As I'm sure you know, WLANs have become popular for sharing files and Internet connections. WLANs are easier to set up than conventional wired Ethernets, since there are no cables involved, an important consideration for residential applications and some small-business settings. Also, WLANs offer flexibility. Network users are no longer tied to a desk near an Ethernet outlet. With a WLAN, they can roam around the office or home.
But WLANs have their downsides, too. For one, network speeds on standard WLANs are generally lower than those on commonly available and inexpensive wired Ethernet LANs. While the forthcoming 802.11n wireless standard will enable greatly improved WLAN speeds, the standard is not expected to be approved before 2008. True, "pre-n" wireless gear is currently available, but using these devices to implement a network remains risky. You could end up buying gear that turns out to be a technological dead end, especially if software upgrades to 802.11n for your chosen equipment are not made available.
For another, unless you use expensive Tier-1 wireless networking gear, each device will have only one radio inside of it. This means the same radio that enables computers to access the WLAN also has to retransmit data to and from the other wireless bridge. This further reduces throughput.
Finally, WLANs are inherently less secure than wired Ethernet LANs. That's because wireless network signals are broadcast through the air, where they are relatively easy to detect and grab.
Despite these drawbacks, sometimes a WLAN is still the best--or even the only--way to build a local area network. So let's get started by setting up a WLAN using the Wireless Distribution System (WDS) for the purpose of sharing a cable-modem Internet connection. WDS is a protocol that allows wireless access points to connect directly to one another, extending a WLAN.
INGREDIENTS
Aside from the end-user PCs, to build this setup, you will need the following hardware:
For best performance, all wireless clients should support the 802.11g standard. If even one 802.11b client connects, the entire network will slow to "b" speeds. Also, if you have access to a laptop with a wireless card, using that will be easier than trying to configure all the network elements with multiple desktop PCs.
Here's a diagram of the network we'll be building in this Recipe:
