Choosing 802.11b for a wireless connection is a good idea (over
802.11a): "I've seen demonstrations of 802.11a radios delivering 54
Mbps with distances of about 60 feet, which is far less than the 300
feet or so that you'll have with 802.11b systems."
Source: http://www.80211-planet.com/columns/article.php/961181
If you are talking about just one wall between the devices, you have
absolutely nothing to worry about. I was using a Proxim Symphony
Wireless network for two years (now primitive slow technology) and was
able to surf outside and at a neighbours house without any problems.
What you need to do to determine if a certain product will meet your
requirements, is to look for the white paper or data/product
specification sheet on the pci wireless cards website.
For example, the Microsoft wireless network products website can be
found here: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/broadbandnetworking/products.aspx
Although I don't believe that Microsoft released a PCI wireless card,
clicking on the Wireless MN-510 adapter leads one to the pdf file for
the product: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/broadbandnetworking/pdf/data_sheet_510.pdf
Inside this pdf file, you can find the Technical Specifications. Under
range, the following data is made available:
Data Rate Open Envt Closed Envt
11Mbps up to 900ft up to 150ft
5.5Mbps up to 1300ft up to 200ft
2.0Mbps up to 1500ft up to 300ft
With these numbers, you should be able to figure out if a specific
product would work for you. Note that in the event that the space is
too far apart, you might not be able to make a peer to peer network,
but you would still be able to set up a base station.
As for the data rate, I have never found them to be reliable (always
slower than they promise), but generally I have had no problem with
inconsistencies in the space. Note that with wireless technology,
certain rooms/walls/spaces tend to block off signals more or vice
versa. Basically what you need to do is get the product from a place
that will accept returns in the first place.
I do hope that this is the kind of answer you were hoping for. If you
need any clarifications regarding this answer, please let me know and
I will do my best to respond in a timely manner.
tisme-ga
Search Strategy:
802.11b range
://www.google.com/search?q=802%2E11b+range
microsoft wireless broadband
://www.google.com/search?q=microsoft+wireless+broadband |
Clarification of Answer by
tisme-ga
on
01 May 2003 19:59 PDT
Hello dwzdwz,
Yes that is certainly the case. If it did not have the power to
transmit 150ft, it could not transmit to the base station either. The
base station does not have supersonic ears. :) One might think that it
is only important for the internet connection to go from the base
station to the wireless pc card, but this is not the case because the
pc card needs to tell the base station what website to pull up. It is
true that base stations tend to send signals further, but this is
because they are usually located in better positions and have higher
antennas. If the pc card cant send data strongly enough to the base
station, the wireless connection would not work.
Base stations are good because they make a central part of the
network, and have the ability to block all outside port requests to
the network. In a peer to peer network between two computers, having a
base station is certainly not worth it in my opinion. You will just
need to make sure both computers are on, a base station generally has
your internet connection going straight into it, so you only need to
have any one computer on to surf the net. A peer to peer network with
many computers also tends to be more unreliable, but for the purpose
of 2-4 computers, I always recommend peer to peer networks. Just make
sure that you turn on encryption! Many peer to peer networks do not
have encryption turned on by default. 40-bit or 128-bit encryption is
fine for personal use.
Best of luck in setting up your network. I know you will enjoy the
portibility once you have everything humming nicely!
tisme-ga
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