Article 16 - Wireless Networking

Wireless Networking

Wireless networks are becoming increasingly popular, a trend which is connected to the growth in the use of broadband and the increasing use of laptop computers in the home. It is also the case that children are making more use of the internet to do their course work – and now often have their own computer rather than sharing the use of a single machine.

The advantages of setting up a wireless network are:

It is relatively easy to set up.
Being wireless, there are no wires to clutter up the house.
It is possible for several computers to use the broadband internet connection at one time.
With laptop computers, the computer is able to use the broadband connection from anywhere in the house.
It is possible to place the computer anywhere in the house rather than having to have the machine close to the telephone point.

Note here that “anywhere in the house” is normally OK. However, large older houses with thick walls may give problems in some rooms as the wireless signal weakens with distance and as it penetrates walls.

In order to set up a wireless network, a “wireless ADSL router” is required. The ADSL part of this item is to enable the router to access the internet using your broadband connection. Some internet service providers are starting to supply wireless ADSL routers free with the broadband package (e.g. TalkTalk, AOL, BT, Orange), thus saving you £50 - £100. Unfortunately, some of these ISPs then limit customer support to ONLY the equipment they supply. I have even heard of customer support engineers claiming (incorrectly) that only 'approved' wireless routers and modems work with their broadband.

In addition to a router, each computer must have the capability to access your network. Most laptop computers come “wireless enabled” these days, with a switch to switch on this facility. When buying a laptop, it is as well to make sure that it does have this capability to be on the safe side. For machines which are not wireless enabled, an extra bit of kit is required. This can be a simple plug in part for a vacant USB slot, or it can be an extra “card” which is put into the computer using a spare “PCI” slot on the motherboard. In either case, a so called “driver” will have to be installed using the CD supplied with the kit.

In general, plugging in the parts and installing any drivers is sufficient to get the computers talking to the network. This then leaves the task of getting the router to access your broadband service provider. This is done using Internet Explorer to access the router using the “web” address supplied in the small amount of documentation you get with the router. You can then set up the router to use your user id and password. Once done, any computer on your network will be able to access the internet via the router.

Please note here that with AOL, it is best if you have separate “screen names” for each person using the connection, and a separate additional screen name to be used by the router. This is needed because of the way in which AOL works.

Having set up your network, you should be aware that wireless networks are not secure. You can make them secure enough by using the encryption facilities provided by the wireless router, and by changing the router’s administrator password. This will prevent other people from using your network (and broadband connection) to access the internet. Such security measures are more important should you start to use the network to share information on the different computers. Taking this step involves other considerations which I would rather not get into at the moment.

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