Wireless Networking


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espn

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This might be suitable in HWZ but I feel most of the techies here are pretty well versed in the above topic.

Am actually looking forward to re-do my house wirefull network into a wireless area with SCV Maxonline (to crap with what extra SCV account at cheaper cost etc etc).

I basically lost touch with technology in computer hardware when I shifted most of my expenditure to photography, so will need some advice here in which can get my network running up and smooth.

SCV -> Wireless Router -> PCs & Notebooks.

I assume I need the following:

1) Wireless Router (Recommendations? Preferrably 802.11b/g)
2) PCMCIA cards for my notebooks.

I think my PC can still be connected directly to the router via my UTP cable.

Some questions:

1) Can I off my PC (which used to act as a DHCP/Gateway for my other connections) and leave the router on 24/7 instead? The wireless will work still right?

2) Any recommendations for the above hardware requirements?

3) Anything else I need?
 

Basically you've got it. Your Wireless router would be connected to the SCV point and modem. You can connect a PC to your router using the ethernet cable. Your notebook will need a PCMCIA wireless card to connect. That goes for any other pc you may have. An option is a USB wireless device for each PC (assuming you have more than one). You can switch off your pc and still connect your notebook as the router itself has a DHCP function built in it. I leave mine on 24x7.
 

One more thing if your router has a built in printer server you can share your printer with the rest at home. Hope this helps.
 

Oh yes!! Thank you for reminding me, I do need a print server capable router, any suggestions?

Thanks for confirming my doubts jbma, many thanks.
 

No problem. You may want to check with Starhub about the print server version. Since you will be getting the router from them free through their service I am not too sure if you can request for a specific router. I know Linksys and Dlink has a pretty good and cheap wireless router with print server built-in.
 

if you have more money to spend, you can actually buy a dedicated wireless print server. Meaning you can just connect your printer to this printserver (usb or parallel also can) anywhere in the house.

You can also connect your printer to a computer as normal and then print from the laptop as a network printer, but your computer needs to be turned on.

but actually getting a router with a print server is the best solution. :D
 

jbma: Starhub is a chopper and I'm not a carrot, will not be getting anything from them, am looking at a seperate wireless router available in the market, Starhub doesn't allow 'multiple' connections in the house.

laugh: Currently, my PC is left on 24/7 to act as a print server and network gateway, am looking to cut down on the electricity and lifespan of my setup (running for 3 years already) thus going into a wireless (to prevent wires all round) setup. The $ although is not too much of an issue but I still would like to keep it to a minimum, maybe the printer for now can be left on my current PC and be turned on when needed to print (seldom?).

So any devices & equipment to recommend? I'll need 1 wireless router, 4 PCMCIA wireless cards.
 

I'm using the FOC wireless router/modem/printer server all-in-one Motorola SBG1000 provided by SCV.
http://www.starhub.com/online/promotionsandevents/sbg1000.html

Works well for me, I've tried multiple connections to 1 PC and 1 iMAC via ethernet, 2 wireless (one USB network and one notebook adapter) and all works fine.
 

Actually, 1.5mbps and 3mbps, given Starhub's connection backbone, doesn't really make any difference in the speed, since it's already unlimited, downloading time really isn't an issue, I can leave the PC on to download when I offline by notebooks/other PCs.

The only thing I see here is the FREE wireless modem, but I end up paying $20/mth more continously for years to come. Am looking for my own setup actually. I would rather consider SCV's offer more as a carrot chopper than 'helping' out home users. :)

Also, note #8, #10, #11 of the TOC - Here

Thanks anyway. :)
 

I agree with you that the difference with the 1.5 mbps and the 3mbps is not much in term of actual download speed. The download speed also depends on the site you are downloading from. If the site is really busy then the download speed will decrease. Personally I too did not take the 3mbps option. I was tempted to but managed to control myself as I am getting a discount now and in the long run it would be economically wise to stay put. You can buy the Dlink or Linksys wireless router and the PCMCIA yourself. This way your monthly subscribtion remains the same.
 

When I signed up with MaxOnline, I took the free cable modem and bought the wireless router and PC card from Funan. The prices I got were a lot cheaper than if I had bought them from Starhub. I went for 802.11b router and PC card. I went with linksys, but the ones I have don't have print server. They came bundled together, price was between 150 and 200 (can't remember exact price).

http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=544
http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=36&prid=542
 

i'm sorry to tompang this thread..

i'm planning to 'less-wire' my home too..

but however i oni have a USB ADSL modem given by singnet.. is there anyway to build a wireless network?

i understand that the above is oni applicable with a ethernet modem?
 

Thanks all for the kind input, I was looking at LinkSys & DLink routers but quite unsure what to choose given the fast move in technology, just wanted something simple to setup my home network & prevent intrusion by unauthorised users :) Keep them coming.


As for Linkster.... Linkster :kok: How dare you tompang my thread :bsmilie:

Ok, there are ADSL Routers that I know of which can save your login/password and automatically connect to the internet without a PC, you can purchase one that's wireless and then just plug the telephone line into the router, it should connect to the ISP and provide wireless for your home :) Hope it helps.. I setup a wirefull one this way for a company and it works. And oh yeah, you need to know how to set the information in the Router through http access, you might need to call Singnet helpdesk for configuration :)

Company: Telephone -> ADSL Router -> Switch -> Hubs/PCs

Yours will be telephone -> ADSL Wireless Router -> PCs
 

espn said:
Thanks all for the kind input, I was looking at LinkSys & DLink routers but quite unsure what to choose given the fast move in technology, just wanted something simple to setup my home network & prevent intrusion by unauthorised users :)
Just make sure you do the following:
1. Disable SSID broadcast on the router.
2. Enable MAC filtering and allow only the devices on your network.
3. Enable WEP encyption - even better get the update from MS and enable WPA. I had to do a firmware upgrade on the linksys to get WPA support, but when I tried it had some connection problems. So sticking with WEP for the time being (anyway my PDA only supports WEP, so no point having WPA network).
 

Royce said:
Just make sure you do the following:
1. Disable SSID broadcast on the router.
2. Enable MAC filtering and allow only the devices on your network.
3. Enable WEP encyption - even better get the update from MS and enable WPA. I had to do a firmware upgrade on the linksys to get WPA support, but when I tried it had some connection problems. So sticking with WEP for the time being (anyway my PDA only supports WEP, so no point having WPA network).


I'm using ADSL router and USB network adapter, have a question to ask, I thought the SSID is required for the wireless network adapter to find the the network access point?

If it is turn off, will it affect the adapter from locating the router. May I ask how can I turn it off?

yeah...Sometimes the network is like cukoo....try very long also cannot connect....anyone have such problem?
Is this problem more prone to the ADSL? :confused:
 

Aton said:
I'm using ADSL router and USB network adapter, have a question to ask, I thought the SSID is required for the wireless network adapter to find the the network access point?

If it is turn off, will it affect the adapter from locating the router. May I ask how can I turn it off?
If the client knows what the SSID is, the router does not need to broadcast it in order for the client to connect. Once you have configured the connection, turning off broadcast will not stop the ability to connect.
 

Small question; disabling the broadcast of SSID will it prevent DHCP connectivity? I would prefer the machines @ home to be automatically DHCP'd when attempting to connect rather than assign a fixed IP.

My limited knowledge in networking/wireless is showing ;p
 

espn said:
Small question; disabling the broadcast of SSID will it prevent DHCP connectivity? I would prefer the machines @ home to be automatically DHCP'd when attempting to connect rather than assign a fixed IP.

My limited knowledge in networking/wireless is showing ;p
Broadcast SSID has nothing to do with DHCP. The SSID is just so your computer can connect to your router.

Without doing anything on my part, DHCP works fine on my home wireless network. Everything is set to auto assign IP address. You might want to read up on NAT (Network Access Translation) so you understand the network component of wireless networks.
 

espn said:
As for Linkster.... Linkster :kok: How dare you tompang my thread :bsmilie:

Ok, there are ADSL Routers that I know of which can save your login/password and automatically connect to the internet without a PC, you can purchase one that's wireless and then just plug the telephone line into the router, it should connect to the ISP and provide wireless for your home :) Hope it helps.. I setup a wirefull one this way for a company and it works. And oh yeah, you need to know how to set the information in the Router through http access, you might need to call Singnet helpdesk for configuration :)

Company: Telephone -> ADSL Router -> Switch -> Hubs/PCs

Yours will be telephone -> ADSL Wireless Router -> PCs

but i thought this would oni work with a ethernet modem? mine is a USB modem.. would it still work?

or do u mean replace the modem with a router directly?
 

Royce said:
If the client knows what the SSID is, the router does not need to broadcast it in order for the client to connect. Once you have configured the connection, turning off broadcast will not stop the ability to connect.

OIC, so only the adapter need to have the SSID to search for the connection. No wonder the I still need the SSID on my computer, its for tracking the broadcast signal(w/o SSID). Understand Liaozzz...thanks :thumbsup:
 

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