BUYER'S GUIDE: Wireless networking

By Michael Antoniak

What to know about wireless
Voices of experience
Getting started with wireless

Look ma, no wires!

Whether you’re looking to expand your computer network or planning a first network for your home or small office, this is the year to do it wirelessly. A broad selection of wireless networking, or Wi-Fi, products, attractively priced and easily installed, make a wireless network practical for every practitioner. A $200 investment in a startup kit (an access point and an adapter card for each computer) and less than an hour’s time is all you need to network a couple of computers and a printer.

A network makes it possible for several users to swap files, share printers or scanners, and surf the Web with one broadband connection.

Building a network was once a complex challenge that required installing cables from printers to servers to computers. Adding computers or peripherals to the mix meant running more cable, often through walls and ceilings. With wireless, there’s only one cable connection, for the short leap to a wired network or broadband modem from the main access point.

The most compelling advantage: convenience. By eliminating that cable link, users enjoy true mobility. Move your laptop from your desk to a conference table for a meeting with clients or customers without losing your Web connection. Send that online property photo to the color printer from anywhere within network range. And when your needs evolve, you can easily expand the network by adding access points.

Equipping your PDA or laptop for Wi-Fi also lets you enjoy wireless Web access around town. “Hot spots”—wireless access points—are showing up in coffee shops, libraries, school campuses, restaurants, airports, and hotels around the country.

Here’s a shopping list of the various wireless accoutrements you might want, each starting at around $100 or less:

• Access point: This wireless base station transmits data to and from hardware on the network, and may be connected by a cable. (A base station is a primary hub; an access point is an extension of that hub elsewhere in the network.)
• Router or gateway: Required for users to share a broadband Internet connection, a router is often incorporated into an access point for smaller networks.
• Wireless bridge: This additional access point extends the range of the network or boosts performance of data through the network.
• Wireless NIC: Network Interface Card installed internally to equip a computer for wireless networking. Many new laptops and desktops now ship with such built-in Wi-Fi support.
• Wireless adapters: If you don’t have a NIC, wireless PC cards and USB adapters plug into computers.
  
  The total cost for wireless networking depends on how much equipment and how many users you want networked. But vendors have made it so easy and affordable, it’s hard to justify not adding Wi-Fi this year.

 What to know about wireless

Wi-Fi and standards: Although Wi-Fi is used to describe wireless networking in general, it was originally coined for the 802.11b standard, which is still most common. Other standards have since emerged: 802.11a, suitable primarily for a large number of users concentrated in one area, and 802.11g, a faster alternative to the original Wi-Fi, which is compatible with 802.11b.

Range: The radius from the base station within which a Wi-Fi network should function. Although vendors may claim a radius of as much as 300 feet, performance can vary, requiring additional access points to boost the range. Obstructions that can affect performance: microwaves, cordless phones, metal walls, and distance from the main access point.

Bluetooth: An alternative wireless standard with a more limited range than Wi-Fi. It’s considered more of a personal network than Wi-Fi, and can link computers, PDAs, and printers situated in the same room or near each other.

Security: Since your data is carried on radio waves, security is crucial to any wireless solution. Ask about security and encryption features when shopping, and enable them after installation.

Compatibility: In theory, wireless products should be compatible with others built to the same standard; in practice, each vendor designs and tests only its own products. If possible, stick with products from one vendor to eliminate potential incompatibility issues.

 Voices of experience

Steve Luther, ABR®
Residential specialist, The Realty Association, Nashville, Tenn.

If setup fears are all that’s holding you back from wireless, let Luther calm you: “With today’s Wi-Fi products, it’s pretty much a matter of pulling them out of the box, plugging them in, and launching Windows XP. It may take longer to set some security features, but even that’s just a matter of running software or visiting the manufacturer’s Web site.”

Luther also cites convenience as a key benefit. The purchase of a new laptop two years ago prompted him to add wireless capabilities to his home office. “I can work anywhere within a 300-foot radius of the access point,” he says. “When a client comes by, we can sit out on the deck instead of crowding around my desk.”

Dennis Shew
Salesperson, Destination Home Realty, Rochester, N.Y.

Shew ventured into Wi-Fi as a way of extending the reach of the wired network he shares with his wife in their home office. “We had networked two desktops, a printer, and a cable modem,” he says. “We added a wireless router and a card for my new laptop. I’m free to move around the house now.”

Shew eventually upgraded his wireless hub and donated the original unit to his company as a way to expand its network capabilities.

His only caveat for wireless networking? “If you don’t enable the security and encryption features and password protection, you’re providing free access to your network and computers to anyone who wants it.”

 Getting Started with Wireless

Each of these vendors offers a range of products that can be combined for wireless networking with security features.

Apple Computer www.apple.com, 800/692-7753. Airport line of peripheral products for wireless networking of Macintosh and PC products and peripherals using the 802.11b and 802.11g standards. Line includes base stations, access points, and wireless PC cards and adapters.

Belkin Corp. www.belkin.com, 800/223-5546. Products for home and office using the 802.11b and 802.11g standards. Access points, routers, booster antennas, and NICs for desktop computers, notebooks, and PDAs. Also offers Bluetooth products.

D-Link Systems www.dlink.com, 800/326-1688. Wireless products for the home, office, and large company using the 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a standards. Offers some multistandard products, which operate at different frequencies. Line includes routers, access points, print servers, PC cards, USB adapters, and Bluetooth adapters.

Dell Computer (VIP® partner) www.dell.com, 800/999-3355. Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-enabled computers and PDAs. 802.11b base stations, routers, access points, PC cards, and adapters. Startup wireless home networking bundle and in-home installation service package.

Hewlett Packard (VIP® partner) www.hp.com/sbso, 800/888-0262. Bluetooth- and 802.11b-compatible systems, PDAs, and peripherals. Complete range of products for wireless networking at home or the office, including base stations, routers, access points, printer servers, PC cards, and USB adapters.

IBM (VIP® partner) www.ibm.com, 888/426-5800. Options for the individual, small office, or large company. 802.11b- and Bluetooth-compatible notebooks, access points, routers, NICs, PC cards, and adapters.

Linksys www.linksys.com, 800/546-5797. Solutions for the home and office using the 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a standards. Includes routers, access points, printer servers, NICs, PC cards, and USB adapters. Bluetooth adapters for compatible hardware.

Microsoft Corp. www.microsoft.com/hardware/broadbandnetworking , 800/426-9400. Solutions for the 802.11b and 802.11g standards. Selection includes access points, routers, PC cards, and USB adapters for notebook and desktop systems, as well as kits for creating a simple network.

NetGear www.netgear.com, 888/638-4327. Products for home, office, and large companies using the 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a standards. Selection includes routers, access points, NICs, PC cards, and USB adapters for desktop and notebook systems.

Proxim Corp. www.proxim.com, 800/229-1630. Variety of solutions for the small company or large enterprise, compatible with the 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a standards. Offers wireless access points, routers, NICs, PC cards, and USB adapters for desktop and notebook systems and PDAs.

This list isn’t comprehensive; NAR doesn’t evaluate or endorse these products and isn’t responsible for changes in company info.

REALTOR VIP®partners offer special pricing to NAR members on certain products and services.
FACTOID
Between 2002 and 2003, the number of REALTORS® who access the Internet wirelessly rose by 7 percent.
—Technology and the REALTOR® Survey, March 2003