I'm not an expert on ad-hoc mode, but I think there is a reason why it's not very common.
I'd be concerned about speed, stability, DHCP and IP address sorting, load on the central machine and security (namely, no MAC address filtering, no SPI firewall). Wireless routers have gotten fairly cheap. They allow control over your network in terms of DHCP and IP addresses. Security is increased through MAC address filtering and an SPI firewall. In addition, the wireless coverage and speed is greatly enhanced over a PCI card. Also your PC in the ad-hoc network has a lot to do. If it's a Windows device, it will use ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) in addition to its wireless network card utility. I find that the Windows networking components and my wireless network card utility program do not work well together, even though it's an Intel wireless networking application. I cannot imagine how bad ICS would bork things up. See http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/bowman_02april08.mspx An access point is a device which allows wired network devices to access a wireless network. It's a wireless radio module connected to an Ethernet switch. Perhaps my inexperience with ad-hoc mode is showing, but there must be a reason why hardly anyone does this. However, trying it out costs you nothing, and if it works for you, great! But a router is probably the best way to go in the long run. I haven't heard of anyone using ad-hoc with an SB3. That's not to say it won't work, just that it's not common. Let us know how/if it turns out. dangerous_dom wrote: > Right, i have an SB3 on order, should be with me tuesday. I have bought > and installed a PCI WiFi card ready for it. I plan to run them 'ad-hok' > for now as the SB3 will be my first and only wireless device. However, > i plan to get a PDA and PSP with wireless in the coming few weeks. What > will i need so i can add these and more devices to my wireless network? > > I dont need a router (i dont think so anyway), so what would be my > cheapest option? Is this what acccess points are for? > > I have been using PC's for years, it just up until now i have no > experience with wireless and have ignored it up to now! > > Many thanks :) > > -- ___________________________________ Mark Lanctot ___________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Find your next car at http://autos.yahoo.ca _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
