Adding a laptop to a home network

Hi,

I currently have a standalone NAT-enabled ADSL modem/router
(AR11 clone) which is connected to a 5 port 10/100 ethernet switched
hub (d-link def-905dx) to which 3 PCs on a home network are connected.
All above works fine. I now need to add a laptop using wireless (802.11g).
What's the best way of doing this? My thoughts at the moment are to get
a standalone WAP, plug it into the mini-hub and either a cardbus or USB
802.11g wireless adapter for the lappy (is this an "ad-hoc" connection?)
Can that link be made secure using WEP etc?
If so, any recommendations for a standalone WAP/card combination?
Or would I be better off buying a new ADSL modem/router with 4 wired
ethernet ports and a built-in WAP, like the d-link DSL-902 which comes
with a cardbus adapter? Anyone had problems with that one?

Thanks for any help,
--
Rob

Rob Hemmings wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I currently have a standalone NAT-enabled ADSL modem/router
> (AR11 clone) which is connected to a 5 port 10/100 ethernet switched
> hub (d-link def-905dx) to which 3 PCs on a home network are connected.
> All above works fine. I now need to add a laptop using wireless (802.11g).
> What's the best way of doing this? My thoughts at the moment are to get
> a standalone WAP, plug it into the mini-hub and either a cardbus or USB
> 802.11g wireless adapter for the lappy (is this an "ad-hoc" connection?)

Your thoughts on the best way sound right for you, since you already
have a combined modem/router which you are happy with. I only have
experience with cardbus wireless adaptors or built-in ones with laptops
which have generally served me well. I don't know if USB ones perform
as well. The pros I can think of for USB is that you have the possibility
of using a USB extension cable to move the adaptor and its aerial
away from the laptop case by a few inches if reception is a problem.
The cons I can think of are that, if throughput is important to you
(i.e. lots of inter-machine traffic on your local LAN) it's important
that your laptop has USB 2.0 rather than USB1.1, which limits the data
rate to about 1Mbit IIRC.

> Can that link be made secure using WEP etc?

WEP is not really secure against anyone with access to widely-available
tools and who can monitor enough traffic on your network. WPA is
significantly more secure against eavesdropping. Much depends what you
want to achieve with security. If you are worried about people seeing
your traffic, then only WPA can offer this. If you just want to
secure the connection against unauthorised use, then most WAPs offer
MAC address filtering, which means only machines you know the MAC
address of (which is associated with the wireless card) can use it.
These can be spoofed but it isn't as easy to do.

> If so, any recommendations for a standalone WAP/card combination?
> Or would I be better off buying a new ADSL modem/router with 4 wired
> ethernet ports and a built-in WAP, like the d-link DSL-902 which comes
> with a cardbus adapter? Anyone had problems with that one?

Since you already have a working modem/router there seems no need
to replace it. You gain more flexibility with a separate WAP since,
if necessary, it can be positiioned some way away from the hub and/or
router. You may want to do this if your telephone point is in
a place which isn't great for the WAP (you usually want this to
be above ground floor level and possibly near a window if you want
to use the laptop in the garden/shed/etc. But it may not matter.)

You are probably using DHCP on your modem/router to dole out
IP addresses. You will want to configure your WAP to pass through
DHCP requests to the modem/router so that it still manages this,
I believe.

I should have added in my earlier reply:

> 802.11g wireless adapter for the lappy (is this an "ad-hoc" connection?)

No, it's not 'ad-hoc'. That's when you use wireless to connect two devices
(such as computers) that are usually end points. You want infrastructure
mode.

"Rob Hemmings" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ddv7ko$1lc$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I currently have a standalone NAT-enabled ADSL modem/router
> (AR11 clone) which is connected to a 5 port 10/100 ethernet switched
> hub (d-link def-905dx) to which 3 PCs on a home network are connected.
> All above works fine. I now need to add a laptop using wireless
> (802.11g).
> What's the best way of doing this? My thoughts at the moment are to get
> a standalone WAP, plug it into the mini-hub and either a cardbus or USB
> 802.11g wireless adapter for the lappy

There are two essentially independent choices - whether to buy a standalone
AP or a router with built-in AP, and what type of wireless network adapter
to buy.

Buying a standalone AP means you can locate the AP somewhere different to
the router, which may suit you better, but it also (probably) means yet
another plug-top power supply. Selling your current router would probably
make a new router (with built-in AP) cheaper than a standalone AP.

IMO a USB adapter isn't as tidy as a Cardbus one, but if reception is a
problem it does give the option of locating the adapter somewhere slightly
different to where you want the laptop. If you're stuck with USB 1.1 then
throughput with a USB adapter will be pretty poor, typically around 800KB/s
(6-7Mbit/s) maximum. While this is fast enough for Internet use, an 802.11g
connection is typically capable of 3-4 times the throughput.

> (is this an "ad-hoc" connection?)

No. An ad hoc network has no AP, otherwise it is infrastructure.

> Can that link be made secure using WEP etc?

Yes; prefer WPA.

Alex

"Kevin Ashley" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ddvc0i$c1g$(E-Mail Removed)...
[snip]
> The cons I can think of are that, if throughput is important to you
> (i.e. lots of inter-machine traffic on your local LAN) it's important
> that your laptop has USB 2.0 rather than USB1.1, which limits the data
> rate to about 1Mbit IIRC.

It's not good, but it's better than that. 6-7Mbit/s is typical.

[snip]
> You are probably using DHCP on your modem/router to dole out
> IP addresses. You will want to configure your WAP to pass through
> DHCP requests to the modem/router so that it still manages this,
> I believe.

There's normally no configuration needed to pass through DHCP requests,
because the AP bridges the wireless network and its Ethernet port. However,
most(?) APs have a DHCP server of their own which must be disabled.

Alex

On 17 Aug 2005 12:39, "Rob Hemmings" wrote:

>would I be better off buying a new ADSL modem/router with 4 wired
>ethernet ports and a built-in WAP,

Seeing the posts asking for help on setup of seperate units, I'd think
the combined approach would probably serve you better. You would still
have the hub for networking the PCs together (in the event of needing to
take the ADSL modem/router/WAP away for a repair) and you may easily sell
the existing unit on Ebay or in the small ads of a local newspaper, or
keep it on the shelf as a spare :-) (hopefully it wasn't too costly)

--

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"Alex Fraser" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Kevin Ashley" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:ddvc0i$c1g$(E-Mail Removed)...
> [snip]
> > The cons I can think of are that, if throughput is important to you
> > (i.e. lots of inter-machine traffic on your local LAN) it's important
> > that your laptop has USB 2.0 rather than USB1.1, which limits the data
> > rate to about 1Mbit IIRC.
>
> It's not good, but it's better than that. 6-7Mbit/s is typical.
>
> [snip]
> > You are probably using DHCP on your modem/router to dole out
> > IP addresses. You will want to configure your WAP to pass through
> > DHCP requests to the modem/router so that it still manages this,
> > I believe.
>
> There's normally no configuration needed to pass through DHCP requests,
> because the AP bridges the wireless network and its Ethernet port.
However,
> most(?) APs have a DHCP server of their own which must be disabled.

Many thanks for your help guys - much appreciated. I think I'll get an AP
and plug it into my hub (with a cardbus wireless NIC in the lappy - I've
never been happy with USB devices - too many problems to mention) as the
hub is much nearer to where the lappy will be used (2 brick walls nearer!)

Any recommendations for cheap 802.11g AP and cardbus adapter combination?

I've had a good look around, but it's not at all easy to figure out -
currently
looking at a Dlink DWL-2000AP+ 54g for the AP
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=172385
and the DWL-G650 cardbus adapter:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=172672
although the total comes to more than a new DSL-902/DWL-G650 bundle..

Cheers,
--
Rob