I currently have a DSL modem/wireless router from the phone company, which supports 802.11b. The USB WLAN device plugged into my Tivo also only supports 802.11b. My laptop has a built-in wireless device that supports 802.11g, plus all of the newer WPA encryption, yadda yadda.
I’m moving to a new place, dumping the phone company, and switching to cable broadband. Comcast will just give me a cable modem and tell me to have at it, so I want to upgrade my network to 802.11g.
Cute, ain’t it? Also support WPA and all that jazz.
My question is, can an 802.11g router support the b and g protocols simultaneously, or does it have to downgrade all the devices to b? If I have a g router but don’t replace the b access device on my Tivo, am I screwing myself?
I should add, however, that if you set your router up with WPA encryption and your Tivo does not support WPA then you will not be able to connect unless you select an encryption method that is common to all devices on your network.
Just to reiterate - I’ll be able to download on my laptop at g speeds while the Tivo clunks along at 10Mbs?
I can pretty much guarantee that Tivo does not support WPA. So I’m SOL about using WPA and having my Tivo work at the same time? Bummer.
I may be able to put the router near the TV, and plug the Tivo into one of the 100BaseT ports. Wired Ethernet adaptors are probably a lot cheaper than 802.11g adaptors anyway.
They’re not actually that much cheaper, but if you do plug your Tivo into one of the wired ports on your wireless router, then you could use WPA with your laptop.
I believe if you mix b and g the g speed will always be degraded to a degree dependent on the hardware and firmware in use. The g throughput can drop to the b speed in the worst case, but usually runs on the order of twice as fast, around 10 Mbps.
Will both B and G be supported simutaneously? Yes. However everything will be operating at the B speeds, 10Mbps. Why? Because B and G operate on two different wireless “protocols” if you will. If you have a G access point and G clients, you’ll be using G at 54Mbps. If a single B client enters the picture, everyone goes to B. The FCC treats these two standards differently as well. In the USA, 802.11b devices are allowed to operate at up to 100mW. 802.11g can only go up to 30mW.
You’re not going to notice a difference in web-surfing at “b” or “g” as even the lowly b runs at 10 mbps, and your broadband connection is probably in the neighborhood of 3 mbps, so it will never have a chance to fill the pipe, so to speak.
FWIW, I had a very similar situation with a media player. It has internal 802.11b, and supports only WEP. I wound up running Cat5 from the switch to it, thereby allowing me to run the wireless at 802.11g with WPA.
Sort of a related question: Is it possible to have both a 802.11b and a 802.11g running on the same network simultaneously? Something like using two wireless routers or access points conected to a PC and modem. If it’s possible, how would you connect everything?
Two base stations? Of course. As long as they are on different channels (of 1, 6, or 11), it will be fine. Set one base station to 802.11g-only operation so the 802.11b client doesn’t join that one and slow it down. You should also make the SSIDs different. Although it has no effect on operation, it will help you determine whether the 802.11g client has connected to the 802.11b network, in which case you will probably want to re-associate with the 802.11g base station.
A note on bandwidth. Wireless base stations are effectively hubs. That means the total bandwidth is shared among all clients. For example, an 802.11b network with 3 clients gives each client a maximum of about 3.7 Mbps, assuming the station is operating at 11 mbps. Speed drop-off occurs at steps of 11, 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps. A lot of that is overhead. Wireless networks have to do more when compared to wired networks, like announcing its presence to clients, controlling client communications, or handling client authentication. Wireless networks also tend to have more latency, which is why browsing on a wireless connection may seem less responsive compared to a wired connection. Don’t forget interference, either. Microwaves and 2.4 GHz cordless phones are common sources of interference, since those devices use the same radio band.
Not true. I have all of my (legal) mp3s stored on my server, but run iTunes on my laptop. I want the connection between those to be fast. I also store all my digital pictures on my server too.
Ah, computer-to-computer tranfers are a different animal entirely and aren’t web surfing. In that case, yes, a “g” link will be a noticeable difference.