SMC Wireless 802.11g

[Greenstead]

I have just selected my wireless 802.11g kit and ordered it. Over the next week I will receive it and start to try it out and post some results as time goes by. Hopefully it will fulfill my desire to eventually stream DVD quality video wireless throughout the house (up to~ 10Mbps throput over 3000 sq ft). (Impossible with 802.11b). Initially I will only use as an Access Point since I have a broadband router. I am a bit early dipping my toe in the G pool. No doubt some lessons will be learnt - hopefully not too painful.

My selection criteria:
NAT
802.11G
802.11B compatible
SPI
VPN passthro
MAC authentication
4 Wired LAN ports
UPnP
DMZ
Antenna detachable
Port forwarding
Disable SSID broadcast
WEP
WPA
Event logging
E-mail and Tel support
Warranty
Price

I looked at specs on Netgear, Linksys, SMC, USR, Airport, Dlink. Prices were similar.

Equipment chosen:
SMC wireless router/switch SMC2804WBR
SMC wireless PC card(s) SMC2835W (I use laptops).

I purchased here (UK):
http://www.broadbandstore.co.uk/acat...al_Offers.html


I have a high gain aerial spotted if needed, but SMC are boasting about their new 'nitro' upgrade which extends range. We shall see.

I'll be back.

[EricB]

With your expertise, it should be a piece of cake.

I am curious about the actual result.

[Greenstead]

The equipment arrived two days ago and was installed and working in an afternoon using the latest firmware and nitro drivers.

I have not had chance to do serious tests, but suffice for now to say it is excellent. At last I have wireless bandwidth to sit in the garden and watch movies broadcast from the house. 18Mbps throput for file transfer on a 'good' signal.

Installation was harder than expected. There seem some issues in the Access Point with WEP and saving configuration. Range is much less than claimed, but I suspect is mainly due to my house walls, so I will be considering a high gain aerial to get full house coverage at 54Mbps.

[markos]

Maybe you can help me. I can't get internet only networking. I typed up a long post.

[jeffvb9]

Hello- I just read your interesting post. Can you tell me how you are streaming DVD video throughout the house and for what reasons? Just curious. Do you mean you are just watching something on a laptop in another part of the house? Please explain.. Thanks.

[DerekErb]

I go along with Jeff...

I would definitely like some more details on how GreenStead is networking multimedia through the house.

What hardware and software are you using? Are you watching the videos on TV or a computer? Are they playing from a home DVD player or from another computer?

Can you and do you do the same thing with audio? Are you able to pipe MP3 (or any other format) music files through the net?

Thanks... we're all extremely jealous and envious here...

[markos]

What he says above is claimed. It says on some websites that it can. I can stream movies... copying files is pretty fast as well. I installed a game from my desktop to notebook with little slow up.

Its just a claim cause the unit "supposedly" connects at 54mbps. I'm sure once 802.11g actually can reach 54mbps it will be possible.

[EricB]

It does indeed run on 54mbps, if you're close enough to the broadcasting points. If you want to extend the reach, you should go for another antenna or wireless extenders.

My system works with 54mpbs within a reach of 15 meters. If I move further, it drops to 48, 36, 32........ 1 mbps. (at 45 meters)

[jeffvb9]

Still unclear as to what kind of streaming you all are talking about.....

[Greenstead]

Well, this is just part of my plan for multi-media freedom. I am specifying a high spec PC which will work as a top end PVR and feed the network with live and recorded TV. For now I have a PC with films on the hard drive connected to my router/switch. The switch connects to the new 11g acccess point. This allows me the freedom to sit anywhere with a laptop within good strength range of the access point and access the PC hard disc. The films can either be streamed over the network or accessed directly with Media Player just like any other disc.

And it is not just a claim. It works. I have sat outside with a laptop and watched Blackhawk Down without a glitch and surfed broadband at the same time. Audio should be even easier (I'm not a music lover). 18Mbps is more than enough for video playback.

For streaming and a nice front end you can use something liks Snapstream. Or you can just map to the Multi-media drive and open a media file with windows media player.

When I get the new PC it will work like a super TIVO recording cable/satellite, playback to the TV and feed the network - all at the same time (I hope). We will see.

For now the new PC is almost specified and should be built in about a month. I need better wireless coverage. I bought a 5dB aeriel but it seems to make little difference so I may need a stronger approach. Maybe an 18dB directional aeriel in the roof firing down over the whole house - this is new ground for me.

Any questions, feel free.

[markos]

The biggest thing I have done so far with the card was install Office and a game from my PC to my notebook with really no problems. Not to shabby for wireless.

[Greenstead]

I have now downloaded the M$ WPA encryption patch. And I am using the SMC AP and cards with WPA enabled. The SMC card utility does not seem to have an option for WPA so I had to disable it and use XP's wireless zero configuration. Seems to work OK.

The new multimedia PC is now on order.

[Greenstead]

Some issues with the SMC kit appearing.

The backup of firmware in the router appears only possible to a PC connected directly to the router, but not to a PC elsewhere on the LAN. Though SMC tech support say I should be able to do this I cannot. Not a big problem, but confusing.

The WPA function, whilst available within the router, is not yet available with the SMC PC card utility software. The latest driver and utility are downloaded from the SMC site. So to run WPA the SMC utility has to be disabled and the card is run with XP zero wireless configuration, which seems quite iffy to get working on WPA but does eventually. Without the utility the 'nitro' function would seem inaccessible. SMC tech support say a firmware upgrade for WPA on the card is being developed for release.

Guess I'll switch back to WEP so I can use the SMC utility.

[markos]

Before I forget... what is zero wireless configurartion.

I was able to enable the firewall in the router and everything works still.

Thanks for your help in the post I started.

Markos

[Greenstead]

The name is a bit misleading:

[Taken from windows help and support]
To set up automatic (zero) wireless network configuration
Open Network Connections.
Right-click Wireless Network Connection, and then click Properties.
On the Wireless Networks tab, do one of the following:
To enable automatic wireless network configuration, select the Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings check box. This check box is selected by default. For information about what happens when you enable automatic wireless network configuration, see Notes.
To disable automatic wireless network configuration, clear the Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings check box.
To connect to an existing wireless network, do one of the following:
Access point (infrastructure)

To connect to an existing access point (infrastructure) network, under Available networks, click the network name, and then click Configure.
In Wireless Network Properties, specify the wireless network key (Wired Equivalent Privacy) settings, or, if the network key is automatically provided for you (for example, the key is stored on the wireless network adapter given to you by your administrator), select the The key is provided for me automatically check box. If you are unsure about whether a network key is needed or which settings you need to enter, contact your network administrator or the wireless network adapter manufacturer.

Important

If a network does not broadcast its network name, it will not appear under Available networks. To connect to an access point (infrastructure) network that you know is available but that does not appear under Available networks, under Preferred networks, click Add. In Wireless Network Properties, specify the network name (Service Set Identifier) and, if needed, the wireless network key settings.

Computer-to-computer (ad hoc)

To connect to an existing computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network, under Available networks, click the network name, and then click Configure.
In Wireless Network Properties, specify the wireless network key (Wired Equivalent Privacy) settings, or, if the network key is automatically provided for you (for example, the key is stored on the wireless network adapter given to you by your administrator), select the The key is provided for me automatically check box. If you are unsure about whether a network key is needed or which settings you need to enter, contact your network administrator or the wireless network adapter manufacturer.

If you want to connect to a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network and both computer-to-computer and access point (infrastructure) networks are within range of your computer, click Advanced, and then click Computer-to-computer (ad hoc) networks only.


To configure a new wireless network connection, click Add, and then do the following:
In Wireless Network Properties, specify the network name (Service Set Identifier) and, if needed, the wireless network key settings.
If the network connection that you are configuring is to a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network, select the This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network; wireless access points are not used check box