BB - wireless networks and Windoze update speeds
Discussion
Chaps,
I have finally brought myself broadband. And very nice it is too ... but I have to ask the standard questions about wireless networking ...
Actually, I won't, as they have all been answered on PH several times already! However, [i][b]why[/i][/b] does everyone recommend an all-in-one router and BB modem? I have a BT Voyager 205 router (free with the BB connection), which has a USB and a network output. I want to connect a desktop and a laptop to the system; why can I not simply connect the network output from this to some kind of network thing which will allow me to connect to the network port on the desktop and connect wirelessly to the laptop? (When I say "Network Thing", I am assuming a hub or switch or router, although I don't know the difference between all these.)
I currently have the desktop and laptop connected by a crossover cable, to make a peer-to-peer network. Using the Voyager is a pain as it seems to work best when connected to the network input on the desktop, but this then prevents me from connecting the crossover cable and hooking the laptop up.
And - another question. When doing a windows update, I thought that BB would make it much quicker. However, it still seems very slow. 32mb of update has just taken over 45 minutes - on BB. (It didn't seem any quicker than using dial-up, although a 2mb anti-virus system update just took 20 seconds.) What is wrong - is there some setting in the windows update system that I need to change, perhaps?
All help most welcome. But please talk fairly slowly as I am not that hot on IT bits ...
Oli.
I have finally brought myself broadband. And very nice it is too ... but I have to ask the standard questions about wireless networking ...
Actually, I won't, as they have all been answered on PH several times already! However, [i][b]why[/i][/b] does everyone recommend an all-in-one router and BB modem? I have a BT Voyager 205 router (free with the BB connection), which has a USB and a network output. I want to connect a desktop and a laptop to the system; why can I not simply connect the network output from this to some kind of network thing which will allow me to connect to the network port on the desktop and connect wirelessly to the laptop? (When I say "Network Thing", I am assuming a hub or switch or router, although I don't know the difference between all these.)
I currently have the desktop and laptop connected by a crossover cable, to make a peer-to-peer network. Using the Voyager is a pain as it seems to work best when connected to the network input on the desktop, but this then prevents me from connecting the crossover cable and hooking the laptop up.
And - another question. When doing a windows update, I thought that BB would make it much quicker. However, it still seems very slow. 32mb of update has just taken over 45 minutes - on BB. (It didn't seem any quicker than using dial-up, although a 2mb anti-virus system update just took 20 seconds.) What is wrong - is there some setting in the windows update system that I need to change, perhaps?
All help most welcome. But please talk fairly slowly as I am not that hot on IT bits ...
Oli.
zcacogp said:
Chaps,
I have finally brought myself broadband. And very nice it is too ... but I have to ask the standard questions about wireless networking ...
Actually, I won't, as they have all been answered on PH several times already! However, why does everyone recommend an all-in-one router and BB modem? I have a BT Voyager 205 router (free with the BB connection), which has a USB and a network output. I want to connect a desktop and a laptop to the system; why can I not simply connect the network output from this to some kind of network thing which will allow me to connect to the network port on the desktop and connect wirelessly to the laptop? (When I say "Network Thing", I am assuming a hub or switch or router, although I don't know the difference between all these.)
I currently have the desktop and laptop connected by a crossover cable, to make a peer-to-peer network. Using the Voyager is a pain as it seems to work best when connected to the network input on the desktop, but this then prevents me from connecting the crossover cable and hooking the laptop up.
And - another question. When doing a windows update, I thought that BB would make it much quicker. However, it still seems very slow. 32mb of update has just taken over 45 minutes - on BB. (It didn't seem any quicker than using dial-up, although a 2mb anti-virus system update just took 20 seconds.) What is wrong - is there some setting in the windows update system that I need to change, perhaps?
All help most welcome. But please talk fairly slowly as I am not that hot on IT bits ...
Oli.
Most people recommend a wireless router because it is much better to have one device do all of the jobs than several. It is also far easier (usually!) to configure a router to connect to the net and then provide all of the other machines a connection than trying to configure several bits of kit on a network.
I don't believe the BT Voyager has a hardware firewall (someone correct me if I'm wrong!) which is not a good idea!.
A good wireless router with a hardware firewall is without a doubt the best solution.
I don't bother with wireless but I use a Linksys AG241 which is really good and has never failed me.
Windows update may just have provided you with a slow network connection for some reason (probably someone DDOS'ing them!). I would try and do another update when the next is available and see if the problem still occurs as I can't think of any reason why the connection should be slow.
Lee,
Thanks for the reply.
OK, I understand that one device is simpler than several. That makes sense. But my understanding is not up the spout in that using the voyager thingie to connect a network hub and then sharing the connection between several PC's is not impossible?
According to the blurb, it does have a built-in firewall. Whether it is any good or not I don't know. I have set the security to "High" and "Stealthed it" (help from friend) to help out with security.
I have just discovered that with the desktop on the network output from the modem, and the laptop on the USB output, it does allow the two machines to talk to each other, which is good - I thought that I would lose this functionality. In essence, all I want to do now is replace the (USB) cable between the lappie and the router with a wireless connection!
Everyone on here recommends Linksys products ... thanks for the advice!
Windows speed ... it seemed slow when updating the laptop as well. Heigh ho - I'll try again tomorrow.
Thanks for your help.
Oli.
>> Edited by zcacogp on Wednesday 6th July 12:57
Thanks for the reply.
OK, I understand that one device is simpler than several. That makes sense. But my understanding is not up the spout in that using the voyager thingie to connect a network hub and then sharing the connection between several PC's is not impossible?
According to the blurb, it does have a built-in firewall. Whether it is any good or not I don't know. I have set the security to "High" and "Stealthed it" (help from friend) to help out with security.
I have just discovered that with the desktop on the network output from the modem, and the laptop on the USB output, it does allow the two machines to talk to each other, which is good - I thought that I would lose this functionality. In essence, all I want to do now is replace the (USB) cable between the lappie and the router with a wireless connection!
Everyone on here recommends Linksys products ... thanks for the advice!
Windows speed ... it seemed slow when updating the laptop as well. Heigh ho - I'll try again tomorrow.
Thanks for your help.
Oli.
>> Edited by zcacogp on Wednesday 6th July 12:57
Lee,
Hmm. I see what you mean.
(Actually, the links you posted were helpful, as I have looked at the "Wireless Access points" previously and thought that they were modems as well. So, thanks for that as well!)
Can I clarify with possibly some numpty questions ...
The device you posted says "Connect your computers to the Gateway via the built-in 4-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch to jump start your home network." This presumably means that there are 4 ports to plug network wires into, so I could run the desktop computer from one of these?
It also says "The built-in Wireless-G (802.11g) Access Point allows up to 32 wireless devices to connect to your network at a blazing 54Mbps, without running cables through the house. It's also compatible with Wireless-B (802.11b) devices, at 11Mbps."
This presumably refers to the two standards of wireless network there are out there - B and G, with G being superior (faster). Which will my laptop connect on though - B or G? (It's an IBM thinkpad with a centrino chip.)
Also, how hard is it to configure a bit of kit like this? I am kind-of-happy with network setup (and leared alot by playing with the peer-to-peer affair), but is something like this much trickier?
Thanks again for your help.
Oli.
Hmm. I see what you mean.
(Actually, the links you posted were helpful, as I have looked at the "Wireless Access points" previously and thought that they were modems as well. So, thanks for that as well!)
Can I clarify with possibly some numpty questions ...
The device you posted says "Connect your computers to the Gateway via the built-in 4-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch to jump start your home network." This presumably means that there are 4 ports to plug network wires into, so I could run the desktop computer from one of these?
It also says "The built-in Wireless-G (802.11g) Access Point allows up to 32 wireless devices to connect to your network at a blazing 54Mbps, without running cables through the house. It's also compatible with Wireless-B (802.11b) devices, at 11Mbps."
This presumably refers to the two standards of wireless network there are out there - B and G, with G being superior (faster). Which will my laptop connect on though - B or G? (It's an IBM thinkpad with a centrino chip.)
Also, how hard is it to configure a bit of kit like this? I am kind-of-happy with network setup (and leared alot by playing with the peer-to-peer affair), but is something like this much trickier?
Thanks again for your help.
Oli.
Most people go down the single thing route because:
Windows doesnt do routing very well
Most of them have simple firewalls already on
You dont have to leave the desktop on for the laptop to access the internet
USB connections are a pain in the ass, and CPU hungry
Its only £60 odd quid for goodness sake
As ever, its up to you at the end of the day....
Windows doesnt do routing very well
Most of them have simple firewalls already on
You dont have to leave the desktop on for the laptop to access the internet
USB connections are a pain in the ass, and CPU hungry
Its only £60 odd quid for goodness sake
As ever, its up to you at the end of the day....
[quote=zcacogp]Lee,
Hmm. I see what you mean.
(Actually, the links you posted were helpful, as I have looked at the "Wireless Access points" previously and thought that they were modems as well. So, thanks for that as well!)
Can I clarify with possibly some numpty questions ...
The device you posted says "Connect your computers to the Gateway via the built-in 4-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch to jump start your home network." This presumably means that there are 4 ports to plug network wires into, so I could run the desktop computer from one of these?
Yes, thats correct the router gets plugged into you phone socket, the computer into one of the four ports and the laptop picks up the wireless connection
It also says "The built-in Wireless-G (802.11g) Access Point allows up to 32 wireless devices to connect to your network at a blazing 54Mbps, without running cables through the house. It's also compatible with Wireless-B (802.11b) devices, at 11Mbps."
This presumably refers to the two standards of wireless network there are out there - B and G, with G being superior (faster). Which will my laptop connect on though - B or G? (It's an IBM thinkpad with a centrino chip.)
The B and G are just different standards which relate to the speed of the connection. G is 54mb and B 11mb. Your laptop should support may support G but if not it will support B, either way it will be able to communicate with the router.
Also, how hard is it to configure a bit of kit like this? I am kind-of-happy with network setup (and leared alot by playing with the peer-to-peer affair), but is something like this much trickier?
The things that you will need to configure is the router as it will need the BT settings (they are built into the voyager modem), this is a 2min job with the correct settings. You will need to configure the laptop/router for wireless, you should encrypt the wireless traffic as well to stop people from using your Wireless access point for free broadband and also stop them potentially accessing either machine
some information on the wireless standard as well.
>> Edited by __Lee__ on Wednesday 6th July 14:23
Hmm. I see what you mean.
(Actually, the links you posted were helpful, as I have looked at the "Wireless Access points" previously and thought that they were modems as well. So, thanks for that as well!)
Can I clarify with possibly some numpty questions ...
The device you posted says "Connect your computers to the Gateway via the built-in 4-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch to jump start your home network." This presumably means that there are 4 ports to plug network wires into, so I could run the desktop computer from one of these?
Yes, thats correct the router gets plugged into you phone socket, the computer into one of the four ports and the laptop picks up the wireless connection
It also says "The built-in Wireless-G (802.11g) Access Point allows up to 32 wireless devices to connect to your network at a blazing 54Mbps, without running cables through the house. It's also compatible with Wireless-B (802.11b) devices, at 11Mbps."
This presumably refers to the two standards of wireless network there are out there - B and G, with G being superior (faster). Which will my laptop connect on though - B or G? (It's an IBM thinkpad with a centrino chip.)
The B and G are just different standards which relate to the speed of the connection. G is 54mb and B 11mb. Your laptop should support may support G but if not it will support B, either way it will be able to communicate with the router.
Also, how hard is it to configure a bit of kit like this? I am kind-of-happy with network setup (and leared alot by playing with the peer-to-peer affair), but is something like this much trickier?
The things that you will need to configure is the router as it will need the BT settings (they are built into the voyager modem), this is a 2min job with the correct settings. You will need to configure the laptop/router for wireless, you should encrypt the wireless traffic as well to stop people from using your Wireless access point for free broadband and also stop them potentially accessing either machine
some information on the wireless standard as well.
>> Edited by __Lee__ on Wednesday 6th July 14:23
Lee,
Fantastically helpful, thanks.
Re Setup, I think I may invite a more technically-minded friend 'round for a beer or two, and see what can be achieved with some better know-how.
Thanks for the link to the other webpage. By the sound of it, my centrino probably will only support the slower standard.
That must be each, surely? Not $25 for 10,000 of the things ....
Oli.
Fantastically helpful, thanks.
Re Setup, I think I may invite a more technically-minded friend 'round for a beer or two, and see what can be achieved with some better know-how.
Thanks for the link to the other webpage. By the sound of it, my centrino probably will only support the slower standard.
article said:
In 10,000-unit quantities, the Intel Pro/Wireless 2200BG chip costs $25.
That must be each, surely? Not $25 for 10,000 of the things .... Oli.
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff