Wi-fi, who's using it?

[theavonlady 2]

Anyone connecting through Wi-Fi?

Paying or free?

Installed yourself?

How is login set up?

Cost?

Personal use or business?

Security?

Not there yet but seriously thinking about it?

Upsides? Downsides?

[ralphwiggum 6]

what's wi fi?

[theavonlady 2]

Wireless networking, based on the 802.11b wireless standard.

Find someone with a single high-speed full time access point to an ISP, connect something like one of these boxes (up to 65 simultaneous users), install a wireless network card in any PC that wants to participate and - presto - they're all on the Internet, for the price of 1 high speed connection plus the cost of the one box and modem per PC.

So, for example, if you're in an apartment building, with 20-40 internet users, each currently paying a monthly fee for their low/high speed fixed or dialup connection, they can cancel all of their accounts except for 1 fixed high speed connection, get the wireless hardware and possibly laugh all the way to the bank.

[ralphwiggum 6]

thanx for info...but if i get DSL, i'll stay with wires... for monetary reason...

[USSoldier11B 0]

All of our mobile units in the company that I work for have CDPD modems in them. I can track them from my office via GPS at all times. This gives them internet access from any location. It also connects me to them via MSN messenger.My boss has a cellular modem for his laptop that is juct a PC card with an antenna on it. Our CDPD modems are f%^ing slow by todays standards. This little thing wi-fi thing looks cool. It would get rid of all of the wiring in an office environment. The only thing is how secure is this thing? Couldn't you hack into it if you were close enough?

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (USSoldier11B @ May 08 2002,11:03)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Couldn't you hack into it if you were close enough?<span id='postcolor'>

I'm sure they're working on VPN for this if it doesn't exist already.

I know that security is an issue with WiFi but I have no idea what solutions are already available or will be soon.

Must check on ZDNET/CNET.

Yes, it sounds cool indeed. An ISP's worst nightmare, if you ask me.

[Major Fubar 0]

double post

[Major Fubar 0]

I'm already getting my daily dose of EM radiation, thanks.

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Major Fubar @ May 08 2002,13:11)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I'm already getting my daily dose of EM radiation, thanks.  <span id='postcolor'>

They're working on a new vitamin fortified version. You see, you drop a little fizzy tablet in a hole at the base of the antenna and add water.........

[Mister Frag 0]

AvonLady, I have experience with 802.11b, and my recommendation is to stay as far away from it as you can.

Setting it up is actually quite simple, but the performance doesn't live up to all of the hype. Last week I helped troubleshoot a 802.11b network where a laptop with a PCCard/PCMCIA adapter could not connect to an access point that was about 20 feet away.

The manufacturers talk about distances of hundreds of feet, but in my experience, 50 feet is about the most I've ever been able to get out of 802.11b inside a building. And at that distance, signals are weak, and network speed and reliability drop dramatically.

Anything made of metal (building supports, fridges, filing cabinets, desks) or containing water (fish tanks, radiators, people) will greatly reduce the signal strength, and some wireless phones and microwaves can cause interference. A friend of mine had a problem with his network whenever one of his two large dogs was stepping in between his computer and his 802.11b access point.

If you need the mobility of wireless for a laptop, you don't really have an alternative, but if you want to simply network a home or small office without having to run CAT 5 cable, consider HomePNA 2.0 -- unlike 802.11b, it has exceeded my expectations in terms of performance and ease of installation.

If you have multiple desktops and one laptop, get an 802.11b bridge to provide access for that one laptop, and don't compromise network performance for the rest of the systems just because one machine might need to move around a little.

Also, WEP is a crock of you-know-what. The encryption is weak and fairly easy to break, and 'Wired Equivalent Privacy' is nothing more than a marketing term. Don't trust it with anything confidential.

If you have additional questions, just ask.

[theavonlady 2]

Most enlightening as usual, Mr. Frag. Thank you.

[Mister Frag 0]

I hope I didn't burst your bubble.

Aside from true 802.11b enthusiasts/zealots and those who don't know any better, I can't imagine anyone knowledgeable about networking or with first-hand experience recommending this stuff.

There are some 802.11b products that are more usable than others, but most are mediocre. Some access points (like the Linksys WAP11 and its clones) can be tweaked via software to increase the antenna output by almost 100%, which helps with data coming from the access point, but that does nothing for the signal coming from the PCs.

You may also want to read THIS.

[Guest]

We use 802.11b in college extensively.

Encryption is of the 56 bit variety as far I know, which leaves a bit to be desired. There is no login per se, the Wireless Hub simple has an ESSID, which is the name of the wireless network. YOu tell your card that you want to connect to network named "WAVELAN" (or whatever), it autonegotiates speed (between 2 and 11 mbps). That's OSI Layer 2 set up. Layer 3 depends on what you need.

We use DHCP to assign IP addresses, which isn't all that secure. It only takes a bit of magic to spoof a mac address, and you are on the network (I tried this late one night, it works fine).

The signal can go through about 2 or 3 floors of this old, well insulated building. The signal flickers at any distance greater than that. I've seen my connection die becuase someone walked passed the door

In reality, 802.11b can go up to 11 Km. The problem is, this has to be line of sight, and even a leaf on a tree can screw this up. I think the greatest distance between EM conductors can be twice the maximum wavelength (I'm sure Nyquist is used in there somewhere).

Wireless hubs have ethernet bridges built into them, so you can link the hub up to a port on a hub with a router on it connected to an ADSL/cable connection.

Check out www.bawug.org (Bay Area Wireless Group) for more on how people have implemented it practically.