer that wants to connect to the wireless network supporting the wireless standard 802.11g

Wireless Router / Wireless Broadband Router

A Wireless Broadband Router/modem or a Wireless Router supporting the wireless standard 802.11g (sometimes called Wireless-G).

• If you already have a broadband modem/router (a box that plugs in to the wall and your computer to connect it to the internet) and want to add wireless capability you can plug a Wireless Router in to your existing broadband connection.
  This will become your Wireless Access Point.
• Here is an example Wireless Broadband Router and a Wireless Router from Linksys:
   

• Note that if you have a desktop computer that will be wired to your router, you may also need to buy a network cable, like the one that connects the broadband modem/router to your computer at the moment.  In many cases one will come with the router, but you should check.

 

Wireless Network Adaptor

A Wireless Network Adapter supporting the wireless standard 802.11g for each computer you want to connect to the wireless network.

There are essentially three kinds of Wireless Network Adapter.  Any of them will work with your network.  Here's some guidance on which to choose:

1. PCMCIA card:  A small card that plugs in to a laptop computer, easily the best way to connect your laptop to your wireless network.
   • For example:
   
   
2. USB 2.0 adapter:  Useful for desktop computers if you need to move the aerial around to get a good signal or want to be able to quickly swap a single adapter between multiple computers.  To use this kind of adapter your computer must have a USB 2.0 socket which is very common.
   • For example:
   
   
3. Internal adapter:  Fits inside your desktop computer so its tidy, but you do need to open the computer case and be comfortable fitting the card (or have a friend do it for you!).
   • For example:

And that's it.  A box that is wired to the network or internet directly - and an adapter for each computer to wirelessly connect to your wireless access point.

Installing Your Network

If you have bought wireless network equipment that is intended for home or small office use (such as Linksys equipment) then it should come with straight forward instructions which you should follow.  What we've included below should be enough to give you some confidence and overall guidance on the process of installing your new wireless network.

If you have bought a Wireless Router (or Access Point) to plug in to an existing broadband modem/router, then follow these steps:

1. Position the wireless router as close the main locations you will want to access the network from as possible.
2. Plug the network cable that this is currently plugged in to your computer in to one of network ports on the wireless router.  This connects the router to the internet.
3. Plug another network cable in to a port on the router and in to your computers network port.  You may later remove this cable if its connected to a computer you want to connect wirelessly.
4. Plug the router in to the power.
5. Set-up the security on your wireless network.  See the setting-up security steps for this.
6. Your Wireless Access Point should now be ready - there is normally no software to install on your computer.

OR

If you have bought a Wireless Broadband Router then the setup process is complicated by the steps you need to take to setup secure access to the internet.  Your broadband provider will provide you with these instructions - normally along with the broadband modem/router itself.  Typically instructions for this might be:

1. Position the wireless router as close the main locations you will want to access the network from as possible.
2. Plug a broadband filter in to your phone line (the separates the computer network from voice, so you can use the telephone whist connected to the internet).
3. Plug your router in to the broadband filter.
4. Plug a network cable in to a port on the router and in to your computers network port.
5. Plug the router in to the power.
6. Follow the procedures to initialise your broadband connection.  This might include opening your web browser and typing the address "http://192.168.1.1" which is likely to be the network address of your router, followed by typing in your account information as password information given to you by your broadband supplier.
7. Set-up the security on your wireless network.  See the setting-up security steps for this.
8. Your Wireless Access Point should now be ready - there is normally no software to install on your computer.

THEN set-up your client computer(s)

1. Install or plug your wireless network adapter in to your computer.
2. When you power on your computer or after plugging in the adapter Windows XP should recognise that new hardware has been added to your computer.
3. At this point you need to follow the steps provided by the supplier of your adapter, but typically you will insert the CD provided with the adapter and tell the new hardware wizard to automatically locate the correct drivers for you card (it will look at the CD in your drive automatically).
4. Some installation programs will ask you about the network during installation and you will enter the information you decided up on whilst setting up the security of your wireless network, including the SSID (the name of you chose for your wireless network), the type of security either WEP or WPA and the security key.
5. If you have the option to select an option that says you will connect to an Infrastructure Network (or Wireless Access Point) verses a peer-to-peer (or ad-hoc) network, they you want the infrastructure network option.
6. If you were not asked for details of your wireless network during installation then its likely you have a small icon in your system tray that looks like this: indicating that the wireless network is not connected.  If this is the case then follow the steps to set-up security on your adapter.

Buying Your Wireless Network Adaptors

Back to Wireless Networking Overview

Next to Setting-up Wireless Security