Wireless Networking Questions

[jtate82]

Ok, I've looked through this forum regarding wireless networking and I still have some questions. First, is an access point or router absolutely necessary in a wireless network? Can't you just use 2 wireless adapters and set one up as the access point? Also, why would you need a wireless router? Couldn't you just set up WinXP's Internet Connection Sharing or a software router on the PC that has the cable or dsl line coming in? In short, is it possible to set up a wireless network using only 2 wireless adapters and doing the rest in software? I would appreciate any input on this. Thanks.

 

[bigman234]

yup...set the adapters to ad-hoc mode. the benefit of a wireless router is that there is no need for your computer to be on.

 

[wirelessdawg]

Ad-Hoc is the worst way to network though... If you have 11Meg cards, you can expect to only see speeds of 2Meg.....
Wireless router is the most efficient way to do things..
But your questions can be answered by YES. You only asked if it could work this way, but you didn't ask if this would be a good, efficient way..

 

[jtate82]

thanks for your answers... i think I'll probably go this way as the only reason I want to network is to share a cable modem, and I don't think it'll need more than 2 Mbs. BTW, why does doing it ad-hoc make it so much slower?

 

[JackMDS]

Please visit us again and tell us if you got it working.

 

[ericboo]

There is an SMC wireless router in Hot Deals for something like $40 after rebate. These things are so cheap. Ad-hoc will work, but why create extra traffic with ICS? The router will also put you behind a firewall. A small price to pay.