Network Tools and Tomes New Carlisle OH

Posted by : Ken Henningsen

Belkin's new Pre-N wireless networking lineen compasses a router/4-port switch, a PCI card for desktops, and aPCMCIA card for laptops ($160, $130, $110 respectively).

Dippinginto the alphabet soup for a moment, "Pre-N" signifies that it's beinglaunched in advance of the impending IEEE 802.11n specification, likelyto be ratified in early 2007 as a 108Mbps successor to the familiar802.11b (11Mbps) and 802.11g (54Mbps) wireless specs. Usingmultiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) radio technology-the Pre-N hasthree receivers and two transmitters-multipath, or the tendency ofsignals to bounce around and arrive at different times, is turned from aproblem into an advantage.

By sending and looking for datasimultaneously in two or more streams, MIMO provides greater wirelessrange and throughput than its predecessors-particularly indoors, wherewalls and metal objects both attenuate signals and bounce them around.

The Pre-N is compatible with earlier b and g gear, but full MIMObenefits require Pre-N end-to-end. Because there are several approachesto MIMO (to be resolved in the final spec), you may not get MIMOperformance if you mix Pre-N with other manufacturers' MIMO units-orfinal 802.11n gear, for that matter.

All of the Pre-N units comewith good installation wizards for PCs. The router allegedly includes aMac wizard, but it was missing from the CD, and I had to download itfrom Belkin's support site. Unfortunately, only the router ...

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