802.11b (WiFi) cards can communicate in two different modes:<\/p>\n
NOTE:<\/b>\u00a0Some cards also provide an\u00a0802.11 Ad-Hoc<\/b>\u00a0mode. This really isn’t just there to confuse you, but to accomodate the fact that there are different implementations of “Ad Hoc” networking supported by different manufacturers:<\/p>\n
802.11 Ad-Hoc<\/b>\u00a0is the newer implemenation and requires cards to be set\u00a0both<\/b>\u00a0to the\u00a0same channel<\/b>\u00a0and have the\u00a0same ESSID<\/b>\u00a0in order to communicate.<\/p>\n
Ad-Hoc<\/b>\u00a0is an older implemenation and requires only that cards be set to the\u00a0same channel<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0ignores the ESSID\u00a0<\/b>setting.<\/p>\n
We recommend that you\u00a0use the “802.11 Ad-Hoc”<\/b>\u00a0setting if your cards provide it, since it’s slightly more secure.<\/p>\n
If you are trying to set up a network of all wireless devices and do not have an “Access Point” to connect the wireless network into an Ethernet network, you will need to set your cards to operate in “AdHoc” mode.<\/p>\n
When you install your client cards, set the wireless Properties as follows:<\/p>\n
1) Channel<\/b>
\nSet your card to any channel.\u00a0 But all computers that need to communicate need to be set to the\u00a0same<\/b>\u00a0channel number.<\/p>\n
2<\/b>) Mode (or Network Type)<\/b>
\nSet to\u00a0802.11 Ad-Hoc\u00a0<\/b>(or\u00a0AdHoc<\/b>\u00a0if that’s your only choice).<\/p>\n
3<\/b>) SSID (or ESSID [Extended Service Set IDentifier])<\/b>
\nYou may choose any code (subject to the rules and limiations of your driver software), but use the same code for all cards that need to communicate.
\nNOTE:<\/b>\u00a0This is not the same as the\u00a0BSSID<\/b>\u00a0(Basic Service Set IDentifier), which is usually based on the MAC address of the card.<\/p>\n
4) Encryption (or WEP)<\/b> If you’ve set all the above wireless Properties correctly and can’t get a connection, check your\u00a0TCP\/IP properties<\/b>.\u00a0 If you have a DHCP server available on one of the wireless LAN clients, you can use it.\u00a0 Just set the wireless card’s TCP\/IP properties to obtain IP info from a DHCP server (or obtain info automatically).\u00a0 Be sure that there is no gateway info entered and that DNS is disabled.\u00a0 Sometimes doing a\u00a0manual Release All \/ Renew<\/b>\u00a0using either\u00a0winipcfg<\/b>\u00a0or\u00a0ipconfig<\/b>\u00a0will get things working, even after a reboot.<\/p>\n If you don’t have a DHCP server available, you’ll need to set your TCP\/IP properties manually.\u00a0 If this is a brand-new network, the\u00a0Client setup instructions on this page<\/a><\/b>\u00a0should work.\u00a0 The most important thing is that you have the IP address of each card set to a unique number\u00a0in the same “Class C” subnet<\/b>.<\/p>\n Example:<\/b>\u00a0If you choose to use the\u00a0\u00a0192.168.0.X subnet<\/b>, make sure your client cards are each set to a different IP address such as\u00a0192.168.0.2,\u00a0<\/b>192.168.0.3, etc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Use a subnet mask of\u00a0255.255.255.0<\/b><\/p>\n
\nSet to disable.\u00a0 You can set this up after you get your connection working.\u00a0 See\u00a0this page<\/a><\/b>\u00a0for help.<\/p>\n