What is difference in wireless and wired networking. Which is used for a laptop?

Question

What exactly does a router do? What are the differences in Wireless notbook cards? Which are the best and which are used for notebook computers? I know nothing about laptops

Answer 1

1. Wireless networking does not use a wire.

2. Laptops can use both wired and wireless.

3. A router routes network packets. A router acts as a junction between two or more networks to transfer data packets among them. A router is different from a switch. A switch connects devices to form a local area network (LAN).

One easy illustration for the different functions of routers and switches is to think of switches as neighborhood streets, and the router as the intersections with the street signs. Each house on the street has an address within a range on the block. In the same way, a switch connects various devices each with their own IP address(es) on a LAN.

However, the switch knows nothing about IP addresses except its own management address. Routers connect networks together the way that on-ramps or major intersections connect streets to both highways and freeways, etc. The street signs at the intersection (routing table) show which way the packets need to flow.

So for example, a router at home connects the Internet service provider's (ISP) network (usually on an Internet address) together with the LAN in the home (typically using a range of private IP addresses, see network address translation (NAT)) and a single broadcast domain. The switch connects devices together to form the LAN. Sometimes the switch and the router are combined together in one single package sold as a multiple port router.

In order to route packets, a router communicates with other routers using routing protocols and using this information creates and maintains a routing table. The routing table stores the best routes to certain network destinations, the "routing metrics" associated with those routes, and the path to the next hop router. See the routing article for a more detailed discussion of how this works.

Routing is most commonly associated with Internet Protocol(IP), although other less-popular routed protocols are in use.

4. Wired networking is "better" because you can get much faster speeds from a wired network.

Wireless networking is "better" becuase wireless networks allow you to eliminate messy cables. Wireless connections offer more mobility, the downside is there can sometimes be interference that might block the radio signals from passing through. One way to avoid this is by putting the source of your wireless connection in a place that the signal will have as little interference as possible. Sometimes nearby networks are using the same frequencies, this can also cause interference within the network and can reduce its performance.

Compatibility issues also arise when dealing with wireless networks. Different components not made by the same company may not work together, or might require extra work to fix compatibility issues. To avoid this, purchase products made by the same company so that there are fewer compatibility issues.

Wireless networks, in terms of internet connections, are typically slower than those that are directly connected through an Ethernet cable. Though the speed is slower, most things will still move at the same speed except for things like video downloads. Though wireless technology continues to develop, it is now easier to get networks up and running cheaper and faster than ever before.

A wireless network is more vulnerable because anyone can try to break into a network broadcasting a signal. Many networks offer WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy - security systems which have been found to be vulnerable to intrusion. Though WEP does block some intruders, the security problems have caused some businesses to stick with wired networks until security can be improved. Another type of security for wireless networks is WPA - Wi-Fi Protected Access. WPA provides more security to wireless networks than a WEP security set up. The use of firewalls will help with security breaches which can help to fix security problems in some wireless networks that are more vulnerable.

Answer 2

Dude,

You must be a newbie. :) That is okay. We all started somewhere.

Here are two good sites to checkout.
http://www.webopedia.com
http://www.wikipedia.com

They both have good information, more in depth than I can give you here.

1. Routers are like the Traffic Cop and Concierge. Think of it like this. You know and own your house. But lets say you want to go out of it. At the door will be a traffic cop letting people in and out. If you are not authorized to go in, you can not go in. If you are not authorized to leave, you can not go out.

The Concierge part is getting you to where you want to go. The Concierge may not know exactly how to get to you a certain point, but he/she can get you to someone who may know someone that knows something. got it?

Notebook cards. That is like asking, "what underware is best". :) Unless you are doing some REALLY super fast things, like gaming, you can probably get by with just about any standard card.

There are two physical types of cards, Cardbus and PCMCIA. Check your computer manufacture for which one, if not both can work in your laptop.

Now for the wireless standards:

802.11a. 11mb multi frequency
802.11b. 11mb single frequency (MOST common)
802.11g. 54 mb single frequency (getting more and more popular)
802.11n (draft) 108 MB. this is the bleeding edge.

For most people the 802.11b or 802.11g will work just fine. For the computer junkies, 802.11n is it.

Wired networks now function at the low end 2 mb and at the very very high end 100 GB. Yes, I am saying 100 GB. Don't bother with that, you probably can not afford it. Commonly in household I see 10mb and 100mb wired.

How this help.

Tom