Wireless home network 802.11G

[CSK]

I'm looking to put together a wireless home network with 3-4 laptops and a couple of printers. Does anyone have any experience wit 802.11G and thought of this protocol vs. .11b and .11a?


Thanks

[Moses]

B & A were the first to come out with B typically used in a home environment and A in a corporate.

G is the next hot thing with increased bandwidth AND backwards compatabile with B. I've recently set up a hybrid network in my house. Using a Netgear wired router as a base and then adding a G access point. I currently have 4 PCs (3 hardwired, 1 wireless) and 1 laptop (wireless).

All components are Netgear. I've also heard Linksys is very good and reliable also. Key thing with wireless is ensure proper placement so a signal is strong and as unobstructed as possible.

If you have a desire for streaming video (bandwidth hog), G is the wau to go.

[CSK]

Good info thanks. If I'm building the network from scratch Are there any drawbacks with g that I would have with a or b? I'm guessing the newer technology is more expensive.

[JohnR]

G is backwards compatible to B but it reduces the speed of the network all across the board. If you want to take advantage of G, get all the machines on G. There are no drawbacks but you want to read up and implement a security policy so the neighbors don't pilfer your internet - regardless of what flavor you run. The other thing to remember, is the higher speed of G will generally be higher thru the house than an all B network. So if a B network that starts at 11Mbps drops down to 4 Mbps after the signal goes 50 feet and thru some walls, a G starting at 54 might get you 8 or so in the same conditions.

The other thing to keep in mind is that if your sharing is primarily for Internet and you are capped at 1.5 D/L speed, a 54Mbps is no faster than 11Mbps.

[CSK]

You guys are wicked smaaart. John, hopefully I'll see you at the next Battlestar Galactica convention.

[JohnR]

Originally posted by CSK
You guys are wicked smaaart. John, hopefully I'll see you at the next Battlestar Galactica convention.

Can't do that - Starbuck is a chick now!


(just kidding, not that kind of purist)

[TheSpecialist]

Starbuck is a chick now?

Chris I got a wireless b it's ok. I also got the Hp All inone printer PSC 2510 photosmart. It is wireless capable ie no wires to the computer, if used on a wireless network.