Setting up a home or small business Wi-Fi net has become a relative piece of cake compared to the early years, thanks to self-installing software and better operating system support. But there are still some nagging questions that keep getting asked. Notably about dropouts, range and performance. And businesses have special needs in terms of secure remote access and public hotspot maintenance. We've got the solutions for these situations and more.
1. Troubleshooting Dropouts
Question: I frequently lose my Wi-Fi signal, usually right when I REALLY need to get online. Then it comes back a few seconds, a minute or even an hour later. What gives?
Answer: If you have a home Wi-Fi router, chances are you experience periodic signal dropouts with more or less regularity. There are several reasons for this annoying problem, some of which you can control, and some of which you can't, but here are some tips for dealing with the problem.
First, be sure you (and your close neighbors!) don't have 2.4GHz cordless phones or baby monitors in the house. This is the same frequency that Wi-Fi uses, and if someone is talking on the cordless phone, it will likely cause severe interference with your network. Cordless phones are available in several other frequencies, so just switch, or better yet, get rid of your landline altogether and switch your home number to your cell phone.
Second, check if the dropouts seem to coincide with the use of your microwave oven, or any Bluetooth devices, such as wireless mice, keyboards, and printers. These devices also use the same frequency as Wi-Fi, and can cause interference. Place your Wi-Fi router as far from them as possible.
FInally, check to be sure that your neighbors don't have competing Wi-Fi networks on the same or a nearby channel. In the U.S., Wi-Fi channels range from 1 to 11, each focusing on slightly different frequencies in the 2.4GHz radio band. But you can't simply set your router to channel 4 if your neighbor uses 3 and expect that to fix things. Wi-Fi channels overlap, just like those on your FM dial. That's why you see spacing between radio stations, and the bigger the station, the more space it takes up due to a stronger signal that spills over into neighboring airwaves.
With most Wi-Fi routers, you need a spacing of 5 channels or so to get rid of interference. So channels 1, 6, and 11 could be used by three different access points in the same area without much trouble. Super-G, MIMO and draft-802.11n routers, however, bond two channels together to achieve their faster throughput, and their signals spill over into virtually the entire 1-to-11 channel band. There's really only room for one regular Wi-Fi channel in the same area as a channel-bonding router, so you'll need to space them as far apart as possible.
To see what channels are being used, look at the list of available access points given by your Wi-Fi card software. You can also use a Wi-Fi sniffer program to detect closed networks that don't broadcast their SSID, such as Kismet for Linux, and KisMac for Mac OS X. Once you have a list of surrounding access points and channels used, coordinate with your neighbors to select non-interfering channels for your routers.
If some neighbors won't budge, you can probably blast them out with the stronger signals from a MIMO or draft-802.11n router with intelligent antenna technology, such as the 240Mbps Linksys SRX400 or the 270Mbps Netgear RangeMax Next. They have much greater range and performance than standard routers. It's an expensive solution, but a pretty sure one.
2. Extending Your Home Wi-Fi Net
Ask JiWire: My house has a detached garage with an in-law apartment over it. My Wi-Fi network doesn't reach the apartment. Is there any solution other than getting a second DSL line? I can't exactly string Ethernet cable over the driveway.
Answer: Well, we actually know some people who HAVE strung Ethernet cable between the second floors of their houses to share a network, but we won't name names. There are better options. Assuming even a long-range draft-n router like those mentioned above won't bridge the gap, the next best alternative is to use your existing electrical system. With HomePlug networking, you simply plug adapters into the wall, and your computing devices into the adapters, and you're done. Combination Wi-Fi access points and routers with HomePlug let you plug in Wi-Fi access points in remote locations to extend the range of your network.
HomePlug 1.0 products provide 14Mbps performance over the powerline portion of the network (similar to 802.11b), and are available from numerous vendors. Two examples are TrendNet's 125Mbps Wireless PowerLine Router, and Netgear's Wall-Plugged Range Extender Kit. The Range Extender is the perfect solution to your problem.
HomePlug AV products with better than 100Mbps performance (similar to wired Ethernet and enhanced 802.11g) are just coming out. As its name implies, HomePlug AV is designed to be used to distribute HDTV and other digital media signals around a house as well.
3. Setting Up a Secure VPN Router
Ask JiWire: I have a small business and want to be able to connect securely to the local network server when I'm on the road. I use GoToMyPC, but that's pretty slow and cumbersome. Is there a simple way to connect to the server directly, and still be safe at a Wi-Fi hotspot?
Answer: There a lot of options, but all center around one word: VPN. Most network servers (and individual PCs) can be set up to for Web access, so that you can connect directly through a remote browser to upload and download files. Assuming you have Web access configured, the other part of the equation is security. That's where VPN comes in. Virtual Private Networks are secure encrypted "tunnels" between two endpoints: your computer on the road, and your home or business network. Most major Wi-Fi router vendors offer VPN models with built-in support for one or more simultaneous remote VPN connections. And prices are not much more than regular routers, starting around $150.
Netgear's ProSafe 802.11g Wireless VPN Firewall 8 (FVG318) supports up to eight remote users at a time, who can be working at home, or at a hotspot. You can also connect multiple offices with a single tunnel between each location. Another example is Linksys' Wireless-G VPN Broadband Router (WRV54G), which supports up to 50 remote users.
But you don't need to set up your own VPN for just one or two users. Individual VPNs like those in JiWire Hotspot Helper will keep you secure at any hotspot, and require little or no configuration.
4. Sharing Printers via Wi-Fi
Question: I have a home Wi-Fi net and broadband connection, but I would also like to be able to use my printer wirelessly. Should I get a Bluetooth printer or a Wi-Fi adapter?
Answer: While Bluetooth can be found in some new printers allowing direct printing from your Bluetooth laptop, using a Wi-Fi print server makes much better sense. With Bluetooth, you'll need to be within a few feet of your printer, and you won't be able to network the printer for use with other computers in your home. With Wi-Fi, you can print from anywhere within range of your router, and from any computer.
You can either buy a Wi-Fi router with a built-in USB or parallel print server (depending on your printer's interface), or a separate print server that communicates wirelessly with your router. We prefer the separate approach, since it doesn't restrict your router choices, and you can replace or upgrade components as new technology emerges.
Two good Wi-Fi print server options for Windows users are the Belkin 802.11g Wireless Print Server, which has dual USB 1.1 ports for connecting two printers to your network, and the Linksys Wireless-G PrintServer, which has one USB 2.0 port and one parallel port.
Mac users should consider Apple's AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express routers, which have built-in USB print servers that support both Mac and PC clients, as well as AppleTalk printers. The new AirPort Extreme, due in February, is a draft-802.11n model.
One catch with print servers is that they generally don't support the fax/copy/scan functions of all-in-one printers. They only support printing. So you won't be able to send or receive faxes or scans between your computer and the printer. You can still use the standalone fax and copy features of the printer, of course. If you really need a wireless multifunction solution, consider HP's OfficeJet 7140 All-in-One, which has 802.11b/g support and color print, flatbed fax, scan, and copy functions, and works with both Macs and PCs.
5. How to Set Up a Free Hotspot
Question: I would like offer free Wi-Fi Internet access in my cafe, but am worried about liability and management issues. What are my options?
Answer: Free Wi-Fi can be a great way to bring in new customers, especially at off-peak times, and in high-traffic areas where people with laptops or Wi-Fi PDAs are likely to congregate. While you can go the bare-bones do-it-yourself route, plugging in an off-the-shelf router and hanging out a shingle, it's best to install some type of management software that at the very least puts up a splash screen with a liability disclaimer, protecting you against possible misuse of your hotspot.
One easy solution that fits this bill is SputnikNet Express. The completely free Sputnik Agent software can be uploaded to inexpensive Linksys routers, and includes the ability to display a 640x480 splash screen of your design. No computer is needed to manage the system.
If Wi-Fi users quickly overwhelm your free hotspot you can convert to a paid Sputnik system, or choose one of the many other "hotspot-in-a-box"-type solutions that come from major wireless ISPs who'd love to add your site to their nationwide networks. Boingo, Cafe.com and Surf-and-Sip all sell kits for the individual hotspot owner; Boingo even allows you to list free hotspots in its network. You can find information on all these hotspot solutions, and more, in our complete guide to Creating Your Own Hotspot. And, of course, be sure to register your location with JiWire for a free listing in the world's largest hotspot directory -- accessible on JiWire.com, Google, Yahoo!, CNET, USA Today, and many other JiWire partner Web sites.
No comments:
Post a Comment