Gaming Without Wires
We've taken our PS2s into the wireless age, and it's easier than you think. Get the scoop on all the equipment, get to know the standards, and walk away with the kind of knowledge that will make your local CompUSA salesman shudder at your passing.
Published: May 30, 2004
Now that you have the poop on your broadband options, it's time to settle into the necessary equipment. Regardless of whether or not you're going to go wireless (and if you aren't, why are you reading this?), you'll need a DSL or cable modem. While you can often rent or buy one from your local broadband ISP, it's not a bad idea to invest in your own to take with you should you move.
We had impressively easy results with D-Link's DCM-201, which offers the traditional Ethernet connection if you have a network card, or uses a now-ubiquitous USB port. It should be noted that the DSL option from the boys and girls in Irvine , the DSL-302G also offers both connection options. Both modems require little to no manual configuration (we didn't have to do anything), but the included quick install guides make tweaking a snap.
The key to going wireless and adding multiple computers, consoles, or anything else that'll share your broadband connection is getting a router, more specifically a wireless one. Of course, there's a little more to it than just snagging any router.
:Ya Gotta Have Standards:
There is the little matter of standards, more specifically the three major ones. 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g, Created at roughly the same time, 802.11a and 802.11b products deliver a rather different experience depending on what you're looking for. For the purposes of a home networking setup, both will probably work, but it's important to note the key differences.
802.11b is the cheapest and most common of the two standards, mainly because it operates on the same unregulated 2.4GHz frequency as microwaves and cordless phones. The unregulated frequency means production costs are lower, which are passed on to the end consumer, and the signal's ability to penetrate walls and carry long distances are definite pluses, but it is subject to interference from the aforementioned appliances. It's also comparatively slow, topping out at 11Mbps, which is roughly the speed of slower standard Ethernet. You'll get distance, but not al lot of speed.
802.11a operates on the 5GHz band, and as such is subject to far less interference. The signal doesn't slip through walls nearly as easily, however, which is unfortunate, because 802.11a speed can reach 54Mpbs, about half of the speed of modern corporate Ethernet networks. You'll get speed, but not distance.
802.11g is something of a bridge between the previous two standards, offering the somewhat lower costs and range of 802.11b with the speed of 802.11a. Since it operates on the same 2.4GHz band as 802.11b, 802.11g devices are backwards compatible with b-network equipment. Because a- and b-networks are NOT compatible, g equipment is seen as a nice merger of the two technologies' pros with only minimal increases in cost.
Why the need to edumacate you on wireless standards? Well, for one you can whip off the facts to your friends and blow their freaking minds. Well, y'know, if they dig stuff like that. It also fills us with warm fuzzies to put the knowledge in your hands when it comes time to trot down to the local computer store and hook yourself up. And it helps us, because we can just dish out the lingo from now on and you'll know what the hell we're talking about.
Not down with juggling the pros and cons of an 80211a, b or g network? Do what we did and opt for D-Link's two-fer DI-624 wireless router (we'll hold off on using their ultra-xtreem AirPlus lingo). The company has even worked at boosting the speed of the standard 802.11g network to 108Mbps, essentially making it as fast as modern Ethernet cable speeds.
Combining the connection-splitting duties of a standard Ethernet router (that's the thing that allows you to plug your broadband connection into it and then share the connection with a number of computers or broadband devices like that Xbox or PS2 of yours), and broadcasting the signal to any nearby 802.11b and g devices, the 624 essentially allows you to make hard connections for nearby computers and blankets your house in a silky bubble of wireless connectivity.
We had impressively easy results with D-Link's DCM-201, which offers the traditional Ethernet connection if you have a network card, or uses a now-ubiquitous USB port. It should be noted that the DSL option from the boys and girls in Irvine , the DSL-302G also offers both connection options. Both modems require little to no manual configuration (we didn't have to do anything), but the included quick install guides make tweaking a snap.
The key to going wireless and adding multiple computers, consoles, or anything else that'll share your broadband connection is getting a router, more specifically a wireless one. Of course, there's a little more to it than just snagging any router.
:Ya Gotta Have Standards:
There is the little matter of standards, more specifically the three major ones. 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g, Created at roughly the same time, 802.11a and 802.11b products deliver a rather different experience depending on what you're looking for. For the purposes of a home networking setup, both will probably work, but it's important to note the key differences.
802.11b is the cheapest and most common of the two standards, mainly because it operates on the same unregulated 2.4GHz frequency as microwaves and cordless phones. The unregulated frequency means production costs are lower, which are passed on to the end consumer, and the signal's ability to penetrate walls and carry long distances are definite pluses, but it is subject to interference from the aforementioned appliances. It's also comparatively slow, topping out at 11Mbps, which is roughly the speed of slower standard Ethernet. You'll get distance, but not al lot of speed.
802.11a operates on the 5GHz band, and as such is subject to far less interference. The signal doesn't slip through walls nearly as easily, however, which is unfortunate, because 802.11a speed can reach 54Mpbs, about half of the speed of modern corporate Ethernet networks. You'll get speed, but not distance.
802.11g is something of a bridge between the previous two standards, offering the somewhat lower costs and range of 802.11b with the speed of 802.11a. Since it operates on the same 2.4GHz band as 802.11b, 802.11g devices are backwards compatible with b-network equipment. Because a- and b-networks are NOT compatible, g equipment is seen as a nice merger of the two technologies' pros with only minimal increases in cost.
Why the need to edumacate you on wireless standards? Well, for one you can whip off the facts to your friends and blow their freaking minds. Well, y'know, if they dig stuff like that. It also fills us with warm fuzzies to put the knowledge in your hands when it comes time to trot down to the local computer store and hook yourself up. And it helps us, because we can just dish out the lingo from now on and you'll know what the hell we're talking about.
Not down with juggling the pros and cons of an 80211a, b or g network? Do what we did and opt for D-Link's two-fer DI-624 wireless router (we'll hold off on using their ultra-xtreem AirPlus lingo). The company has even worked at boosting the speed of the standard 802.11g network to 108Mbps, essentially making it as fast as modern Ethernet cable speeds.
Combining the connection-splitting duties of a standard Ethernet router (that's the thing that allows you to plug your broadband connection into it and then share the connection with a number of computers or broadband devices like that Xbox or PS2 of yours), and broadcasting the signal to any nearby 802.11b and g devices, the 624 essentially allows you to make hard connections for nearby computers and blankets your house in a silky bubble of wireless connectivity.