"Do I need it?" is probably the question you have have been asking yourself. It depends. If being free to move around your office, the county or the country while not being tied to a wired Internet connection is useful or if being able to move your printer across the hallway without draping a wire across the floor you are going to trip on is useful, then yes, you might want wireless.
Wireless networks come in different flavors and costs depending on how far away from your wired Internet connection you want to get. The following is a list of ranges and the Wireless Networking Standard closest aligned with that distance;
- less than 20 feet - Bluetooth
- up to 100 feet - 802.11 (A/B/G)
- over 100 feet - Wireless Modem (Sprint or Verizon) / High Speed
Wireless Networking
If you have a single office or two offices next to one another and you want to be able to connect to a printer or synchronize your Palm/PDA without connecting it via an inconvenient wire, then Bluetooth is the best choice. Bluetooth (PAN/Personal Area Network or Piconet) is generally used to connect computer accessories and peripherals like a Palm or a printer to the local computer. Bluetooth operates in the 2.45GHz range with speeds of up to 723KBps.
The second type of wireless connection (WiFi is the latest term being used to describe these standards) is the 802.11 standard which is very common for laptop users who are connecting to a network wirelessly, but it can be used for desktops as well in situations where running wires is inappropriate or tough. The 802.11 standard breaks down into three commercially available types these days;
- 802.11 A - 5.0 GHz frequency and 54 MBps transfer rate
- 802.11 B - 2.4 GHz frequency and 11 MBps transfer rate (most common)
- 802.11 G - 2.4 GHz frequency and 54 MBps transfer rate
All of the 802.11 standards above offer a range of around 100 ft (802.11 A offers the shortest distance of the three) and allow you to move around an office or house. To make this connection work, both the computer and the network need special "cards". Because 802.11 is the most common standard, you can also take your business mobile. Locally, some restaurants and cafes in Marin provide wireless service to patrons, allowing them access to Internet. In these locations, a person with a wireless card in their laptop computer could have a cup of coffee while checking their email or looking up information on the WWW. Nationally, this service is becoming more and more common. I have included a few links at the bottom with lists of free and for pay wireless interenet services.
* FYI: some handheld home phones as well as baby monitors and other broadcast devices run in the 2.4GHz range and can interfere with the 802.11B/G networks.
If you need more flexibility than either of the previous choices, look into the possibilities that Sprint or Verizon offer. For $60-$100/month you can connect to their network at a speed between 56K and 112K which is not great but still useful if you need to connect from several different locations and this connection speed is acceptable.
The last choice is high speed Wireless Networking which is available from Verizon nationally and locally through Web Perception (www.webperception.com). These services offer wireless DSL or faster access for an upfront setup fee and $100-$200/month. These services are best used in a fixed area such a house or office in Marin because some of the equipment requires a power plug, but they are getting more flexible all the time. They are expensive, but this might be the solution for you.
"Security, Security, Security"
Wireless networks are inherently big security holes and you need to address these issues. Depending on your needs for security I would do at least 1 if not all of the following suggestions.
- Turn off the SSID. This is the name of your network. If you turn this off, only people who know the name can find your network.
- Add MAC address security. This is the unique ID probably on the bottom or backside of your wireless device. This makes it impossible for anyone else to get on your network except for those that you predefine by MAC Address.
- Add Encryption. You can use 64 or 128 bit encryption, but you should consider this. This keeps unscrupulous people from evesdropping on the network traffic between you and your access point.
None of theses choices are foolproof, but they are all best practices and they will defeat all but the most hardened hackers.
What problems might I have with Wireless?
The most common problems are distance and interference with Bluetooth and the 802.11 standards. With every succesive window, wall, door, bookshelf, etc. between your computers or devices the distance at which the devices will connect is decreased.
Metal and other dense materials such as stone and even wood and water can decrease the distance you can transmit from the base station. Try moving your Wireless Access Point high up on the wall and changing the orientation of the antennas to see if it increases it's range. Changing the location of the Wireless Access Point or Router from room to romm can also directly affect the distance it can transmit. If you have a large area you are trying to cover, you may want to hire Net-Medix or another consulting firm to come in and map out the best locations for you wireless access point(s).
Other troubleshooting techniques would include adding an external antenna to increase range as well as changing the default channel from 1 or 6 to 7 or 10.
If you notice that you have trouble connecting when the microwave is on or if you are on the phone, they are probably broadcasting in the same 2.4 GHz spectrum as you and you need to go back and try reconfiguring your network settings such as the channel as above. These same problems can happen if you are in tight quarters with other offices or in an apartment building because your neighbor may be using the equipment. If you run into this issue, you can hire Net-Medix or another computer consultant to come out and troubleshoot the issue with a Wireless Network Tester.
What About Enhancements and Other Resources?
Resources including better antennas
http://www.digiville.com/wifi-marin/resources.htm
Community Supported Wireless Network in Sonoma & Marin
http://nocat.net/
Net Stumbler Troubleshooting Software
http://www.stumbler.net/
List of 802.11 Wireless Hotspots (some free, some not)
http://www.digiville.com/wifi-marin/hotspots.htm
http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/
http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/browse/us/2000238/ (Browse By City)
|
