Ade Evans wrote:
> Thanks Jack. So all I needed would be a wireless router and the wireless
> cards in the laptops would be able to connect? Excuse my ignorance but this
> just isn't my area! I'm guessing the more money I pay, the faster the
> routers? Recommend any? Obviously they'll have to be ones I can get in the
> UK...any ideas?
>
>
Much of what you hear about "speed" and "range" of wireless devices
typically used in homes and small offices is marketing hype, and needs
to be taken with a large grain of salt.
See, for example,
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12..._speed_claims/
What you need to know is that there are various standards, adopted by
the industry, with which such products are supposed to comply.
These standards generically are known as IEEE (Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers) 802.11.
There are various elements of IEEE 802.11. The most popular of these
are 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. The ones most commonly used today by
SOHO users are 802.11b and 802.11g. These standards call for the use of
the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band, which unfortunately is shared by some
cordless telephones, microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices and perhaps
other devices. This can lead to interference.
As far as speed is concerned, 802.11b calls for a MAXIMUM data rate of
11 Megabits per sec (11 Mbps), while 802.11g calls for a MAXIMUM data
rate of 54 Mbps. It is important to realize that these are maximum data
rates -- achievable only under very good conditions. More importantly,
they do not represent the actual data throughput. See, for example,
this article that says that typical throughput for an 802.11b network is
4-5 Mbps, or a little less than half of the max data rate:
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/w...peed80211b.htm
Nevertheless, max data rates can be useful in comparing different
technologies. Plainly, 802.11g is quite a bit faster than 802.11b,
which is why almost no one use 802.11b anymore.
Different manufacturers have come up with various proprietary techniques
that purport to increase both throughput and range. Such products are
sometimes called "Super G" or "Turbo G" or "Speedbooster" or similar
superlative names. They are touted to get as much as twice the 802.11g
data rate, or 108 Mbps. Whether or not such devices actually reach 108
Mbps, and a correspondingly higher throughput, they will ONLY do so if
communicating with another device from the same manufacturer with the
same "Super G" (or whatever) label. If a "Super G" router is
communicating with a regular 802.11g adapter, it can only (under best
conditions) reach the 54 Mpbs 802.11g max rate.
Finally, there is a new standard, 802.11n. This has a max data rate of
540 Mbps and a typical data rate of about 200 Mbps. It also
significantly increase the range compared to 802.11b and 802.11g.
The problem is that there are problems with 802.11n. As a result, this
standard has not yet been adopted by the IEEE. This has not stopped the
equipment manufacturers from marketing "pre-n" devices. Buy these at
your own risk. They are more expensive than 802.11g devices, may not be
compatible with IEEE 802.11 when it eventually is adopted, and may not
be compatible among different brands. Moreover, some "pre-n" devices
have been reported to cause significant interference with nearby 802.11b
and g networks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11_...re-n_equipment
I don't know what is available in the UK, but I suggest you get standard
802.11g devices from a well-known manufacturer, such as
Buffalo
http://www.buffalo-technology.com/
Linksys
http://www.linksys.com
Netgear
http://www.netgear.com
or
D-Link
Belkin
See also
http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Hardware.html
--
Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
To the moon and back with 64 Kbits of RAM and 512 Kbits of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
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