I work for a small company that is just getting started. We told the client that when we arrived we needed a high-speed internet connection. They tell us they want to go wireless. Then we get there yesterday, and nothing is set up. They don't know anything about setting it up. We could force them to hire someone to set it up, but we're trying to be nice. I don't really know very much about wireless connections, but as the tech guy, it's my job to figure it out.
It's DSL from SBC, in case that matters.
So their idea of how things should look goes like this: Modem (from SBC) connects to wireless router. Router has no computer hooked up to it.
The computer is located in a different room with a wireless adapter connected to it.
Well to me that doesn't even seem possible. Every wireless router I've seen has a computer physically connected to it in some way. But I decided to try it. First, I had the computer hooked up, installed the router software, and set up all the options. Then I removed the computer, put it out front, plugged in the wireless adapter, put in all the same options, and somehow it works. That was yesterday. Today, it stopped working a few hours ago. The modem from SBC had all the lights on except the Internet light. The only way I could get that Internet light to come back on was to move the computer back to the connection and plug it directly into the modem.
So now before I move this computer back up front and start working on it again, I want to know: Is this going to keep happening? The connection is in the back, and the computer needs to be in the front. So if it is going to keep happening, I see two options: 1. Get some old computer and connect it to the router. Only purpose for it is to keep the connection working. 2. Run wire to the front, and forego the wireless connection. What do you guys think?
NOTE: The above post makes no sense. We apologize for the inconvenience.
So their idea of how things should look goes like this: Modem (from SBC) connects to wireless router. Router has no computer hooked up to it.
If it is a wireless router, it shouldn't need a computer directly hooked up to it, except maybe initially to turn the wireless connections on; the routers (or at least the ones I've dealt with) should be adminstring the connections by themselves, without needing a computer.
I recommend, next time you get the internet working, going to the website of the router and grabbing a PDF manual, because you might be missing a step.
(on the first read thru of your message, I didn't pick up the 'wireless' part of the router and was going to suggest grabbing a wireless access point if you could, since that would also skip the need for a computer, and I guess that'd still work here - but a wireless router is supposed to be an access point. Or I'm totally confused.)
The wireless routers that ive worked with, you dont even need to plug in a computer to get them working...the software that comes with it should be able to connect to it and change everything wirelessly. Make sure to put a passwprd on it though so you dont get hacked like everyone is saying. Dont hire a techie though they get paid butloads of money just to come there, they find one tiny little problem and charge you for hours of labor. Look on the site of the company who makes the wireless base station and hope their customer service can help.
It's been good for a while now, so I think it's alright. I had the system set up using WEP (TKIP), but as I read articles online, maybe that's not good enough. I can't remember the other security options off the top of my head (nothing too fancy, iirc). Any ideas which encryption system I should go with?
NOTE: The above post makes no sense. We apologize for the inconvenience.
For encryption, TKIP is probably the most supported algorithm, but if your gear does AES, I'd use that.
You've got two main options for authentication sources. You can use pre-shared keys (alright if you've only got a few users) or you can use RADIUS, which can do the whole organization, but requires you to be running RADIUS (if you've got a Windows Domain Controller, you've got RADIUS available already; if you don't, you'd have to set up some open source RADIUS).
From what I understand, AES encryption is the strongest. Choose a word or phrase that no one would EVER think of to generate the key (then write the password and key down some place safe and secure). Each word (or string of word and spaces) generates a uniqure key of numbers 0-9 and letters a-f (so that zeros/O and 1/I are not confused).
There are about 6 wireless networks in my neighborhood. Mine is the only one that is secure.
I have to second the Phillips thumbs up, everyone that goes to CompUsa for a DVD i head em straight to it. It reads basically all formats of burns, plus PAL and can become a region free player(with remote control codes).