can two pc,s direct connect wirelessly to each other through wirless adsl routers?

Question

my mate over the road has same setup and broadband supplier as myself and we play the same games, we play eachother over the internet but wondered if we could connect directly...we can both see eachothers ssids with laptops but not sure how to do pc connection...i.e. my pc connected to my wirless adsl router by cable, then wirlessley to my mates adsl router then network cable to his pc...did that make sense

Answer 1

Your info is a bit vague.

If the two of you live nearby and can see each other's ssid, then you really need only one wireless router and both of you can use the same LAN. Of course this may not be OK with the ISP because you are at different locations. I am not going to address the legality of this - you need to check with the ISP for legality.

When you shut off one router, the pc that was connected to it will lose the internet connection from the now shut router. However, it will see the ssid of the other router and it can pick up that signal and use it. Now both of you are on the same LAN and can share files. If you have Windows XP Pro and have remote desk top activated you can share each other's desktop access remotely.

If you are too distant to see each other's ssid, or if the signal is too weak to function, there are other options. One is a vpn between the two locations; you need static IP address (more costly per month in fees to the ISP) and need to change routers to accomodate static IP on the wan side. Ideally the routers should be the type that host the vpn on the router so it is likely you will need a router upgrade. LAN ip must be different on the 2 networks (e.g. 192.168.1.0 / 24 on one and 192.168.2.0 / 24 on the second lan - note the /24 means subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 and the 192.168.1.0 subnet means default gateway = 192.168.1.1 and LAN ips are 192.168.1.2-255). Once vpn link is established you can then activate each other via remote desktop.

With the static wan IP you can open a router port of the distant router and port forward to the IP of the other pc. This allows anyone in however and I do not recommend this but it will work. Check on port forwarding in your router manual.

Many dynamic dns services will also do the port forwarding functionality without a static ip but it allows anyone in so this is a bit risky.

Products like PCAnywhere and similar products also will enable access. This is more secure than is a mere port opening.

All of these take a little time to understand and implement. Usually static IP addresses are required too. Be sure you understand the risk of opening ports as anyone can enter.

Answer 2

Theoretically, up to 255 Wi-Fi clients, but practically much less. Just think that the bandwidth available is divided between the clients therefore at some point it becomes virtually impractical to connect. That is, if you want wireless access to internet. Just for having a LAN, it's still ok to have 255 clients. You can also limit the number of connections from the router settings.

Answer 3

I know in theory it is possible to do a wireless-2-wireless link without any routers with one comp acting as the server but ive never acheived it personally, even though i have tried many times!!

Answer 4

Most of the games will need only to be started, one of you need to established as a host, automatically the games when selected to play on "Lan" will detect each other automatically.

Make sure you are at the nearest position to your neighbor so you can run into the "fire" smoothly... enjoy...