Step-by-Step: Creating a Wireless Network - Part 1 Know Your Range and Evaluate Your Security Needs Aaron Weiss
Step 3: Know Your Range
A strong wireless signal will let you achieve the fastest speeds your wireless network supports. As the signal weakens due to interference or distance, your speed will slow down accordingly.
The typical advertised range for most wireless network gear is 300 feet. In practice you could achieve significantly less range depending where you use the equipment. Dense obstacles such as walls, steel and trees will reduce your range. Interference from certain cordless phones and microwave ovens can also affect wireless network performance.
Significant improvements in wireless range are now available with higher-priced MIMO technology, which is used in model names including XR, RangeMax, and RangeBooster. These devices use multiple antennas (some hidden inside) to achieve greater range but performance can be unreliable if you mix and match hardware from different vendors.
Step 4: Evaluate Your Security Needs
Wireless network security is a hot topic in the media and for good reason – too often people leave their networks vulnerable. Because wireless data is just that – wireless – there can be ample opportunity for outsiders to sneak onto your network. Their actions may be harmless if they simply ride your Internet connection to check their e-mail, or they could attempt to steal passwords and other sensitive data.
Later we'll set up wireless security, but first you need to decide how strong your hardware needs to be. The best forms of security rely on encryption so that if someone does intercept your data, they can't make heads or tails of it. But some encryption is better than others – there are four degrees of encryption security available in wireless hardware today:
WEP: The oldest and least secure data encryption. All wireless gear supports WEP, though, so it's useful when you need at least some kind of encryption to be compatible with older wireless hardware.
WPA: A more secure upgrade to WEP. Designed so that many older devices which included only WEP can be upgraded to support WPA.
WPA2: A significantly more secure upgrade to either WEP or WPA. Cannot upgrade older hardware to WPA2, but many new wireless devices support WPA2.
VPN: Short for “Virtual Private Networking,” this technology is not specifically a form of wireless network security. But you can use VPN on your wireless technology if you want the highest form of security possible. Wireless routers with VPN technology tend to be among the more expensive options.
Typically you'd use WPA (or WEP as a last resort) when your wireless security needs to be compatible with users who may have older wireless hardware. WPA2 support is the best choice when buying all-new wireless hardware, and VPN is more often found in high-security business environments.
