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View Full Version : Attempting to Set Up a Wireless Home Network


shawnc
04-22-2003, 06:31 PM
I am ready to attempt to set up a wireless network at home. Here is what I have:

- Desktop with W/XP-Prof
- Laptop with W/XP-Home
- Lynksys 802.11g wireless router and PC Card
- Broadband internet access via Adelphia

I have already set-up the network (???) to share internet access and this works fine. I can connect to the internet wirelessly with my laptop from anywhere in the apartment. What I want to do is to be able to share files between the desktop and laptop and print directly from the laptop to the printer that is connected (via cable, no bluetooth) to the desktop. I tried to set this up a few days ago using the Windows wizard without success. I also had to spend two days reestablishing my Internet connection.

After searching this site and google, I have a couple of specific questions and then will leave the floor open to anyone who wishes to offer help.

- Do I need an additional PC card for my desktop for this arrangement to work? Currently I only have the router and pc card for my laptop.

- Is having a wireless internet connection (my current setup) the same as a wireless LAN or wireless network?

- When I think of a network, I typically envision a shared drive that is available to different desktops via a server. Is this the way a home network works?

- One last thing, if I have success in this area, I may purchase a card for my Axim and throw it in the mix. I only add this because I read about the sandisk wireless CF card that appears as though it can be used in the desktop (with an adaptor). If I need to purchase a PC card for my desktop, then I will strongly consider the sandisk since I can use it in the Axim and desktop.

Step by step instructions (for a non-techie) are appreciated as well as any links to articles with the same. I have read Jason's two articles on setting up the network, but I was still unable to figure this out.

Thanx again in advance.

PetiteFlower
04-22-2003, 07:05 PM
Is your desktop plugged into the router? Probably a silly question, since it HAS to be in order to set up the router, but never hurts to ask.

I can't tell you the specifics of how to configure Windows to share files(I think it's pretty easy though) but I know you don't need a wireless card for your desktop, just a regular network card to plug the router into. The router is like the center of the network, everything else will connect to IT first and everything else through that, either your desktop hard drive or your cable modem or whatever. And all the systems can connect to it EITHER through a wireless connection like your laptop, OR a hardwired connection like your desktop, both are not necessary and would probably screw things up.

As for the printer, you *may* have to connect the printer to the router as well, in order to print to it from the laptop, but I'm not sure about that, I haven't tried to network the printers in my apartment.

There's not really going to be a central "server" in this setup, at least not in a way that I think of servers, but you should be able to set it up so you can share files or between your desktop and laptop directly.

This is the "layperson's explanation", I'm sure the techies will be along shortly :)

shawnc
04-22-2003, 08:10 PM
Petiteflower,

Thanx for the reply. To answer your question, my cable internet connection is now plugged into the Router with the Router being plugged into my desktop. You mentioned a "regular network card", maybe this is the peice I am missing. I wasn't sure if I needed ANY additional equipment.

All - Just for clarification, what I referred to as a Router is the Linksys "All-in-one Internet-sharing Router, 4-port Switch and Wireless-G Access Point". The Linksys website indicates that this "is really 3 devices in one box. 1st, theres the wireless access point, which lets me connect wireless g or b devices to the network. Theres also a built-in 4-port full-duplex 10/100 switch to connect my wired-Ethernet devices. Connect 4 PC's directly, or daisychain out to more jubs and switches to create as big a network as I need. Finally, the Router function ties it all toether and lets my whole network share a high-speed cable Internet connection. Don't know if that makes a difference, just thought it might be worth mentioning.

PetiteFlower
04-22-2003, 10:31 PM
If you didn't have a regular network card already, you wouldn't be able to plug the router into your desktop because there would be noplace to plug it into. So you obviously already have one :)

rhmorrison
04-22-2003, 11:06 PM
- Do I need an additional PC card for my desktop for this arrangement to work? Currently I only have the router and pc card for my laptop.

- Is having a wireless internet connection (my current setup) the same as a wireless LAN or wireless network?

- When I think of a network, I typically envision a shared drive that is available to different desktops via a server. Is this the way a home network works?

- One last thing, if I have success in this area, I may purchase a card for my Axim and throw it in the mix. I only add this because I read about the sandisk wireless CF card that appears as though it can be used in the desktop (with an adaptor). If I need to purchase a PC card for my desktop, then I will strongly consider the sandisk since I can use it in the Axim and desktop.

1. If you are already communicating over the internet via broadband then you don't need a WLAN card for your desktop. Generally (for home users) your desktop has a wired connection to your LAN, however if you had a second desktop in the attic (or basement) then it might be interesting to have a WLAN card to provide you with access to your local LAN (and internet through your router) but you must remember that the current 802.1b standard is only 11 Mbs (although you can now buy from several manufacturers that support 22 Mbs). There is also the new 802.1a & 802.1g WLAN standards that provide higher speeds at a higher cost. If your primarily just surfing the Internet over WLAN then the 802.1b is completely satisfactory.

2. As soon as you have more than one device hooked together with a network hub (or crossover cable if it's only two devices) then you have a Local Area Network (LAN). You can hook together as many devices as you need or want. As soon as you add a Wireless Access Point (WAP) to a LAN then you have a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). All this means is that you can access your LAN via cable or radio waves. The Internet router, Hub, and WAP can all be seperate devices or integrated in one device as in your case. I for example have the Acer GW-100 wireless broadband router which has what your device has plus a printer port for attaching a printer (which I don't use since I have a seperate hp JetDirect 500x Print Server for my hp G-85 and hp IIP plus printers). In any case you can have a LAN, or a WLAN without Internet access just like you can have Internet access (broadband or otherwise) without having a LAN (or WLAN). In your case, with Internet broadband access you have a Wireless Global Area Network (WGAN) or similar.

3. A home network can be whatever you want it to be but most people use what is called a peer to peer network for SOHO purposes and client / server when a larger business. It depends on what you need (or want). Businesses use client / server for many reasons, one of them being the ability for an administrator to back up data on the server. A server is really nothing more than a computer with a lot of hard storage that is online all the time. Usually special hardware is used with mirrored hard drives, automatic backup, etc. This is just to insure that no data is lost. A peer to peer network means that there is no computer that provides data storage (or other services) around the clock and you generally keep your data on your computer. When another computer is also online you can of course transfer files to/from the other computer(s). For example, if you want to print from your laptop over the WLAN then if you don't have a print server on your LAN that means that your desktop MUST be on for you to use your printer! That is why I use a print server. If my desktop is off I can still access both printers via the WLAN and print server and the Internet via my WLAN router. In this case my LAN is always active and I have one, two, or three clients attached depending on if my desktop, laptop, and Jornada 568 are connected or not. This is the configuration that I would recommend to a serious home user. If you are running a 'real' business then you might want to consider a client / server setup but I don't think this applies in your case.

4. As already mentioned you do NOT NEED a WLAN card for your desktop! Having a WLAN card for your PDA is really neat though. I use mine to send/receive emails and as an electronic TV Guide.

To transer files between the two computers you shouldn't have to do anything. You might want to setup a WORKGROUP and put all your computers in the same WORKGROUP but even this is not necessary. If both of your computers are on the network (whether via cable or radio signals is unimportant) then you should be able to see each other and transer files. You will of course have to set the 'Sharable' properties for the directories that you want to share. You must also specify that the printer is 'sharable' over the network if you want to print to a printer attached to your desktop computer over the network.

I hope this has answered some of your questions.

shawnc
04-23-2003, 12:16 AM
If you didn't have a regular network card already, you wouldn't be able to plug the router into your desktop because there would be noplace to plug it into. So you obviously already have one :)

This could just be semantics but the router is plugged into what appears to be a phone-jack type of outlet on the side of the desktop. It is the same outlet that the cable modem was previously plugged into.

PetiteFlower
04-23-2003, 12:20 AM
Yes, that is your network card---or your network port is integrated with your motherboard, but it's the same effect. I'm sure it came with your computer though, if you bought it in like the last 3 years :)

shawnc
04-23-2003, 12:22 AM
Bob,

One word - WOW! Thank you very much for such a thorough reply. You definitely answered MANY of my questions. One quick question, you mentioned a print server if I wanted to print without having to turn on the desktop. Do you have any suggestions for brand / model, etc.

Thanx again.

rhmorrison
04-24-2003, 09:41 AM
One quick question, you mentioned a print server if I wanted to print without having to turn on the desktop. Do you have any suggestions for brand / model, etc.
1. You should first decide what your requirements are! Specifically, how many printers do you have (I am assuming 1) and will you buy a second (or third) printer sometime in the foreseeable future?

2. It depends on your printer. I had no choice but to buy an hp print server because I have an hp G85 fax/scanner/copier/printer that can only be fully used (for the scan functions) when attached to an hp print server. I bought my hp 500x used (3 port print server) fairly cheap over EBay (Germany). However, for any other printers you can buy any one from tens (or hundreds) of generic devices. There are many, many, very small cheap print servers available nowadays (I bet even Radio Shack has a model).
:google: Do a serach in google for 'print server' and 'parallel' or 'USB' depending upon the interface your printer has. I would think that in the US you could buy a NEW single port print server for around $ 50.

And of course, you might see if anyone else here has recommendations for a reasonably priced simple single port print server (or course if you are going to have 2 or 3 printers then you will either need a second or third print server, OR a multi-port print server).

Glisson
04-26-2003, 09:12 PM
For what it's worth, I was doing this last week and couldn't share files but could get internet access. I found that my free version of Zone Alarm was not allowing me access to the desktop. It has...issues I guess. If you are running this you need to open Zone Alarm, go to the Firewall section on the left side, select the Zones tab from the top and then there is a button to "add" IP addresses. Either add the one IP you need or allow a range of 2 or three to allow you to connect. This is not supposed to be an issue in the Pro version of ZA but I don't know for sure.

Obviously you will still have to set up your workgroup in Win and all other Win devices as well. For your Pocket PC there is a program called Pocket Hosts I think, that helped me a ton. Just thought I would add this as I didn't find all that info together when I needed it. I gleaned it over several fourums across several day of frustration.

Glisson