That's a good point! An 802.11b wireless access point, or bridge (depending on how you're using it) is just the same as a 10MB network port.
That's not true. Firstly, 802.11b is "rated" at up to 11 Mbps, not 10 Mbps like 10base-T ethernet. However, 802.11b has tons of overhead (as does 11g), so your raw speed is never likely to exceed 6 Mbps. Factor in WEP and you're even slower. The reason you never notice the difference is because you're only using your connection to download web pages or other files on the wider Internet. At best, your Internet connection is around 3 Mbps and will not saturate your 11b link. Second, depending on your range to the base station or the amount of noise on your wireless link, 802.11b will step down from 11 Mbps to 5.5 Mbps. Then to 2 Mbps and 1 Mbps if it has to. There's no in between speeds. Long distance links are glacial (fortunately not many people have long distance links inside their own homes). 10bT is still the way to go for in-home networks where wiring isn't a problem.
11g has similar problems but starts with a higher 54 Mbps bandwidth. It will be faster in most conditions than your 10base-T wired ethernet but far slower than 100base-T ethernet.
When transferring large files on my home network, I find that I saturate the link at just under 500 KBps (that's kilobytes) or ~3.9 Mbps. I'm using 64-bit WEP on a Pismo with AirPort, OS 9.2.2, and a Linksys brand wireless access point. The server is an AppleShare IP 6.3 based G4 and the protocol is HTTP. Not very impressive. The same test using wired 10base-T comes in at 1000 KBps (~7.8 Mbps - about DOUBLE what I get with the wireless). There limitation is likely the server's NIC (merely 10base-T) since the Pismo has a 10/100base-T ethernet port and my LAN is set up with a 16-port 10/100base-T switch.
Peace, Drew --
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