- •About the Authors
- •Dedication
- •Contents at a Glance
- •Table of Contents
- •Introduction
- •About This Book
- •System Requirements
- •How This Book Is Organized
- •Part I: Wireless Networking Fundamentals
- •Part II: Making Plans
- •Part III: Installing a Wireless Network
- •Part IV: Using a Wireless Network
- •Part V: The Part of Tens
- •Icons Used in This Book
- •Where to Go from Here
- •Nothing but Net(work): Why You Need (Or Want) One
- •File sharing
- •Printer and peripheral sharing
- •Internet connection sharing
- •Home arcades and wireless to go
- •Wired versus Wireless
- •Installing wired home networks
- •Installing wireless home networks
- •Picking a Wireless Standard
- •Planning Your Wireless Home Network
- •Workstations and servers
- •Network infrastructure
- •Network interface adapters
- •Get the (Access) Point?
- •Industry Standards
- •Who or What Is Bluetooth?
- •Wi-Fi versus Bluetooth
- •Piconets, Masters, and Slaves
- •Wirelessly synching your PDAs
- •Wireless printing and data transfer
- •Integrating HPNA and HomePlug with Your Wireless Home Network
- •Home Phoning (ET Got It Backward!)
- •Network Power(line)!
- •Deciding What Is Connected to the Network
- •Counting network devices
- •Choosing wired or wireless
- •Choosing a wireless technology
- •Choosing an access point
- •Deciding where to install the AP
- •Adding printers
- •Adding entertainment and more
- •Connecting to the Internet
- •Budgeting for Your Wireless Network
- •Pricing access points
- •Pricing wireless network adapters
- •A sample budget
- •Planning Security
- •Selecting Access Points
- •Certification and Standards Support
- •Compatibility and Form Factor
- •DHCP servers
- •Gateways, NAT, and cable/DSL routers
- •Switches
- •Print servers
- •Operational Features
- •Security
- •Range and Coverage Issues
- •Manageability
- •Web-based configuration
- •Software programming
- •Telnetting to your device
- •Upgradeable firmware
- •Price
- •Warranties
- •Customer and Technical Support
- •Before Getting Started, Get Prepared
- •Setting Up the Access Point
- •Preparing to install a wireless AP
- •Installing the AP
- •Configuring AP parameters
- •Changing the AP Configuration
- •Installing device drivers and client software
- •PC Cards and mini-PCI cards
- •Compact Flash cards
- •PCI and ISA cards
- •USB adapters
- •Modifying Wireless Network Adapters
- •Synchronizing and Internet Access
- •Wireless Zero Configuration with XP
- •Easy installation
- •Automatic network connections
- •Tracking Your Network’s Performance
- •Apple AirPort Hardware
- •Pick an AirPort Card, any card
- •Apple AirPort Software Updates
- •AirPort 2.0 software
- •AirPort 2.0.4 software
- •AirPort 2.0.5 software
- •AirPort 2.1.1 software
- •OS 9 Wireless Networks
- •Installing AirPort software on Mac OS 9
- •Upgrading AirPort Base Station firmware on OS 9
- •OS X Wireless Networks
- •Installing the AirPort software on OS X
- •Upgrading AirPort Base Station firmware on OS X
- •Adding another computer to your AirPort network on OS X
- •Connection sharing
- •Routers and gateways
- •Sharing dialup Internet connections
- •Obtaining an IP Address Automatically
- •Windows 9x
- •Windows 2000
- •Windows XP
- •Setting Up Internet Connection Sharing
- •Windows 98 SE and Windows Me
- •Windows 2000
- •Windows XP
- •Mac OS X v. 10.2 (Jaguar)
- •Assessing the Risks
- •General Internet security
- •Airlink security
- •How about a bit more about WEP?
- •What’s wrong with WEP?
- •Clamping Down on Your Wireless Home Network’s Security
- •Getting rid of the defaults
- •Enabling WEP
- •Closing your network
- •Looking into the Crystal Ball
- •Waiting for WPA
- •The future: 802.11i
- •A Networking Review
- •Basic networking terminology
- •Setting up a workgroup
- •Will You Be My Neighbor?
- •Sharing a document or folder on Windows 95/98/Me
- •Enabling sharing on Windows 2000/XP
- •Setting permissions
- •Accessing shared files
- •Be Economical: Share Those Peripherals
- •Setting up a print server
- •Sharing other peripherals
- •PC Gaming Hardware Requirements
- •Networking Requirements for PC Gaming
- •Console online gaming services and equipment
- •Console wireless networking equipment
- •Dealing with Router Configurations
- •Getting an IP address
- •Dealing with port forwarding
- •Setting Up a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
- •Wireless Home Entertainment Gear
- •Expanding Your Home Entertainment Center with Wireless Adapters
- •The Home Media Player
- •The Home Theater PC
- •Internet Content for Your Media Players and HTPCs
- •Making a Connection to Your Car
- •Your car’s path to wireless enlightenment
- •Synching your car stereo with home
- •Getting online with your own car PC
- •Picking wireless gear for your car
- •Using your PDA as a remote control
- •Whole home 802.11-based IR coverage
- •See me, feel me, hear me, touch me
- •Discovering Bluetooth Basics
- •Bluetooth Mobile Phones
- •Bluetooth PDAs
- •Other Bluetooth Devices
- •Printers
- •Digital cameras
- •Keyboards and meeses (that’s plural for mouse!)
- •Bluetooth adapters
- •Discovering Public Hot Spots
- •Freenets and open access points
- •For-pay services
- •Using T-Mobile Hot Spots
- •Using Wayport Hot Spots
- •Using Boingo Hot Spots
- •Tools for Finding Hot Spots
- •Netstumbler.com
- •Boingo
- •Check the Obvious
- •Move the Access Point
- •Move the Antenna(s)
- •Change Channels
- •Check for Dual-Band Interference
- •Check for New Obstacles
- •Install Another Antenna
- •Add a Signal Booster
- •Add a Repeater or Bridge
- •Check Your Cordless Phone Frequencies
- •Your Bath
- •Your Car
- •Your Exercise Gear
- •Your Home Appliances
- •Your Musical Instruments
- •Your Pets
- •Your Phones
- •Your Robots
- •Your Wearing Apparel
- •CNET.com
- •802.11 Planet
- •Broadband Wireless Exchange Magazine
- •80211b.weblogger.com
- •PC Magazine
- •Electronic House Magazine
- •Home Automation Magazine
- •Practically Networked
- •ExtremeTech.com
- •Network World
- •Other Cool Sites
- •Index
234 Part IV: Using a Wireless Network
Console wireless networking equipment
In case we haven’t made it abundantly clear in our discussion so far, we reiterate: None of the consoles that we’ve discussed comes with any kind of built-in wireless LAN capabilities, and none of the networking kits or adapters that you need to buy from the console maker includes wireless LAN equipment. What all these consoles do have, when outfitted for online gaming, is an Ethernet port. This will undoubtedly change, but for now that’s it.
And really, that’s all you need, thanks to the availability of relatively inexpensive wireless Ethernet bridges. The deeper you get into the networking world, the more likely you are to run into the concept of a bridge, which is simply a device that connects two segments of a network together. Unlike hubs or switches or routers or most other network equipment (we talk about a lot of this stuff back in Chapters 2 and 5), a bridge doesn’t do anything with the data flowing through it. It basically just passes the data straight through without manipulating it, rerouting it, or even caring what it is. A wireless Ethernet bridge’s sole purpose in life, then, is to send data back and forth between two points. (Not too tough to see where the name came from, huh?)
While we’re discussing these wireless Ethernet bridges in terms of game consoles networks in this chapter, they’re actually quite handy devices that can be used for a lot of different applications in your wireless LAN. Basically, any device that has an Ethernet port — such as a TiVo or ReplayTV personal video recorder (PVR), an MP3 server (such as the AudioReQuest), even an Internet refrigerator (such as Samsung’s Internet Refrigerator) — can hook into your wireless home network using a wireless Ethernet bridge.
Wireless Ethernet bridges are a relatively new phenomenon in the wireless LAN world — which is really saying something considering the fact that wireless LANs have been a mainstream technology for only a couple of years. As we write, only a couple of wireless Ethernet bridges are on the market. We don’t expect this situation to last — our contacts at just about every wireless networking equipment company that we know tell us that they, too, are working on their own products in this category.
As we write, you can find two widely available models, which we discuss in detail momentarily:
D-Link’s D-LinkAir DWL-810
Linksys WET11
Chapter 12: Gaming over a Wireless Home Network 235
Both of these wireless Ethernet bridges use the common 11 Mbps 802.11b system. That means that they won’t work on the faster 802.11a networking system. They should work on the new 802.11g system but only at the lower 802.11b 11 Mbps speed (which should be fast enough for your gaming needs!). Also, keep in mind that although 802.11b gear is supposed to work on 802.11g networks, a lot of “g” gear is pretty new on the market and has not yet undergone extensive interoperability testing.
The great thing about wireless Ethernet bridges — besides the fact that they solve the very real problem of getting non-computer devices onto the wireless network — is that they are the essence of Plug and Play. You might have to spend three or four minutes setting up the bridge itself (getting it connected to your wireless network), but you don’t need to do anything special to your game console besides plug the bridge in. All the game consoles that we discuss in this chapter (at least when equipped with the appropriate network adapters and software) will “see” your wireless Ethernet bridge as just a regular Ethernet cable. You don’t need any drivers or other special software on the console. The console doesn’t know (nor does it care in its not-so-little console brain) that there’s a wireless link in the middle of the connection. It just works!
Not many wireless Ethernet bridges are on the market yet, and none are yet available in the faster 802.11a or 802.11g flavors of wireless LANs. We fully expect that to change and to change fast. So if you’re using one of these newer technologies in your LAN, don’t despair. Keep an eye on the vendor Web sites or on one of the other wireless LAN news sites that we discuss in Chapter 20. You’ll probably see a solution for your network before too long.
D-LinkAir DWL-810
D-Link (www.dlink.com) has developed this product with gaming consoles in mind. And in fact, D-Link even has its own online Gamer’s Haven site with lots of great gaming information on it (games.dlink.com). The $129 list price DWL-810 (see Figure 12-2) doesn’t need any special drivers or configuration but does include a Web-browser based configuration program that enables you to do things like enter your Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) keys. (Check out Chapter 10 for more information on this.)
236 Part IV: Using a Wireless Network
Figure 12-2:
The D-Link
DWL-810
Ethernet
bridge.
Because this bridge can also be used to connect to wired Ethernet hubs and switches, you need to use a special kind of Ethernet cable — a crossover cable — to connect the DWL-810 to your console. (A crossover cable is basically an Ethernet cable that’s used to interconnect two computers by crossing over [reversing] their respective pin assignments.) Luckily, D-Link includes one in the box — just remember to use that cross-over cable and not a regular Ethernet cable when you hook things up. If you use this bridge with one of D-Link’s access points, you can actually take advantage of their proprietary system that speeds up the network to throughputs up to 22 Mbps.
Linksys WET11
The Linksys WET11 ($129; www.linksys.com), like the DWL-810, allows an easy connection between any Ethernet device and your Wi-Fi network. The only substantial difference between the WET11 and the DWL-810 is the addition of an uplink switch on the WET11. Instead of using a cross-over cable to connect to a game console (or any other individual device), you simply slide a switch on the back of the WET11 to a particular position. On the WET11 devices that we’ve seen, the switch position for connecting to game consoles is labeled X — the position labeled II is used for connecting to a hub or switch. Because of this switch, you use a standard straight-through Ethernet cable with the WET11 instead of a cross-over Ethernet cable.