Wireless Networking

[Svenn]

I'm thinking of getting a wireless router/hub and replacing my old wired connections for my cable/lan. I've got a couple questions first though:
1. Is wireless any slower than wired? I've also seen some routers that allow both wired and wireless connections, has anyone had any experience with these?
2. I already have a hub, should I replace it with a wireless router or should I keep it and get a wireless access point?
3. Any brands that I should look for? I can't get linksys because my cable company sucks and has lots of problems with anything Linksys. I've had good experiences with 3com and netgear, but not sure what they offer in wireless items.
Thanks
EDIT: Another quick question. Besides built in firewalls and things, are they any advantages of a router over a hub?

[TheDude]

http://www.bricklin.com/homenetwork.htm

Check it out..pretty good read about 802.11b or WI-FI wireless networking...speeds of 11mb/sec

Also read up on the security aspects of wireless as this can be a problem if you do not take precautions.

[Svenn]

Thanks, I'm probably gonna go with a 802.11a wireless access point hooked up to my hub, but I need to decide on a brand. Netgear doesn't have any 802.11a PCI cards that I saw on the site, so maybe D-Link...

[TheDude]

D-Link has the AirPlusn DI-614+ Wireless Router for about $125 with 4 lan ethernet ports and 22mbs mode..plus a 3 year warranty. It also offers 256 bit encryption and firewall config options. It's a little tricky to setup.

The best is probably the Agere Orinoco BG-2000 for about $160, even tho it only has 1 year warranty and 1 ethernet port, you will get much better range from it and it is very simple to setup.

Netgears Cable/DSL Wireless Router about $120, has 4 lan ethernet ports and the longest warranty of 5 years. It has very good firewall features and good performance.

The new Wi-Fi5 or 802.11a is 54mbps and prices are starting to drop some, but are still about twice the cost of Wi-Fi. The only reason I know of not to go wireless would be if you transfer a lot of very large files around on your network as I do. Even then, you could setup a hybrid network consisting of both cable and wireless. Keep in mind that in the real world you will get only about half of the advertised speed.

They claimn a range of about 300 feet, but again in the real world you can expect more like 100 to 125 feet.

As I mentioned earlier, security is important or you may have someone piggy backing on your internet connection or worse. The usual wireless network cards come with 40 bit encryption, it may be worth you while to get the cards that support 128 bit encryption. Hope this info helps in your choice.



:D