Wireless neworking without a WAP? 2

[iSeriesCodePoet]

I have a Dell laptop that has wireless networking card installed. I would like to hook that up to my desktop system via wireless so I don't have to string a CAT-5 whereever I want to use my laptop. Do I _have_ to use a WAP (Wireless Access Point) to do this? Or can I just do peer-to-peer? I already have a 10/100 NIC and a hub, I am just trying to look for a way to browse the internet from the patio. Also, if I can do peer-to-peer, does it matter which brand I get, as long as they have the same capablities? Mike Wills
RPG Programmer

"I am bad at math because God forgot to include math.h into my programming!"

Please let us (Tek-Tips members) know if the solutions I provide are helpful to you. Not only do my posts help you but they may help others.

 

[cybercop23]

Unfortunatelly you do need a WAP. Any WAP will do just fine because of the 802.11b interoperability. I have a PC card and a WAP by Linksys. They work great. You can't do peer-to-peer wirelessly without a WAP. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[jornk]

You can use peer-to-peer with 802.11b. Just set up one of the boxes to be a router for the other. Remember, 802.11b is just wireless ethernet. Treat it the same as you would standard ethernet when it comes to layer 3.

 

[iSeriesCodePoet]

Thanks, for now we have networked the house so at least I can sit in front of the TV and work on my laptop. My budget is sort of tight right now. I thought I could afford a wireless NIC, but I knew a WAP was way out of the question. (Us poor college kids you know.) And I thought I remembered something about a peer-to-peer sort of connection, but the whole wireless community is set on the use of WAPs (gee I wonder why ;-)).

Thanks again. Mike Wills
RPG Programmer (but learning Java)

"I am bad at math because God forgot to include math.h into my program!"

 

[jornk]

But, you do NOT have to use a WAP. Get two 802.11b NICS (be they PCMCIA or PCI) and let one be a gateway. Cybercop23 was incorrect.

 

[iSeriesCodePoet]

I know...I was stating that the companies that sell the WAPs don't tell you about the Peer-to-Peer option because they want you to purchase a WAP.

One more question. Can you hook up more than two computers together using Peer-to-Peer? Mike Wills
RPG Programmer (but learning Java)

"I am bad at math because God forgot to include math.h into my program!"

 

[jornk]

This link says it better than I can

http://www.dlink.com/tech/faq/wireless/dwl650/#2

 

[Olivcrom]

Sorry for this dumb question, I looked at the DLink site yuo recommended but unfortunately it didnt tell me how do to Ad-Hoc, can you recommend a site that teaches this?

 

[JeremyUTSI]

Ad-Hoc will work with multiple 802.11 devices....for instance, your PC, your Laptop, and a Server all have a 802.11 PCMCIA or PCI card in them. They Can all talk to each other and access the internet if one of them is set up as a Internet Gateway/Router. Which it sounds like you have in place already. They Can NOT talk to other wireless networks or be bridged accross a LAN.

Hope this helps.

 

[bigcloud]

Jornk, correct me if I am wrong, but a WAP basically is a dedicated PC/Laptop with a WLAN card turned on in the network?

But, comparing the two (WAP vs. WLAN card) - what's the coverage range like?

I was thinking of saving cost and buying 2 PC cards instead of a WAP and a PC card. Turning the 1 PC card into a WAP using a FreeBSD box and another as a client, but my concern would be the range on PC Cards compared to WAP.

Pls advice. Thanks for the contributions above. Found them very informative!

Adri
Enit8tor Consulting
Malaysia

 

[wybnormal]

A WAP can be that.. if you open the case you will find a PCMCIA card in a carrier and a small circuit card. Others are designed from the ground up to be a WAP.

Range in this discussion ..ie.. how far does a WAP go vs. a card in a PC go... depends alot on the vendor. Some vendors have cards that only put out 30mW of power.. others like Cisco will crank out 30-100mWs of power.. of course they cost more. I just saw an ad for a card that claims 30-200mW of power.

We have a page with quite a bit of information regarding wireless design, hacking WAPs, sniffing and of course the ubiquious Pringles antenna

http://www.packetattack.com/wireless.html

MikeS
Find me at

http://www.packetattack.com

"Take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots."
Sun Tzu

 

[Fulkrum]

A simpler solution and a very cheap solution to all this would be to buy two IMSI usb bluetooth adapters and pair them off. IMSI's cost pennies and will pair up with anything bluetooth including PC suite which Nokia locked out to supposedly all other bluetooth chipsets.

Just an alternative Wireless guru

 

[iSeriesCodePoet]

The 802.11 is built in. Mike Wills
IBM iSeries (AS/400) Programmer

http://www.koldark.net

 

[eihtur]

why dont you try to buy two wireless network adapters for your two computers and try to set them to Ad-Hoc mode, just try to set them on the same channel and on the same network as well. you can do that by checking the utility of the cards that your going to use, you can change that one through that.hope it would be a great help....

 

[iSeriesCodePoet]

I do have a WAP now, so this isn't a concern. I got a WAP/router with 4 RJ45 connections. I needed the RJ45 and made that an excuse to get wireless. iSeriesCodePoet
IBM iSeries (AS/400) Programmer