Wi-Fi: It's Fast, It's Here -- and It Works

Businessweek ^ | 4/02

[Libertarianize the GOP]

Mac fan bump

[Dog Gone]

Whatever you do, don't use this to share a broadband connection with 3 or four neighbors. That would be wrong. ;-)

I would be more worried about sharing the contents of my C: drive with my neighbors.

[Bush2000]

They are ready for prime time; however, if you're going to do it, don't skimp on the most important pieces: access points (APs) and wireless network interface cards (NICs). I use nothing but commercial-grade Cisco APs and NICs in my house (Aironet 340). Why? You're paying for (a) bandwidth, (b) reliability, and (c) scalability. Aironet APs will handle somewhere around 400 to 500 simultaneous stateful connections (NAT). That's more than I will ever use in my house -- and the bandwidth (10Mbps) is good enough to do streaming video anywhere in range. You'd be surprised at how inexpensive it is. APs are about $500 and NICs cost about $180 each. Not bad.

Just one thing: Make sure that you use a distinct SSID (don't use the default) and turn on 128-bit Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP). It's a minor pain to setup but there have been recent articles outlining how easy it is for hackers (or even just plain snoops) to connect to unsecured APs. WEP provides some small measure of security. And to put it another way: If you choose not to use WEP, you might as well run an Ethernet cable from your router out to the street and put a sign labeled "Free Ethernet Network" out there.

[Bush2000]

I would be more worried about sharing the contents of my C: drive with my neighbors.

No need to worry about that if you use WEP.

[Scutter]

The technology is quite mature. I waited for it to mature before I bought. I've been using a Netgear Access Point for about 6 months now. It works great.

Several of my friends have Linksys units that they like. The features and price of both units are similar, however, the Netgear beats the Linksys unit when it comes to signal strength.

If you want reviews of wireless cards and access points, and tips on how to get the most out of it, check out Practically Networked

[Bush2000]

Amazing. The article mentions Microsoft in the first sentence - who had nothing to do with this "innovation" - and never gets around to mentioning the company that pushed the initial deployment of the technology - Apple.

What's even more amazing is how little self-esteem Mac cultists have and how they resort to pathetic "b-b-b-but we're relevant" nattering on nearly all tech issues....

[bobwoodard]

I use it here in the apt and it work like a charm. Only 10mb/s compared to 100mb/s, but for just casual use there hasn't been a problem. A friend had troubles though when he tried to mix and match brands between the network access (broadcast) point and the wireless cards.

[Lancey Howard]

Great post.
Excuse me if I am going a little "off topic" or outside normal protocol in some way, but there seems to be an interesting investment possibility in here somewhere.
Can you name a few firms (publicly traded) which are at the forefront of "wi-fi" technology and seem to be in this for the long run?
Is it already too late to get in at the ground floor?
Any good opportunities with "parallel" industries, and if so, do you know what would they be?
Thanks, and regards,
LH

[Dinsdale]

I would be more worried about sharing the contents of my C: drive with my neighbors.

Don't assume it ships in a secure config. Your neighbors could be sharing you connection and any network shares without you knowing it. The technology is mature, but the users are still typically clueless.

[Dog Gone]

I'm still hardwired with my network. The teenager needs a fast connection for internet shooter games (actually, so do I), and I understand the wireless networks are slower.

Sometimes, speed counts.

[Dinsdale]

As with all technology once the standard is mature the margins get to be very tight. All the networking hardware companies have offerings.

There is money to be made setting up rural ISPs over this standard with directional antenas (something like 14 mile range is common with a tower or hill at the center point). It seems to be being done by geeks rolling their own anarchy nets and school systems hooking up their campuses rather then commercial setups.

[BraveMan]

Posting this from a laptop, on the back porch, sipping a cold one while Blues streams in from a Shoutcast station through a broadband connection. No cables; life is good . . .

It's almost ready for prime time. $150 worth of hardware and a little fiddling around, and you're good to go. If I had WinXP on everything, it would have been painless . . .

[Centurion2000]

But I went to Fry's and noticed a preponderance of 802.11b access points and interface cards with return stickers.

You're first problem is that you went to Fry's. They suck.

802.11b is not bad at all and it's pretty easy to install. Just be sure to encrypt your IP traffic as the signals have been known to bleed beyond the walls. I've seen laptops setup with DHCP and wireless cards pick up logon prompts in financial companies parking lots. Not good.

[longshadow]

What I find most interesting in this discussion is what's NOT being mentioned: while the "networking" side of the system is wireless, it has to all plug into a large "pipe" to the 'net if you want internet access.

In short, it's swell to talk about WI-FI in your house, but don't expect broadband speeds to/from the 'net unless you have a T1 line or some similarly large bandwidth 'net access. That's where the costs become prohibitive (for home use).

[BellStar]

Please, have your Fire Wall and Anti Virus Software updated to thne latest version if you go Wi-Fi!

[July 4th]

If anyone here get's 802.11b for their house, please read the manual so you set the security levels properly. You want family members to access it, not the whole block.

I've actually seen a few short lists floating on the internet that tell of locations in San Francisco where ordinary home users have not secured their network. Now those people are free access points for the Bay area.

[BraveMan]

That's where the costs become prohibitive (for home use).

I respectfully, sort of, disagree. If you can justify the cost of a cable connection, you'll have all the bandwidth you'll need for home use . . .

Cable connections aren't cheap, but then again, not much more than a dialup and a phone line. Without cable, DSL or ISDN for an incoming pipe though, embracing 802.11B is pretty silly . . .

Security issues? If you're implementing a businees connection, by all means, CYA! with firewalls, encryption, AV software, and all that. But home use? The practical limit is 500 feet. If you know who your neighbors are . . .

[dennisw]

There are many modems that signal you and allow you take a phone call. Then resume your internet connection without interuption. Only expense is for the modem and for call-waiting. You should order the tigerdirect.com catalog.

[longshadow]

If you can justify the cost of a cable connection, you'll have all the bandwidth you'll need for home use . . .

Agreed, IF cable is available where you live. For many, it isn't an option, so if broadband 'net access is critical, WI-FI is essentially useless without cheap broadband access.