Wireless Networking

[UncaDanno]

OK, it's like this. I have two towers at home, one running NT 4.0 Server, the other Win2K Server. And two craptops that I use for work. Both running Win2K Server. They both have IR ports.

I need to get these boys talking to one another. I could wire the two towers together. They sit about 2 feet apart. But for the laptops, I need to set up a wireless arrangement so I can use them anywhere in the house.

Open for suggestions:
Completely wireless - both towers wireless and a PCMCIA wireless adapter that I can use in either laptop.

or

Wire the towers and set up one with an additional, wireless, adapter and a PCMCIA wireless adapter for the laptops.


What say ye, masters of networking?

And any suggestions on what equipment (manuf., supplier, etc) would be welcome. I'm sort of leaning toward WebGear's 2.4G wireless for the PC-to-tower route. Maybe for the whole shebang as well.


Thanks

[mbossman2]

for a wireless set up you will need:

NIC's for all wireless PC's.

Access point (a wireless hub)

Hub (for any wired together systems)

Wireless will work well, but the cost may be prohibitive for a home user.

[EzyStvy]

Keep in mind, beside much more expensive, wireless is alot sloower than cable.

[mbossman2]

most wireless systems are capable of up to 11mbs (shared), dependant upon the lay out of the work area, antenni used etc.

[UncaDanno]

Yes, I realize that wireless is, as a rule, slower than wired. I'm not looking for blazing speed. Don't have time (or the inclination) for gaming or KeWl graphics.

I do business application architecting and development. And, since what I usually build entails reducing network traffic to a bare minimum, the slower wireless network would give me an earlier indication that I'm being sloppy in regards to traffic.

I realize that I'll need a Network Interface Card for all the "stations". Else they can't Interface with the Network, eh?

I was hoping to get some suggestions regarding manufacturers or some "network in a box" setups anybody has had any hands-on experience with.

And wireless is a must for the laptops.

From what I've seen so far (ALL of it from sales reps), I can go with Intel's setup at about $120 per end unit, Proxim's for about the same, or WebGear's (about the same price). Proxim claims to be the manufacturer for Intel's setup's guts. But both Intel's and Proxim's SEEM to rely heavily on their wizard applications for setup. I say "SEEM" because no sales rep can give me a definitive answer on this. And, for each of these at least one machine in the network has to be Win95 or Win98 (to run the wizard). I'm all NT or Win2K.

WebGear's setup seems to be the most flexible and the most documented. And touted to be the fastest 2.4GB). What I really like (and, at first disliked) about their setup is this: A two-station kit consists of two PCI cards that basically give two desktop (or tower) machines PCMCIA slots. The kit also has two PCMCIA cards (for these slots) that have buit-in antennae. So the cards can be put in the towers and I can put one of the PCMCIA cards in one tower (or the other) and the other PCMCIA card in one of the laptops (to let a laptop talk to the tower). Or I can put the PC cards in both the towers so the towers can converse among themselves. Or I can put the PC cards in the laptops so they can talk to each other.


I was just hoping that someone here would have had hands-on experience with real equipment so they could give me their impressions of the different manufacturers' offerings.

[mbossman2]

http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/stories/e...472697,00.html

Here is an article from PC Magazine