[mikulla]

Hello.

I am new to networking, other than home, and I am trying to find out how best to connect to our work LAN wirelessly. I don't think it matters other than it sucks, but the network is windows xp machines. I want to connect mac and pc laptops to the LAN and the internet.

What hardware (router, bridge, access point, etc) do I need and where in the network chain do I place it?

Any help appreciated.

Matt

[ghporter]

From your Internet connection, whether it's cable or DSL, you'll need a modem (which will convert whichever signaling they use into ethernet-DO NOT accept a USB modem). Once you have an ethernet connection to the Internet, sharing it is as simple as getting a wireless router. I personally use a separate wired router and wireless access point, but lots and lots of people have had great success with wirless routers. Whichever way you go, the WAN port (sometimes labeled "Internet") is connected to the modem's ethernet port. On an existing network you can easily add an access point by just plugging it into a wired router port.

The client computers will each require its own wireless card. It's pretty easy to find cards that have PC drivers, and it's best (best supported, easiest to set up, guaranteed to work) to use AirPort cards in Macs.

Did this help?

[mikulla]

Thanks. The lan is already set up and networked. Both pc and mac laptops have wireless cards installed. I was able to plug the router into an ethernet hum/router (not sure) and get internet no problem. So, if I am not mistaken...

Plug the wireless router directly in to the modem.

Do I have to configure the router to display shared networks? Will most wireless router work. I had an old d-link, but I am going to replace it so we have wpa.

[ghporter]

Good job! Yes, for direct Internet connectivity, you should plug the router directly into the modem. However, if you want to be able to share files (and printers) with the wired network, you'll need to plug into the existing wired router and configure the wireless router to stay on the same network (coaching available right here!).

The above probably explains the issue you're having with shared networks; by connecting the wireless network directly to the modem you're establishing an completely separate network. To share, you need to first connect in such a way that the traffic is on the same physical network (plug into the wired router) and on the same electronic network-that's where the configuration comes in. As I said, we'll give you all the coaching you need, and this is typically pretty easy to implement, but details depend on the specific device ("old d-link" or whatever you replace it with) you have.

ANY standards-compliant wireless router should work fine. Some are easier to deal with and/or provide more capabilities or flexibility. ANY 802.11G wireless router or access point should support WPA (congratulations on selecting a real security system), so look at ease of setup (NOT availability of a "wizard," as these are almost all Windows based-and unnecessary as well) and suite of functions.