Wireless Networking
Wireless Networking
Introduction
Manufacturers didn’t make it easy for people to
set up home networks. They also assumed
everyone knew as much as they did about how
to set the networks up. And we were coming
across headache - inducing problems time and
again. Less so these days. Now the
manufacturers have finally woken up to the fact
that people would love to have a network in the
home, to get rid of the cables, and to be able to
place computers anywhere in the house - or
garden! But the difficulty and apparent lack of
security was putting people off.
Major manufacturer Belkin are in the forefront
of these efforts to simplify it all, and they have
Home networks. All the rage, and with good reason. These days, if you have more than one
computer in the house, you may well be using an ethernet cable system to share your net
connection. But these days, there’s another way. Wireless.
HCR
come up with a brand new range of wireless
routers which are based on the now-familiar idea
of ‘Apps’, such as pioneered for mobile phones.
This has meant that it’s easier for the customer
to understand, and easier to upgrade. Also, it
comes with all the security settings already set
up in the factory (all set differently!), so you
can’t get that wrong through lack of knowledge.
There are zillions of different products on the
market, but we here are going to go only for the
very latest and best that there is, and all of it is
from Belkin, partly because we think it’s good,
but also, getting everything from the same
manufacturer ensures compatibility.
What you need
The wireless routers below are grouped into two types: they are both wireless broadband routers, but
one has a built in adsl2+ modem, and the other doesn’t. Since you already have an internet connection
you already have a modem. If you want to keep it, then you’ll want the router without modem. If you
want to change it, then pick the router with a built-in modem.
In either case, the computers you’re going to use also need a wifi adapter so they can talk to the router.
All modern laptops already have them built-in, but it’s easy to get one for any computer that doesn’t. To
get the best results you really want the adapter that’s designed to go with the router, and that is what’s
presented here. So, decide if you want an included modem or not, and then go to the appropriate box
below, which will have all that’s required for your setup.
NOTE: You don’t have to get the adapter for a computer without built-in wifi straight away; the routers both
have 4 x 1 gigabit ethernet ports on them, and so you could still connect up to 4 computers by cable as before,
while still having others exclusively using wifi.
Router without Modem
Wireless Broadband Router
Wireless NN+ Adapter
This is the router. This one does not
have a modem built in. Please make
sure you have selected the correct
one!
This is the heart of your wireless
system.
If you have a computer that you want
to connect to your network that doesn’t
already have wifi, then you need this
USB adapter, which is designed to go
with the router at left. You need 1 for
each such computer.
Router with Modem
Wireless NN+ Adapter
This is the router. This one has a
modem built in. Please make sure
you have selected the correct one!
This is the heart of your wireless
system.
If you have a computer that you want
to connect to your network that doesn’t
already have wifi, then you need this
USB adapter, which is designed to go
with the router at left. You need 1 for
each such computer.