I'm writing this guide today because, as of late, I've seen a lot of shoddy, sometimes just outright incorrect information in Wireless Networking guides here on eBay. I'll try to keep my guide digestible enough to the layman without sounding too technically obtuse. Let's begin.

The Basics of Wireless Networking:

If you're a newcomer to the world of networking, there isn't much to fear. Simple networks for home or small office use are relatively simple to implement and easy to maintain, depending on the complexity of the hardware you purchase, as well as your technical knowledge.

Networking is merely a way to share one centralized internet connection with multiple computers and/or devices.

For example, consider the following situation: you have just purchased a FiOS (fiber optic internet) plan from Verizon. With your new high bandwidth, you feel it would make sense to share the resources with your family. If you've chosen no basic networking options when the service was installed, you most likely only have a wired modem, and no other ports or routers through which to connect other computers. If you're looking for mobility around your home, the answer is wireless networking.

Wireless Networking:

So you've decided you wish to access your internet connection via your laptop, UMPC, PDA, XBOX, etc. throughout your home, without the clutter of ethernet cables and switches. You're in luck. Wireless networking is extremely popular and is now a mainstream phenomenon. All you need to start sharing your internet connection is a wireless router.

When selecting a wireless router, consider the following things:

• Protocol. Wireless internet as we know it is based around the IEEE 802.11x protocol (where x is merely a variable substituted for the different subsets of the 802.11 standard). That is, 802.11a was the first generation of wireless networking, finalized in October 1999 and offered speeds up to 54Mbit/s, but the typical bandwidth was closer to 23Mbit/s. 802.11a operated on the 5GHz band, as opposed to the 2.4GHz band which most current wireless devices operate on. It is said that the 5GHz band is preferable because it is 'cleaner' than the 2.4GHz band, which is shared with many other devices such as baby monitors, cordless phones, Bluetooth devices, microwaves and so forth; all of these cause interference with your wireless routers, adapters, and dongles. In the same year, 802.11b was released nearly simultaneously with 802.11a. It had a max throughput of 11Mbit/s, but boasted slightly better range than the 802.11a standard. 802.11b operates on the 2.4GHz band. In June 2003, 802.11g was ratified and is now the standard in wireless networking. It has a maximum throughput of 54Mbit/s and is suitable for most applications, such as streaming music, medium quality video, and web browsing. 802.11g is seen in most current wireless devices, and operates on the 2.4GHz band, meaning placing 802.11g devices near the aforementioned sources of interference will degrade your signal and speed. 802.11g is the recommended standard to look for when buying a router for home use. The new standard, which has yet to be finalized, is known as 802.11n, or Draft N. 802.11n can offer maximum throughput at a whopping 270Mbit/s, and a more typical 74Mbit/s, which thoroughly beats all current wireless standards' speeds. Remember, any 802.11n routers you see are based on UNFINALIZED or draft specifications. That is to say, 802.11n is not projected to be finalized until mid-2008, when it will be more advisable to purchase these routers. I say this because you may end up facing compatibility issues with draft N based routers in the future, when 802.11n is finalized. You may have to flash your router's firmware to the new spec, and depending on how wide-sweeping the changes are in the final form of 802.11n, you may need a new router altogether to have it operate correctly with true 802.11n devices.
  

•  Brand. Buy your wireless products from a reputable company, such as Netgear, D-Link, Linksys, Buffalo, Belkin or Cisco. This is NOT to say that cheaper, lesser known brands don't offer good performance, but you take your chances when you buy from the likes of Dynex, Rosewill, etc. Caveat emptor. Some examples of well-known and solidly performing wireless routers (802.11g) are:

• Linksys WRT54GL

• Netgear WPN824 (offers speeds up to 108Mbp/s, but only when using compatible Netgear RangeMax 108Mbp/s wireless cards and adapters. Remember, the official 802.11g spec is 54MBp/s and the higher figures you'll see on 802.11g are only chipset tweaks, done by the companies themselves, and you can only achieve these speeds using all like-branded products; no mixing and matching!)
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• D-Link DGL-4300 (this is officially dubbed by D-Link as a gaming router, boasting speeds up to 108MBp/s. I only recommend this because D-Link's plethora of 802.11g 54MBp/s routers leave something to be desired as of late. Remember, you can only achieve the 108MBp/s using a 108MBp/s compliant D-Link wireless adapter! But this is a great router, nonetheless.)

• Buffalo WHR-G54S (this is the main wireless router I own, and I can attest to its high quality. It offer speeds up to 125MBp/s, but only when used with 125MBp/s compliant Buffalo wireless adapters. It's a great 802.11g router, has good range, a fairly well-equipped user interface, robust security options and so forth. It also lends itself to having its firmware flashed to a more fully featured firmware called DD-WRT, but that's beyond the scope of this guide.)

Now that you have a few routers to consider, try shopping around and reading magazine, website, and user reviews of the routers you're interested in, and that fits your needs. Do take user reviews with a grain of salt, as some people would rather blame the hardware than blame their own ineptitude. Don't buy the first router you see based on someone's glowing review that it's a superb piece of technology; they may just be delusional due to advertising. Research thoroughly. I can't stress doing your homework enough, so even if the router does die, you don't have to blame yourself; only poor quality control. Let's talk about some of the problems that may arise with wireless networks, and solutions:

Wireless Flops:

If there is one constant with wireless networks, it's that you will invariably have your signal dropped, packets corrupted, low signal strength, or your new router may not show up at all in Windows XP's built in wireless network manager. Let's discuss these possible pitfalls in detail, as well as solutions:

• Your router isn't letting you connect to the internet. A very common ailment; the causes are myriad, and may be something as simple as the DHCP server needs refreshing. Here are a few things you can try if you can't access the internet with your new router. 1). Log in to your router, if possible. It is usually located at http://192.168.1.1, http://192.168.11.1, or http://192.168.0.1. It will vary based on brand, so read the manual, or find the sticker on your router; it will have the default web address printed, as well as your default user name and password to log in. After logging in, navigate to a page containing options for "DHCP Release" and "DHCP Renew". Click DHCP Release. Your local IP, WAN IP(s) and gateway will all be reset to 0.0.0.0. Now, click DHCP Renew, which should renew your IPs, and allocate fresh IP addresses to your wireless devices. Hopefully, you're back in service. If you can't access the router, try it through Windows' Command Prompt. Click Start > Accessories > Command Prompt. Type "ipconfig" (as always, without the quotes). You will see your local IP address, gateway, subnet mask, and so forth. Now, type /ipconfig release. Hit Enter. Hopefully your IPs should all read 0.0.0.0. Now type /ipconfig renew, and Windows will gather new IP information from your router's built in DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server, letting you access the internet again. Alternately, you can navigate to My Computer > My Network Places > View Network Connections. Right click your local ethernet connection and then click 'Repair'. This should achieve the same result as the Command Prompt method, but I find the Command Prompt method works more often. Failing this, you may do a hard reset of your router. Simply power off the router and your modem, wait at least 30 seconds, then power them on again (this is called 'power cycling'), and your internet should be functioning once more.
  
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• Your range and/or speeds are poor, even though you're only a few rooms away. Another common problem. There are many, many variables involved in poor range and speed. First of all, make sure your router is located on a fairly high surface, away from clutter and other, competing devices using the 2.4GHz band (microwaves, cordless phones, Bluetooth devices, etc.) Also make sure that the router's antenna(e) are screwed into the base securely. If this doesn't help, and it may not, consider other factors. If your house's walls are composed mainly of drywall with foil-wrapped insulation, this is knocking your signal way down. Metals and other dense substances disperse and absorb, respectively, wireless signals, thus giving you poor link quality and speeds. In this case, you may consider a wireless repeater, wireless access point, or just a stronger antenna. Remember, when buying a new antenna, you're looking for a good dBi/price ratio. The higher the dBi, the more powerful the antenna is, but they can get expensive at the higher end (Yagi antennas, large directional antennas, etc. do not come necessarily cheap, but do offer much superior performance from basic, low dBi omnidirectional antennas). If you can, shoot for at least a 7 dBi antenna, preferably 10 dBi, or 15 dBi, if funds allow. As for repeaters, you can purchase one to mount in a central location in your home, which acts as an amplifier for your router; that is, it picks up your router's signal, amplifies it and repeats it in all directions, giving you a better signal. Wireless access points are also popular in large homes or homes with obtrusive building materials which diffuse wireless signals. Netgear's RangeMax wireless access points are a favorite of mine, and offer generally excellent performance.
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• Your network seems congested, although it's only being used by you and/or your family at any given point...or so you think. Always, always, always encrypt your wireless networks. Always. I recommend using at least WPA encryption, preferably something stronger such as AES/TKIP/WPA2. Don't bother with basic WEP encryption, as it is quite weak and easy for outsiders to hack, thus allowing them access to your network, and possibly sensitive data that is transmitted across it. If you fear someone is using your network without authorization, or they have taken control of your network by logging into your router and changing the log in settings, do a hard reset on your router to clear saved passwords, user names and preferences. Then quickly log in to your router and make a dynamic user name and hard-to-crack password (meaning, a password with varying upper and lowecase letters and numbers. Never use common words or phrases, for best results). Another thing to consider is which channel your wireless network is on. Default channels are 1, 6 and 11. Many other devices in the area may be using these very channels, causing some congestion. Try changing your wireless network's channel in your router webpage to 2, 5, 9, 14 or another less-used channel. This may help.
• Your computer automatically tries to connect to a network unfamiliar to you. Another common problem with wireless networks is the order in which Windows connects you to them. Say, for instance, you have several saved wireless network profiles under Windows Zero Configuration Utility (Windows in-house wireless manager); one for work, one for home, one for a friend's house, and so on. Windows may very well attempt to connect to the wrong network, and this is annoying. To fix this, click your wireless icon on your taskbar and click 'View Wireless Networks'. In this window, on the sidebar, under Advanced Settings, click 'Change the order of my preferred networks'. Now you will see your saved profiles, and the order in which Windows tries to connect to them. Delete any unnecessary or unused wireless profiles, and then move your home or office network (whichever you use most) to the top of the list. Windows will now automatically connect to that network at the top of your list, and if that network is unavailable, it will move down the list to the next available network. Note in your 'View Wireless Connections' window, you should see the words 'Automatic' or 'Manual' beside your visible networks. Automatic means Windows will connect to this network by default.
  

This should be all you need to know to get going with your very first wireless network, and I hope my guide has served you well.