Wireless desktop networking

[maelstromr]

Hi everybody,

So...I want to set up a network around my airport extreme base station, connecting my FW 800 Dual G4 (airport extreme capable), my Pismo, and a desktop PC. All the computers will be relaively close, the Pismo already has an airport card.
I'll be connecting on Comcast high speed cable.

My question is...what's the best way to do this? Extreme card in G4, direct wire to pc, airport for Pismo? PCI wireless for PC? USB wireless? Modem to router router to pc, g4 and base station?

Theorectically I would love going totally wireless, but cost will probably keep one of the desktops wired through the base station and the other wireless. I really don't care if the G4 is wireless as it will be in the same room if not next to th modem, but it's always nice and cooler to have less cords. Just looking for opinions within the guidelines above and performance issues/product and price recomendations.

Thanks in advance!

 

[BaDBoY]

well it really depends on you. are you going to be transfering files back and forth through each computer?

ive never tried connecting a hub to the airport base station, but it could work. anyway, if you want, i recommend you just get and airport card for the G4 desktop, and hook up the peecee to the AEBS. the G4 would be alot easier to configure with the AEBS rather than the PC if you wanted to make the peecee connect wirelessly.

 

[Earendil]

Hi everybody,
My question is...what's the best way to do this? Extreme card in G4, direct wire to pc, airport for Pismo? PCI wireless for PC? USB wireless? Modem to router router to pc, g4 and base station?

Let me tell you, this technology works no matter WHAT!
Proof of concept:
Dial-up Modem connection on iMac
Modem connection shared from iMac to G4 tower and G4 powerbook.
G4 Powerbook shares the connection it receives from the iMac over Airport to my own G4 laptop

That's bouncing a 56K modem connection through 3 different transmit styles, and 3 different computers. My mom still doesn't understand how it works

Throw in a cable modem, and the world is yours!

Tyler
Earendil

 

[krimson]

seems like you've thought it thru pretty well. One thing I wouldn't go completely wireless (in some cases). My gf's router went on the fritz (her roomy just moved out) and her laptop couldn't log into the router to change the configs, and her laptop doesn't have a ethernet port. We had to buy her a PCMIA ethernet adapter, do the changes and return it.

But it does seem that you could save ~$100 on the AEX card if you just ran one short wire.

 

[maelstromr]

Ok, apparently my roommate's brother is sending her a router and some ethernet cables for free that he had lying around. I guess that changes the question to...modem to router to airport, G4 and her PC OR modem to airport to router to G4 and PC?

This is about performance more than anything else, she made the decision about cords for me...not gonna argue with the chick over her comp, since I'm the new 'mate!

I suppose I could get my AE card and go to her PC through the base staton, but i supplied everything else so far!

 

[krimson]

i'd go modem to router to airport. connect the pc and g4 to the router, and lock everyone else from the ABS. But that's me.

 

[tamara6]

Do you really need a base station? I thought an airport card in a mac could turn the mac into something like a base station.

So you could have your mac connected directly to the modem and put an airport card in it. The pismo and the pc would both have airport (or equilvalent) cards, and all 3 could talk to each other wirelessly.

 

[maelstromr]

Do you really need a base station? I thought an airport card in a mac could turn the mac into something like a base station.

So you could have your mac connected directly to the modem and put an airport card in it. The pismo and the pc would both have airport (or equilvalent) cards, and all 3 could talk to each other wirelessly.

Does anyone know if this is true/possible? I've never heard of this. Of course, I HAVE a basestation and NOT an Extreme card, so it's kinda moot...just curious.

 

[Capt Underpants]

I've heard that having one regular airport card (802.11b) on an Airport Extreme network(802.11g) will slow thing down to 802.11b speeds. So, that pismo will slow down your network, AFAIK.

 

[Elbeano]

Technically you can set up your AE equipped mac to create a network, and share it's internet connection. Unfortunately I've never been around another AE equipped mac and an internet connection, AND not been near some wireless router or some sort to test it out.

However, if there were any way you could pull it off, try to trade your basestation for a regular 802.11g router, or even an 802.11b one, because you're really only sacrificing speed on file transfer. It's never going to matter on the internet. If you really want the print server abilities, you can set up whatever printers you want to use on the PC and have it share them with any other computer on the network.

 

[tamara6]

I disagree with this! I have tried for months to share the printer I have connected to my pc, and I can't get it to work. I've installed all sorts of drivers and stuff, and I can actually send stuff from my mac to the pc, but it gets stuck in the printer queue and will not print. (I can print directly from the mac to the printer, if I just connect the two)

I haven't tried printing from the pc to the same printer connected to the mac. My pc is a desktop system and my mac is a powerbook, so that situation would not really work for me.

I hear that the AE basestation has a usb port that you can hook a printer up to. That seems like a lot better solution than counting on printer sharing with a PC.

 

[Elbeano]

There is no doubt it is more convenient, however I'm not about to spend 160 dollars more on what is basically a wireless router when I'm never going to use 802.11g speeds, and I have a decent PC that I should be able to use as a print server. I've gotten it to work at work, but haven't set it up yet at home.