Networking three PC's to one cable connection + 802.11G

[Dion Loy]

Cetrino is just a new Intel chip for laptops/tablet PCs. It so happens that it can also support WiFi 802.11b built into the chip itself (so you don't have to buy a seprate PCMCIA wireless card, or mini-PCI card for your laptop).

Its main features are lower power consumption, which leads to thinner and longer lasting laptops (I think the IBM ThinkPad + Centrino gets up to 5-6 hours in real life, which is amazing). I definitely could use a thinner/lighter laptop after lugging my 8lb Dell on the plane the past few times =).

Although Centrinos run at a lower clock speed than regular Pentium-Ms (around 1.3-1.5ghz), apparntly they get the same performance as a 2.0ghz+ Pentium-M. You have only missed the boat if you wanted a smaller, lighter laptop.

Bluetooth serves another purpose to WiFi. They do not really compete with each other. Think of Bluetooth as VERY short-range wireless, mainly for small devices. Ie, synching your phone to your computer w/o cables, or using a wireless phone headset while in the car, etc..

 

[CalTrader]

Quote from rs7:



...seems to show I am actually connecting faster with the laptop than my son is while he is directly connected to the router. So I guess that is my first question...how can this be?

This is corrected (temporarily) by unplugging the cable modem and letting it re-set. But then after a short time, it happens again. ..most likely a "router port triggering" issue....whatever that means

...Anyone care to explain if I missed the boat? Or if this is just another name for what I already have?

Last question. What is the difference (or meaning of) Bluetooth technology compared to the technology I am presently using.

Any clarification is greatly appreciated.

Thanks, and Peace,
Rs7

Speed test may not be well written; other possibiliies are a potential universe of mis-configurations on the slower computer....

Have had cable modems from various providers: the glitches are either the firmware of the modem - some are quite bad - and more often, problems within the providers network: usually poor management of the systems. The tech shouls find out if there is a problem. If they say everythings fine and you still have problems ask for a new modem and if still problems then it is most likely with the providers network management.

Centrino ... Dont worry ... existing systems work just fine.... wait a few years for price and to see if anyone bothers ....

Bluetooth: poor technology due to (1) extremely short range and thus has only a few valid uses and (2) most vendors implementations of the technology are very poor resulting in porr performance and range: my rec is avoid.

 

[limitdown]

Quote from MrDinky:

The cable company charges an extra $5 per networked PC on one connection. My question is, how would they know the difference? I'm no expert on networking, but it seems like they wouldn't be able to tell if you had 1 or 100 computers connected as it's only the router that's connected to them. Will they be able to tell I have three PC's connected?

Long gone and poorly invested in: choices are:
1) wiring one's house for networking
2) paying an ISP for multiple connections
3) thinking that you can't take control of the "last mile"

The last mile is considered the distance from the nearest Trunc (truncation of TelCo lines) and your nearest device within your domain (home, office, office-park, etc.).

Actually that distance is one of the longest distances to traverse. There is significant evidence that the failure of the Telco's to provide products to meet the demands of the US Consumers for faster Internet access was the actual cause of a number of high tech failures. Products like these were in great demand over 5 years ago during the height of the Technology boom. Its only now that they're publically available, and might provide the fundamental basis for resuming the technology boom, all over again.

54G is new, and subject to interruption from 2.4Ghz devices (garage door openers, cordless telephones, microwave ovens, neighbor's devices and passing autos/truck devices).

2.4Ghz devices suffer in a similar manner. 802.11a and mutually exclusive 802.11b devices (unless they are dual devices) are not inter compatible. One major problem on these devices are the lcd factor. The lowest common denomniator dictates at which speed all devices will squak at. Hence if you have a dual wireless router and 2 PC cards at varying sppeds, then the LCD will dictate at what speed all these devices will squak at.

54G is an attempt to provide vastly greater bandwidth or lanes on the highway for the wireless devices to be accommodated. Hence instead of a max 32 wireless devices, they are projected at handling far more (upwards of 233 wireless devices).

Regarding the matter of speeds and multiple bandwidth speeds, they are working on it, so that each line will squak at whatever speed it can handle irrespective of which other devices are using the connection.

 

[limitdown]

Wireless SOHO configurations are not subject to the faster "obsolesence cycle" than mid-sized business' are.

Simply put, over 2 years from now, what's invested in making ones' small office / home office wireless will still have legitimate value to the business owner as well as functional value, without an over whelming reason to invest in an upgrade.

54G works very, very well, and will extend the life cycle of these devices vastly beyond the next 24 month horizon.

However so many other lessor devices that are proven, functional, having more than 24 months life cycle remaining and were current just 6 months ago, are being substantially discounted.

Take advantage of those discounts with an 11a device or spend a little more on the 11b devices.

Remember that while these devices squak at a minimum of 11MB pipeline, and newer devices at 22MB, and the 54G devices at 54MB, your actual data bandwidth on a Cable Modem / DSL Modem download rated at 1MB is 1MB

Those higher quoted speeds are legitimate representations of what speed the wireless device is squaking with the router (providing the signal), however, they are only achieved when transmissions occur between devices to other devices on that router. Some argue that hald duplex occurs and the max speed is split in half becuase they are all sharing that maximum speed (11MB in this case) between all devices on that router, hence laptop-A sending files to laptop-B will use just under half the full bandwidth available..

 

[limitdown]

Quote from richtrader:

I think you can save money by using Internet Connection Sharing in Windows XP Pro. No router required.

this may be so, however, the connection will not be "persistent", nor available to other devices using the connection when that computer is off network.

having a router shunts the responsibility to the box itself (hence router) so that the connection can remain persistent and provide other services, like being a print server, which can be shared amongst all down stream devices or other access point devices

 

[limitdown]

Quote from momoNY:



MeDinky,

It depends on the configuration of your network and its capacity to hiding the MAC addresses of your PCs; that's called "MAC spoof'; look wether your router supports that or not.
Here is an excellent refrence(book) on Home Networking that you can get for less than 25$ and will save your life:

Home networking: survival guide by David Strom, Osborn/McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0-07-219311-5, actually I use this book for my home networking course.

Good luck.

where do you teach at?

 

[limitdown]

Quote from Dion Loy:

Cetrino is just a new Intel chip for laptops/tablet PCs. It so happens that it can also support WiFi 802.11b built into the chip itself (so you don't have to buy a seprate PCMCIA wireless card, or mini-PCI card for your laptop).

Its main features are lower power consumption, which leads to thinner and longer lasting laptops (I think the IBM ThinkPad + Centrino gets up to 5-6 hours in real life, which is amazing). I definitely could use a thinner/lighter laptop after lugging my 8lb Dell on the plane the past few times =).

Although Centrinos run at a lower clock speed than regular Pentium-Ms (around 1.3-1.5ghz), apparntly they get the same performance as a 2.0ghz+ Pentium-M. You have only missed the boat if you wanted a smaller, lighter laptop.

Bluetooth serves another purpose to WiFi. They do not really compete with each other. Think of Bluetooth as VERY short-range wireless, mainly for small devices. Ie, synching your phone to your computer w/o cables, or using a wireless phone headset while in the car, etc..

Centrino may be more marketing now and greater substance later than it is presently. It consists of the triumvirate between 3 chips to provide the functionality as described.

Toshiba, Sony, IBM, Dell and some others provide most of this functionality within their advanced laptops. Wireless capability built into the laptop without requiring a PCMCIA card or otherwise is quite slick indeed. Centrino brings this market place solution into their architecture umbrella and offers to make it proprietary.

It remains to be seen what will develop around this product. Remember, bloatware is how MS Windows kept growing beyond just an opt-sys into an everything in this house opt-sys, by adding on features that the 3rd market developed around the earliest versions of MW Windows. Seems Intel is following a similar strategy.

 

[Whamo]

Quote from rs7:

Snip...
I just recently bought a laptop computer (Toshiba). I have a cable modem hooked up to my son's desktop, and a Linksys wireless router and a wireless linksys card plugged into my laptop. When it works, it seems to work quite well (for some reason, the speed test at http://www.bandwidthplace.com seems to show I am actually connecting faster with the laptop than my son is while he is directly connected to the router. So I guess that is my first question...how can this be?

Next question...my internet connection has been going down very frequently the past few days. This is corrected (temporarily) by unplugging the cable modem and letting it re-set. But then after a short time, it happens again. I have a service call scheduled today from the cable company. But my son, who is 17 and while not an expert, is telling me that his friends who ARE self proclaimed experts are telling him the problem is most likely a "router port triggering" issue....whatever that means
...Snip Rs7

rs7,

For the slowness on your sons PC try changing the router interface to either Full Duplex or 1/2 Duplex (depending on what it is now) and re-test the bandwidth. Also try tweaking the PC / O.S. w/ the Tweak Tool found at http://www.dslreports.com/. It's found under Our Tools, Tweak Test.

For the router outages, try running Ping Plotter (http://www.pingplotter.com/) to see if there is a router in your path that is having serious errors or outages. You may see router reconfigurations and see the routers IP Address change at the same time you experience the outage. In addition, check to make sure your LED's on your router look normal (verify w/ the manual). Just some thoughts...

 

[momoNY]

Quote from limitdown:



where do you teach at?

In NYC area.

 

[MrDinky]

Quote from limitdown:

54G is new, and subject to interruption from 2.4Ghz devices (garage door openers, cordless telephones, microwave ovens, neighbor's devices and passing autos/truck devices).

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses, and yes, limitdown you did extend yourself quite a bit on this thread. What's your opinion on the 54G technology. Given the current conflicts, is it worth upgrading now, knowing full well it's overkill for the present time?

I'm starting to think the bugs have been worked out in the 802.11b devices for the most part so it may be a more stable setup to use this option. Kind of like upgrading Windows, by the time Microsoft releases their next version it'll be worth it to upgrade to XP.