Wireless Networking Advice for Small Business

From a reader with a problem connecting to the Internet with his WDS router to picking the best DD-WRT firmware for a Linksys router, our Wi-Fi guru has your small business wireless networking questions covered. Wi-FiPlanet.com reveals all.




When you’re out and about, particularly if traveling in a foreign city, sometimes the two most exciting words you can see are “free Wi-Fi” (second only to “public restroom”). Typically the domain of coffee shops and bookstores, and sometimes city centers and libraries, finding a free wireless connection can be as refreshing as locating water in the desert. Not that I am suggesting that checking e-mail is as important as water. It’s even better!


A new proposed bill in the UK could put an end to free hotspots in the guise of protecting copyright. The logic seems to be that providers of Internet access share responsibility in what activities users engage in. Because users may get involved in copyright-violating actions, best not to provide access at all. Not that this “logic” seems very logical at all. However, it does raise the interesting question of whether owners of open, unsecured wireless connections are responsible for how they are used.


Why Won’t My WDS Router Let Me Connect to the Internet?


Q: My WDS router will not allow me to connect to the Internet. I am actually able to connect to the administration page of the WDS router through my primary router to check all the settings. I notice that when I run IP config when on the WDS, there is no “connecton-specific DNS suffix” and no default gateway established. Any suggestions? — Rob


Read the complete Wi-Fi networking article







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