I have a few questions regarding wireless networking. What do I need? A wireless router of course and an adapter for the pc's? Is wireless any slower than hooking up via an ethernet cable? And what does 10/100/1000mbps mean? And what about 802.11g? I want to hook up a wireless network so 2 pcs can access one printer but have no clue what to do. And what is the diff between a usb adapter and pci?
Wireless networking
- Thread starter EricM
- Start date
pctechmike1
Daemon Poster
- Messages
- 836
You need a wireless router, and some type of wireless device for the computers to communicate with the router.
Wireless is slower than wired, simply because it travels over air- although you won't notice much of a difference.
10Mbps/100Mbps/1000Mbps is how fast the transfer of data is. 10Mbps is 10 mega-bits per second, 100Mbps is 100 mega-bits per second, and 1000Mbs is actually 1 giga-byte per second. The higher the number, the faster the transfer. Keep in mind that although many devices claim they can handle this type of data transfer, most ISP (Intenet Service Providers) only have up to 1-8Mbps download speeds. Some have more, but realistically, you will see on a good day about 3-6Mbps on the fastest connection- at least in the Tennessee area. 802.11g is a wireless networking standard. You can Google that number, and you will get many links to detail the specification for you. All you have to do is have both computers on the same workgroup, with different names, and share the printer. This works best if both PCs are Windows XP, but it is possible to mix and match- just harder.
The difference between a PCI wireless card and a USB wireless card is just the way they plug into your computer. A PCI wireless card goes inside your PC, in a PCI slot. A USB wireless card plugs into a USB port on your computer. In my opinion, the USB are better, I've seen too many issues with the PCI ones.
Wireless is slower than wired, simply because it travels over air- although you won't notice much of a difference.
10Mbps/100Mbps/1000Mbps is how fast the transfer of data is. 10Mbps is 10 mega-bits per second, 100Mbps is 100 mega-bits per second, and 1000Mbs is actually 1 giga-byte per second. The higher the number, the faster the transfer. Keep in mind that although many devices claim they can handle this type of data transfer, most ISP (Intenet Service Providers) only have up to 1-8Mbps download speeds. Some have more, but realistically, you will see on a good day about 3-6Mbps on the fastest connection- at least in the Tennessee area. 802.11g is a wireless networking standard. You can Google that number, and you will get many links to detail the specification for you. All you have to do is have both computers on the same workgroup, with different names, and share the printer. This works best if both PCs are Windows XP, but it is possible to mix and match- just harder.
The difference between a PCI wireless card and a USB wireless card is just the way they plug into your computer. A PCI wireless card goes inside your PC, in a PCI slot. A USB wireless card plugs into a USB port on your computer. In my opinion, the USB are better, I've seen too many issues with the PCI ones.
pctechmike1
Daemon Poster
- Messages
- 836
USB sounds great, but it wasn't made for Internet. You are better off with a network cable. USB has too many issues to get into when using as a connection from a DSL/Cable modem to a PC/Router. USB has several different standards also, and the transfer depends on the standard you have on your computer, and the device you connect it to. The most common at this time, if it's a relatively new computer, is 2.0, which is supposed to transfer up to 480Mbps. USB is mostly used for data transfer, everything other than video. Firewire (1394) was designed for multimedia transfer. Stick to the ethernet connection- it'll cause less stress.
pctechmike1
Daemon Poster
- Messages
- 836
The other computer will be upstairs, I assume? If so, what are your floors made of? Wood? Anything inbetween the floors? All these factors are in play. If the network cable run is too difficult to perform, wireless is the best option. I would go with a USB wireless adapter- they seem to have less trouble connecting to wireless devices.
Note: Earlier I was speaking about USB wireless connections, which you may have confused with a wired USB connection. Wireless USB cards are great- USB hardware connections (cable from deivice to device) don't work great in networking. Sorry if this confused you
Note: Earlier I was speaking about USB wireless connections, which you may have confused with a wired USB connection. Wireless USB cards are great- USB hardware connections (cable from deivice to device) don't work great in networking. Sorry if this confused you
pctechmike1
Daemon Poster
- Messages
- 836
Ethernet cable is just that- cable- wired. There are many USB devices, and the only two we are discussing is wireless USB adapters, and USB cables. A wireless USB adapter plugs into a USB port- it receives signals from the wireless router (it is considered a network device, because this is the only function it does). A USB cable, on the other hand, performing as a network interface, needs software to "trick" the computer into thinking it's an actual ethernet connection.
pctechmike1
Daemon Poster
- Messages
- 836
Technically, yes, but you won't notice much of a difference.