Help a complete newbie!

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.internet.wireless (More info?)

Hi, decided to switch to wireless, and a few things I'm unclear of:

A wireless access point. Is this to plug into the ethernet port of a device
with no slot to add a wireless card to allow it on the network, or to plug
into the router to allow more devices to access the network, more like a
switch/hub. Product descriptions seem to express the latter, if this is the
case, what do I need to get a device with no PCI/PCMCIA slot (iMac/Games
consoles) on a wireless network.

Also, how many users do access points allow to connect the network (if they
are a switch)? It seems to be just the one, which would make them seem very
costly. Can you buy a four-access wireless switch or similar? Can't find one
anywhere.

TIA


Zo

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.internet.wireless (More info?)

"Zomoniac" <the_proper_one@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2l1vjnF7kdpvU1@uni-berlin.de...
> Hi, decided to switch to wireless, and a few things I'm unclear of:
>
> A wireless access point. Is this to plug into the ethernet port of a
device
> with no slot to add a wireless card to allow it on the network, or to plug
> into the router to allow more devices to access the network, more like a
> switch/hub. Product descriptions seem to express the latter, if this is
the
> case, what do I need to get a device with no PCI/PCMCIA slot (iMac/Games
> consoles) on a wireless network.

A wireless Access Point connects wireless clients to a wired Ethernet. When
the AP stands alone, it is usually plugged into an Ethernet switch. APs can
be built into routers, which makes it a wireless router. You could possibly
use an AP to connect a single device to a wireless LAN, but the APs would
have to support wireless bridging. There are devices designed to do exactly
what you want, like the Linksys WET11.

> Also, how many users do access points allow to connect the network (if
they
> are a switch)? It seems to be just the one, which would make them seem
very
> costly. Can you buy a four-access wireless switch or similar? Can't find
one
> anywhere.

I can't tell if you're asking how many wired clients or wireless clients.
APs usually have a single Ethernet jack, but that doesn't mean you're
limited to one client; plug an Ethernet switch (never a hub) into the AP,
and then you can have several wired clients.

If you're talking about performance, the rule of thumb for an 802.11b AP is
20 clients. I would imagiue that a larger number would be appropriate for
802.11g.

Ron Bandes, CCNP, CTT+, etc.