Get Connected to Home Network

Posted on October 30th, 2011 in Wireless 101 | 1 Comment

Many electronic devices in your home today, such as the gaming console, smart TV and media player require an Internet connection. So, having your home linked is a must rather than a luxury.

Wireless network
Most smart mobile phones these days are also equipped with Wi-Fi capability. Therefore, setting up a home wireless network allows you the freedom to use your notebook, iPad or smartphone wherever you are at home.

You do not have to worry about running network cables and ugly trunking. Deciding wired or wireless?

Furthermore, wireless routers, running the popular 802.11g/n Wi-Fi protocol are easy and affordable.

For example, a good dual-band wireless router with four Ethernet ports, such as Edimax BR-6475nD which runs the latest wireless protocol, costs below $100.

These wireless routers are easy to set up. Just plug an Ethernet cable from the modem to the wireless router and you are ready to surf the Internet wirelessly.

However, a wireless network is susceptible to interference from your neighbors’ Wi-Fi networks. You might experience signal loss if your neighbor’s Wi-Fi is too powerful.

In addition, Wi-Fi signals do weaken as they pass through walls. So the last room along a corridor in a four-room apartment may not receive any Internet signal.

Here is how to over come the limitations.
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Home Network: Wired or wireless?

Posted on November 27th, 2010 in Wireless 101 | 1 Comment

Many home users face the problem of connecting all their devices to the same network when they want to exchange files with each other and to connect to a shared broadband line.

Cisco-Linksys PLK300 PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter Kit
Cisco-Linksys PLK300 PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter Kit

Wi-Fi appears to be the obvious choice because of its convenience and fuss-free set-up. However, the problem with Wi-Fi is that it is susceptible to interference and physical obstructions.

So, what options do you have if your home network suffers from signal blind spots and slow performance?

Some users may stick to the tried and tested way of using a cable or spend additional money on Wi-Fi repeaters, signal boosters or extenders.

Powerline networking is another quick and easy option. You do not need to run any additional wires because it makes use of the wiring you already have for your home appliances.

Personally, I use all three options to link up my home. Wireless is easiest for my gaming consoles and is the most convenient for printing from anywhere in the house.

I have a single powerline set-up for a room that suffers from weak signals and is almost undetectable on the wireless network.

Finally, I use wires between my systems to ensure the fastest and most secure connection.

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Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse G700

Posted on October 9th, 2010 in Wireless 101 | No Comments

Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse G700

With 13 built-in programmable buttons, the G700 lets gamers have firm control over their video game characters, such as the ability to perform only a single action or a complicated series of them with just one click.

Logitech claims that the functions and wireless capability do not come at the expense of gameplay, that is, there is no lag.

A special charging cable allows the mouse to be used while it is being charged.

Checkout the cool mouse: Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse G700

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The wireless route

Posted on September 5th, 2010 in Wireless 101 | 1 Comment

Set up a home network or create your own hot spot on the go.

It is easy to see why wireless routers have become so popular in homes and offices. These devices not only offer a convenient way to hook up all your computers at home to the Internet, but they are also great for setting up a home network for file or printer sharing.

If you are looking for a wireless – or Wi-Fi – router, look at those with the latest wireless transmission standard called Wireless-N. With speeds of up to 300Mbps, Wireless-N routers are much faster than Wireless-G (54Mbps) ones and are capable of streaming high-definition video, voice and music.

The Wireless-N technology is fast because it uses multiple radios to transmit multiple streams of data on multiple channels – a technology known as Multiple-In, Multiple-Out (Mimo). These routers are usually compatible with Wireless-G or Wireless-B equipment, so you can upgrade without fear that your old gear will not work.

Prices of Wireless-N routers have been falling. Today, a basic, single-channel Wireless-N router, which is good enough for Web surfing, can cost less than $50.

Heavy multimedia users and gamers should consider routers that run both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands simultaneously. The 2.4Ghz band will be used for non-time critical traffic like basic Internet surfing and the 5Ghz band for heavy-duty tasks like video streaming and gaming. Be prepared to pay over $200 for such a router.

Those who want to create their own Wi-Fi hot spot while on the move can check out portable wireless routers. These routers tap on your telco’s 3G network using your SIM card. They also run on a built-in battery. Users simply connect their computers or mobile devices over Wi-Fi to access the Internet or share files.

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Wi-Fi Tethering

Posted on August 6th, 2010 in Wireless 101 | No Comments

Besides using a portable 3G-enabled router, there is another way to get connected on the go.

Your Android smartphone can be turned into a portable wireless hot spot through what is known as Wi-Fi tethering. Essentially, your phone becomes a Wi-Fi router with which you can connect other devices to the Net through its 3G link.

Wi-Fi tethering is part of the latest Android 2.2 operating system (OS). Google Nexus One users who have upgraded to this OS can activate this feature in Settings> Wireless & Network Settings>Tethering & Portable Hotspot. Turn on the portable Wi-Fi feature from there. Remember to set a password to keep Wi-Fi leechers out.

A number of Android phones from Samsung, HTC and others are expected to get the Android 2.2 upgrade later this year. In the meantime, users can turn to third-party applications like PDAnet, which enables users to hook up via USB and Bluetooth, but not over Wi-Fi.

My experience with my six-month old Nexus One has been nothing short of excellent. On a recent trip to Malaysia, I shared the Nexus One‘s connection with a friend, while connecting two laptops and an iPhone to the Net.

Everything worked well for tasks like surfing the Net and checking e-mail messages.

However, you will have to rein in your expectations if you are logging on to corporate servers via a Virtual Private Network link, or if you are watching YouTube videos, as concurrent connections can tax your phone’s mobile data link.

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What to look for in a Wi-Fi router

Posted on July 21st, 2010 in Router, Wireless 101 | No Comments

WI-FI ALLIANCE CERTIFICATION
Any router with an “n” in its name is capable of delivering raw data rates of 300 to 450Mb/s, right?
Wrong!
The Wi-Fi Alliance awards 802.11n interoperability certification only to routers that support two or more spatial streams (each stream is capable of a raw data-transfer rate of 150Mb/s). Single-stream client adapters can be certified as 802.11n, but the Wi-Fi Alliance awards only 802.11a, 802.11b/g, or 802.11a/b/g certification to single-stream routers. Any product that previously qualified for 802.11n Draft 2.0 certification can be automatically certified to be in compliance with the final standard. When in doubt, check which logo appears on the box.

SWITCH SPEED
Nearly every wireless router has an integrated switch for making hardwired Ethernet connections. You need to move
upscale to get a gigabit switch, though; each of the devices in this roundup has WAN and LAN ports that are limited to 100Mb/s speeds. A narrow WAN port isn’t a big deal (even screaming-fast FiOS connections top out at 50Mb/s downstream) and you probably won’t miss a gigabit switch unless you’re running a NAS box or a server.

QUALITY OF SERVICE
Quality of service (QoS) refers to the router’s ability to assign different priorities to the various types of traffic moving over the network. Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) is a QoS baseline because the router must have it in order to be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance. WMM is designed to prioritize network traffic passing through the router according to four criteria (provided the appropriate bits are embedded in the packets before they’re put on the network). Voice traffic receives the highest priority, followed closely by video traffic. Packets carrying a “best effort” flag come next, followed by packets identified as “background.”

Better routers include more robust QoS features. They might let you prioritize traffic by application (so that packets related to an online game are favoured over BitTorrent downloads or web browsing activity, for instance), or by IP or MAC address or Ethernet port (so that a specific device gets higher priority than anything else on the network).

STORAGE OPTION
An increasing number of routers support USB storage devices. Some models support true NAS (network-attached storage) functionality, so that computers on the network can access the drive just like any other storage device. Others provide access to the storage only through a built-in FTP server.

PRINTER OPTION
Some routers can function as a printer server, allowing you to share a single USB printer with every PC on your network. Support for multifunction printers is elusive, however; you can typically share the printer function over the network, but not the scanning or fax features.

PARENTAL CONTROLS
We’re not big fans of this feature (we believe it affords a false sense of security because kids will figure out how to circumvent it anyway), but parental controls do at least allow you to put temporary roadblocks in front of unsavoury websites, and they make activities such as peer-to-peer file sharing more difficult to pull off .

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What to Do with Your Old Router

Posted on July 9th, 2010 in Wireless 101 | No Comments

What to Do with Your Old Router
You can convert most wireless routers into a wireless access point by turning off the DHCP server in the firmware.

Don’t toss your existing router in the trash when you bring home a bright, shiny new model; convert it into a wireless access point, switch, or bridge.

Plug a PC into one of the old router’s LAN ports. Open a web browser, type in the router’s IP address, and log in. Your
network must have only one DHCP server, so disable the server on the old router. Now, assign the old router an IP address that’s outside the new router’s DHCP server range.

Unplug the computer, place the old router where you need it, and connect it to the new router with an Ethernet cable (use the LAN ports at both ends). If stringing Ethernet cable isn’t convenient, consider using power-line networking modules. You now should be able to connect to the new access point by typing the access point’s IP address into a web browser on any computer on your network. In addition to having a new wireless access point, you can also use the old router’s remaining LAN ports as a wired switch.

If you have a device that depends on a wired Ethernet connection, but dragging Cat5 cable to it isn’t practical and you don’t want to use power-line modules, convert your old router into a wireless bridge. This will most likely require third-party replacement firmware (DD-WRT, Sveasoft, and Tomato are the most popular options). Install and confi gure the firmware and position the router where needed. You’ll be able to make wired connections this way, but clients will not be able to make wireless connections to the bridge.

Have fun !

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