11g 0r 11b?

Hi

The time has come for me to create a wireless network of the growing numbers
of computers in our house, mainly for internet access.

I have already networked the desktop pc and my laptop using dlink 11b cards
(all is well).

I have a query, my daughters new laptop will detect a neighbours secure
network but my laptop wont even when they are together. Could this be
because hers has 11g and mine is 11b.

To combine 11g and 11b cards should i use an 11b wireless router or wont it
make any difference, dont really want to replace my 2 11b cars if i can
avoid it?

thanks

Gary

--
Visit my websites at
www.justjents.co.uk
www.recumbent.50megs.com

geepeetee

geepeetee wrote:
> Hi
>
> The time has come for me to create a wireless network of the growing numbers
> of computers in our house, mainly for internet access.
>
> I have already networked the desktop pc and my laptop using dlink 11b cards
> (all is well).
>
> I have a query, my daughters new laptop will detect a neighbours secure
> network but my laptop wont even when they are together. Could this be
> because hers has 11g and mine is 11b.

Yes

> To combine 11g and 11b cards should i use an 11b wireless router or wont it
> make any difference, dont really want to replace my 2 11b cars if i can
> avoid it?

You will need an 802.11(g) router. This will be backwards compatible
with 802.11(b), so your old cards will work. If you get an 802.11(b)
router, your daughter's laptop won't work with it.

As far as keeping your old cards, consider that although mixing (b) and
(g) devices on the same network will work, at least when (g) first came
out, this degraded the overall performance of the (g) devices. I don't
know if this has been remedied in more recent (g) routers.

Further, your 11(g) cards probably only support WEP encryption. Unless
you like living dangerously, you should upgrade to an 11(g) router and
new 11(g) cards that support WPA (and possibly WPA2) -- assuming that
your daughter's new laptop also can support WPA or WPA2. All devices on
a network -- router and all connecting PCs -- must use the same level of
encryption.

>
> thanks
>
> Gary
>

Lem

Hi
What ever you buy, should be 802.11g, it is better and capable of providing
better security than 802.11b (most of the pure 802.11b devices are old, I
doubt that any of the Brands still make 802.11b only).
802.11g is downward compatible with 802.11b and you old cards should work as
well.
802.11g can be set to work with 802.11g only, or with a mix of 802.11g and
802.11b, could be that the Wireless source that you are trying to connect to
is set to 802.11g only.
Jack (MVP-Networking).

"geepeetee" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hi
>
> The time has come for me to create a wireless network of the growing
> numbers of computers in our house, mainly for internet access.
>
> I have already networked the desktop pc and my laptop using dlink 11b
> cards (all is well).
>
> I have a query, my daughters new laptop will detect a neighbours secure
> network but my laptop wont even when they are together. Could this be
> because hers has 11g and mine is 11b.
>
> To combine 11g and 11b cards should i use an 11b wireless router or wont
> it make any difference, dont really want to replace my 2 11b cars if i can
> avoid it?
>
> thanks
>
> Gary
>
> --
> Visit my websites at
> www.justjents.co.uk
> www.recumbent.50megs.com
>

Jack

Frazer Jolly Goodfellow wrote:
> Lem <> wrote in news:#ewY$lNtGHA.4472
> @TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl:
>
>> Further, your 11(g) cards probably only support WEP encryption.
>
> That should read:
> "Further, your 11(b) cards probably only support WEP encryption."
right. typing too fast. and the bit about the new laptop not working
with an 11(b) router is probably wrong as well. I know 11(g) routers
can handle both 11(b) and 11(g) clients, but I've never really looked to
see if an 11(g) client can communicate with an 11(b) router.

Lem

Lem <> wrote in news:#ewY$lNtGHA.4472
@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl:

> Further, your 11(g) cards probably only support WEP encryption.

That should read:
"Further, your 11(b) cards probably only support WEP encryption."

Frazer Jolly Goodfellow

Lem <> wrote in
news:##:

> Frazer Jolly Goodfellow wrote:
>> Lem <> wrote in news:#ewY$lNtGHA.4472
>> @TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl:
>>
>>> Further, your 11(g) cards probably only support WEP
>>> encryption.
>>
>> That should read:
>> "Further, your 11(b) cards probably only support WEP
>> encryption."
> right. typing too fast. and the bit about the new laptop not
> working with an 11(b) router is probably wrong as well. I know
> 11(g) routers can handle both 11(b) and 11(g) clients, but I've
> never really looked to see if an 11(g) client can communicate
> with an 11(b) router.
>

....missed that one too
Yes, 11g is backwards compatible with 11b, so an 11g client works OK
with an 11b router.

Frazer Jolly Goodfellow