Betty J wrote:
> I plan to upgrade to DSL, using two computers, both use Windows XP (one is
> Home, other is Professional). In addition to a router and a NIC card, what
> other items do I need to get: any cables, etc.??
>
> I'm new at this, so I appreciate your help.
>
> http://www.powertochange.com
>
>
The first thing to decide is whether you want (now or in the future) the
ability to connect wirelessly. I suggest that you get a wireless router
even if you don't plan on using that capability now; you can always turn
off the wireless portion of the router if you don't want to worry about
how to secure it from drive-by access. I also suggest you stay with the
brand names, such as Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, and Buffalo (there are
probably more, but those are the ones that come to mind now).
These days, you have essentially 3 choices for wireless routers:
- basic 802.11g aka "wireless g"
- wireless g with enhanced speed and/or range (various trade names,
e.g., "turbo," "speedBooster," RangeBooster," etc.)
- "pre-n" or "draft n" (this refers to a new wireless networking
standard - 802.11n - that has not yet been agreed upon. The
manufacturers are betting that the standard is close enough to agreed
upon to make and sell devices, but there is no guarantee that the
ultimately ratified standard will be the same as the current draft --
which might render some "draft n" or "pre-n" products incompatible with
future products that meet the ratified standard.
All basic wireless g devices are compatible with all other wireless g
devices, regardless of brand. Enhanced wireless g devices (and probably
any draft n device purchased from now on) will be compatible with basic
wireless g devices regardless of brand -- but only for basic wireless g
operation. To get enhanced (or 802.11n) performance, you should pair
devices with both the same brand and the same product family (e.g., a
Linksys WRT54GS router with SpeedBooster with a Linksys WUSB54GSC
adapter with SpeedBooster).
Most SOHO and home user wireless routers also have 4 ports for
connecting computers via Ethernet cables. Thus, you can connect up to 4
computers by cable and turn off the wireless if you don't want/need it.
You will need a basic cat 5e (category 5e) Ethernet cable for each
computer that you connect to the router without wireless. Even if you
plan to connect *all* of your computers via wireless, you will need to
connect one of them via cable for the initial configuration of the router.
Many (most? all?) SOHO/home user wireless routers come with an Ethernet
cable in the box. Check the one you decide to buy (of course, it may be
shorter than you need).
NICs -- Unless you have a fairly old and/or inexpensive computer, it
probably already has an Ethernet NIC. If so, you don't need another
one. In addition, many newer laptops have a built-in wireless NIC, so
you should check your owner's manual and/or mfr's web site.
Desktops/towers are unlikely to have come with a wireless NIC, but you
can buy them either as an internal PCI card or an external USB device.
You can also buy USB or PC-Card adapters for laptops without built-in
wireless.
Linksys has some basic networking tutorials in flash video. Even though
they are from Linksys, the principles apply to all brands. It's a long
link name, so I've tinyurl'ed it:
http://tinyurl.com/ytjalt
Also see this Microsoft site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...p/default.mspx
--
Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking
To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
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