Interface Cards & Controllers

For your client computers to connect to your WLAN, each of them should have a wireless adapter or wireless NIC. These adapters are little transceivers (radio transmitter/receivers) that permit your PC to send and obtain radio signals. You can find 3 main types of Wi-Fi adapters obtainable for your WLAN: USB wireless adapters, wireless NICs, and PCMCIA cards.

A USB wireless adapter connects to your pc through its USB port. It really is straightforward to install and enables you to adjust the location of the adapter to enhance signal reception. You install a wireless NIC in a PCI slot inside the computer, just like an Ethernet card; a wireless NIC installed within a personal computer saves desktop space. For a laptop pc, the very best option is really a PCMCIA card adapter that fits in the laptop's PC card slot

Caution: Usually turn off me Power to your computer when installing internal network adapters. You usually won't have to turn off the personal computer to insert PCMCIA cards or USB devices, but you may have to reboot to finish the installation.

Any time you open the case of a computer you should take special care. Always turn off the power and unplug the cord. Don't force adapters into PCI slots, and be cautious of dropping things like screws into the case. You also ought to wear an anti-static wrist strap to avoid damaging components with static electricity.

Wireless adapters have two modes of operation, infrastructure and ad hoc. Installation of adapters is usually really easy. Once you install or connect the adapter towards the client PC, Windows (assuming you're making use of Windows) generally recognizes the new hardware and prompts you to insert a disk with the proper drivers. Even when you are not using Windows, the configuration utility that comes with your adapter will lead you via the setup method and often automatically detects your access point and the channel that it is utilizing. Manufacturers call the capability to automatically detect and select the channel frequency-agility.

Typically the software prompts you to select an SSID from a list of detected SSIDs. Assuming your AP is the only 1 in range, this may be a short list. You'll then enter any other needed info, like encryption keys.

Note: Windows XP has a feature referred to as Wireless Auto Configuration. This is a useful function if your wireless adapter supports it Wireless Auto Configuration automatically configures your card to connect to a detected preferred network. This means which you can have numerous saved configurations (house, work, coffee shop, and so on) and Windows XP automatically configures your card to connect when it detects those networks. It also can stop your pc from accidentally connecting with yet another network (like your neighbor's).

The software also might prompt you to choose a data speed. This is the minimum speed necessary to connect to your WLAN. Usually your card performs this choice automatically, according to the signal strength that it detects. If your signal strength fluctuates you are able to set this speed manually to a signal level that your adapter can reliably detect. There also are great security factors for setting a high minimum connection speed.

Adapter setup should be a fairly painless process. In the event that you simply do run into problems, review your documentation and visit the manufacturer's Net web site for updates and useful troubleshooting suggestions.