Wireless network advice

N

niceplace

Weaksauce
Joined
May 20, 2005
Messages
125
Im planning on setting up a wireless network as part of my new comp build. The old machine will go up stairs and will have a "Wireless 54mbps PCI Adapter Card" and the new comp will be connected to the router directly. At present im on UK cable and have a Motorola surfboard SB4100 cable modem connected to nic-card via ethernet cable. Ive no experience of networking so need some advice on parts ive selected, here,s what i plan to use

Linksys WRT54G

Can someone tell me which of these will be the best to use with above router

WMP11 found here

Code: 
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=7863582984&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=37483

or this one

WMP54G found here

Code: 
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=7863585237&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=45602

What is the difference between these two cards. Any general advice on this setup would be great. Thanks
 
Parts you have specced are spot on, the WRT54G is excellent and I have deployed several of these in different situations and never had a problem (even through the bricks and mortar we have here in the UK ;-) ). When you set it up ensure that you use WPA data encryption rather than WEP. You will also need to ensure that you clone the MAC address of the current NIC that is attached to your surfboard, since the cable provider uses this to authenticate you on the network. Ensure that you have the firewall switched on. Whilst the MAC filtering option can be good against the casual browser it is no real use against a proper hacker since they will just sniff an accepted one and clone it - WPA is therefore a must (if you have or plan to use some of the older first generation 'b' wireless deveices then you may have to revert to WEP which is not as secure as WPA. Also ensure that you do not but the router on the ground behind a filing cabinet since this will dampen the signal - the highter the better (on a desk is fine) also angle the antenna slightly (the signal strength is much akin to a donut around the atenna, hence not that great in the donuts height direction!
 
Thanks, glad to see im heading in the right direction. Can you say which of the two wireless nic,s i posted, WMP11 or the WMP54g will be the better buy for the setup i propose. As i posted whats the difference between them apart from the price. How do i do the clone thing with the MAC-address

You will also need to ensure that you clone the MAC address of the current NIC that is attached to your surfboard
Click to expand...
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There,s something i dont get about the MAC address and nic card. The nic card i have in at the moment was the original one that the cable guy installed, way after this i had a problem with net connection. A new nic was installed and the old card (which is the one im using now) i kept,just in case. Anyway this second nic goes down ( i dont think its the nics i think its the ethernet cable) but thats not the point. The bit thats got me puzzled is when i put the original nic back i didnt need to do do anything with the MAC address, the surfboard and the pc just started using it as though it had never been removed. Do these cards retain the mac address or was it because it had been installed previously.

Thanks
 
Hmm normaly (I am talking telewest here) there are 5 MAC addresses allowed, but these need to be added manually (the guy who set it up originally would have registered the one) but not sure how you got the second (unless you have a different provider not using MAC filtering) - you can overide the NICs MAC, but it does not sound like you have done this.

On a second note, go for the 54G - think about it - if you only get 20% signal that equals about 1Mbit on the 11(b) card but more than 5Mbit on the 54(g) card - rememeber though if your pipe in is only 0.5Mbit then that is all you are ever going to get on the internet sharing side - different though if you are looking for file sharing or gaming - there you want the biggest thoughput you can get.
 
Cheers cyberjt, i will go for the 54G never noticed the WMP11 was a slower card. Its only a small price difference to. Im telewest as well or blueyonder as there known now, the nic card MAC things a bit puzzling. Would this be feasible the guy registers first nic then when it was replaced he registers that one so they have a different MAC address each. Dont know if that makes sense, im not that hot on this subject as you can see :) . Ive just noticed this when i go into, network connections/change settings for this connection/ i see this

NETGEAR FA311 Fast Ethernet Adapter

i now click on, configure/ advanced .... then under property i have "network(MAC) address" with this highlighted, there is no address in the value box and "not present is checked". Seems strange to me what dya think.
 
Niceplace,
I have just noticed that Telewest have removed the need to register MAC addresses, hence you should find that you can just plug in and it should work OK!

James
 
cyberjt, cheers thats great news. That will be one less thing to worry about, when i eventually get this new comp build under way.
 
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