Wireless Networking Guide

Wireless networking provides a simple and convenient way to share the Internet with multiple computers. It is simple because there are no wires involved. Just add a wireless card and it is all plug-and-play from there. It is convenient in the fact that you can have 2 networked computers placed anywhere in your house. You can have one computer upstairs and another in the basement. Probably the most convenient is for your notebook computer. You can take your notebook outside and surf the Internet without wires.

Before getting into the available wireless products, there is some technical details you should know. There are a few different technical specifications that wireless devices can follow. The first specification is 802.11a which operates at 5GHz and allows speeds up to 54Mbps. The next specification is 802.11b which operates at 2.4GHz and allows speeds only up to 11Mbps, but has a greater operating range than 802.11a. Then there is 802.11g which combines the best features of the earlier specifications to give 54Mbps speed with a good range of operation.

Actually, you will see speeds that are higher than these such as an 802.11b adapter operating at 22MBps or an 802.11g adapter operating at 108MBps such as D-Link's Super G technology. These are non-standard speeds and usually require all the devices in the network to be from the same manufacturer to get the full benefit.

You should also be aware that these stated speeds are the maximum theoretical speeds. Because of overhead, your actual transmission speed is usually 35% to 50% the theoretical rating.

So what standard should you choose? Because the price difference between 802.11b and 802.11g network cards are negligible, there is no need to go with 802.11b wireless networking. The clear choice is 802.11g. You will also have backwards compatibility with 802.11b and speeds in between. As far as 802.11a, you will sometimes find it supported along with 802.11b and 802.11g, but usually not by itself because of its short range.

The first device you will need is a wireless adapter inside each computer you want networked. This will either be a PCI card for a desktop computer or a PC card for a notebook.

If you have an existing wired network, you can get what is called an Access Point. An Access Point acts as a hub in your network and allows you to connect with an existing wired network. An Access Point also has the added benefit of increasing the range of your wireless network.

However, my recommendation is to go with a wireless router instead. The reason is it can do the job of an Access Point and it is also cheaper.

You may want to check out the top 10 sellers in wireless networking hardware to see what is popular.