Wireless Broadband

[Stationery-Direct.co.uk]

Hi guys

My parents have finally upgraded from dial-up to broadband, they own a small Guesthouse and wanted to add wireless broadband access for their customers as a free service, it will hardly be used but is a + point when the English Tourist Board visits.

How do they do this, is it as easy as buying a Netgear Router (like I have) and just giving the customer the Security WEP key so they can connect, will laptops with built in wireless capabilities automatically work with a Netgear Router?
There would have to be some kind of security to stop neighbours using their connection.

Anyway, probably completely wrong so can somebody point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Damon

[Aled]

as you said they'll have to encrypt the network and then each guest wil have to be told what the encryption key is and how to use it for the network Your parents could allways offer rental of wirless USB adapters for an extra price

It's pretty simple. I Use a Linksys WRT54G very good this is how to encrypt it.

http://www.linksysinfo.org/portal/fo...ad.php?t=45455

[Stationery-Direct.co.uk]

Thanks for that, I was thinking about the USB adapters but will they work without the Netgear software on the customers machine, how do they do this in Cafe's and similar places in Towns, surely you dont have to install software and configure everything??

[Martin]

Any installed WiFi card will work with the router. (Matching specs of course)

But to install a USB WiFi Adaptor, the drivers will have to be installed on the machine. So if your renting them out stick the drivers on a cdrom or something.

Most modern laptops have WiFi built in.

[Aled]

as martin said.

Most adapters will come with a cd-rom driver. Its just a case of inserting the driver cd and voila their installed on the system and its a case of pluging in the adapter then configureing XP to work on the network.

[Sunee]

I recommend that you use a system that prevents misuse by content filtering, and additional provides audit logs, so that it protects the guest house owners (your parents).

You can buy a cheap second hand PC to use as an access point. And on that you can use a really good (and free) program called ZoneCD. Downloadable from http://www.publicip.net/

The software boots from the CD (referred to as LiveCD) and it does not need a keyboard, mouse, or monitor hooked-up.
It also isolates your wired network, therefore protecting the office PC.

This software is designed for serving hotspots, and when a user wants to connect to it, you can have a login page with the guest house logo and information on. An example screen is here http://www.publicip.net/devl/login.html

My brain is full of stuff like this

[Adam]

I have gone back to an earlier system that allows you to move around the home.

I use an ethernet extension lead!! I got fed up with the wireless cuting out.