Question about adding wireless connectivity for a notebook to a wired LAN

[WebNuT73]

This is just a quick question. My apologies if it's been hashed out before.

I currently have a wired LAN at home, with 3 PCs attached to it. Two PCs are running Windows XP Home and one is running Windows XP Pro.

I recently purchased a Dell Notebook with Windows 2000 Pro installed.

What I want to do, is add wireless capability for the notebook only to the exisitng wired LAN. The idea is that I can take the notebook computer out of my office so that I am not cooped up in here all day.

The maximum distance from the access point to the notebook would be roughly 50 feet and no more.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice for a simple, low-priced method of adding wireless capabilty to the existing wired LAN, capability that will only be used for the notebook and no other computer.

Would I have to actually purchase an entirely new wireless switch/router and connect all units to it, or is there a less-expensive alternative, perhaps some sort of adapter that I can plug into the existing wired switch that the notebook can utilize for access to the LAN and the attached broadband connection?

Thanks in advance!

[Byte 2.0]

They do make wireless access points that you can plug into existing networks, but I believe the cost is about the same as buying a wireless router. Wireless routers are dropping in price and are pretty reasonable.

[Wolf_10]

If your in a hurry, and don't want to play around with your network, then just buy the wireless access point, and connect it to your existing router. I personally would not like a wireless only network. They just do not perform like wired in my opinion. I do like the combination network. It is really convenient to have the access point with a wired network.

[glc]

If you are okay with 802.11b speeds (11 mbps max):

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...124-105&depa=0

[Byte 2.0]

For just a little bit more you can get same brand Wireless G router, wirled and wireless connection options.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...124-010&depa=1

LINKSYS Wireless G 54Mbps Broadband Router, Model WRT54G
59.99 with free shipping.

[WebNuT73]

I certainly appreciate the advise! Thank you all :}

One thing I forgot to mention in my first post, was that I am currently suffering with DirecWay's Satellite Internet connection. I believe that the router I had to buy from them that connects my LAN to the satellite system already has a firewall built in. I also have firewall software installed on all of my machines. If I were to purchase a wireless router with built in switch, would it not be recommended to have a triple firewall like that?

In truth, the only reason why I still have the software firewall installed is because it lets me know when programs on my system are trying to access the outside world. But I've also been told from countless folks that the double-firewall offers slightly better protection against inbound intrusion than a single firewall alone. It seems to me that adding a third firewall could cause routing and connection problems, though I don't know.

[Byte 2.0]

With directway, i am not certain if you can just connect a wireless router up, I have never worked with there setup.

I had one person tell me that his directway, was USB to his computer and that was the only choice he had, that at the time they did not offer anything ethernet. Based on my information on directway, I am not in a postion to really offer sound advise.

If you have to use their router, may just want to go with an Access point, provideing you have all the wired ports you need.

[WebNuT73]

Unfortunately, as far as I know, I am required to utilize DirecWay's DW6000 "modem" as it is apparently called. I was apparently mistaking in calling it a router...

Anyway, this is what the DW6000 is, if you want to know: http://dssweb01.mydirecway.com/mydw/...6-overview.jsp

To my knowledge, connecting a wireless router to this unit and utilizing the wireless capabilities for the notebook would be possible. My main concern would be the triple firewalls. If I recall correctly, the DW6000 has some sort of built-in firewall although I am not certain. There are no options for the DW6000 that I can configure locally, as DirecWay does not supply any such ability. I guess if there is a problem, I can disable the internal firewall of the wireles unit, or simply disable the software firewall on the notebook. I believe there are software packages I can obtain that I can use to monitor the outbound flow of data from my PCs.

Anyway, I guess the only true way to find out is to purchase a wireless unit and try it. Worst case scenario would be that it would not work, in which case I will simply sell the wireless unit on eBay.

Thanks again for the advice. I will try and make certain to post an update when I am able to purchase a wireless router and give it a shot.

EDIT: Ironically, in spite of my recent exhaustive searches, the page I just linked to in this post, has the answer to whether or not I can use a wireless router with this DirecWay system. I did not even notice that until after I made this post. Go figure huh? LOL

[glc]

Use a wireless ACCESS POINT, not a router. This is the easiest configuration being that you have a currently working LAN. I linked to one in post #4. This is a simple device, no routing or firewall capabilities.