Cross-platform Wireless

Introduction

Apple's Airport wireless system is based on the 802.11b standard. So are many popular PC wireless cards. In this report, we'll look at how to use this wireless networking standard to bridge the two systems.

Windows

We've tested a wide variety of 802.11b-compatible wireless cards and access points from a number of vendors, including Lucent, Toshiba, Linksys, Nexland and D-Link. We've tested PCMCIA cards, plug-in USB modules and internal PCI cards with good results, but our most extensive tests have been performed with the Lucent Orinoco Gold PC Cards we ultimately chose to purchase. We've since tested these cards of on a variety of PCs. These PC Cards use the older 16-bit PCMCIA standard, so they are fully compatible with virtually all PC-compatible portable computers, as well as inexpensive PCMCIA desktop adapters based on PCIC chipsets from from Intel, VIA and others. We tested cards successfully under Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows XP. The latter OS is particularly adept at wireless networking, auto-configuring the card's drivers and Network Bridge configuration to allow seamless Internet access for wireless clients. Its built-in firewall helps protect against some of the documented security issues with 802.11b, as well.

But even if you use a third-party firewall (or have firewall functionality built into your wireless access point), you should definitely enable the WEP security option on your wireless cards and the access point. For information on how to do this, and to see a map of insecure networks in the Toronto area that shows why wireless security should be a priority for you, visit nakedwireless.ca.

Macintosh

Recent Macintosh models include an AirPort antenna built in, ready for the connection to an optional Apple AirPort card (about C$149). This card, which resembles a Lucent Orinoco card (and is in fact built by Lucent) minus the Orinoco card's integrated antenna, installs into supported Mac models to deliver wireless network access via Apple's AirPort base station, or a third-party access point.

Although Apple's Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems provide software support for easy configuration of the AirPort card(s) and base station, the procedure to use a third-party access point from Nexland, Linksys, D-Link, etc., is trivial. These access points, which also include a 10/100baseT-compatible router, can be accessed via any computer with Ethernet connection and Internet support.

For example, to configure a Nexland ISB access point, you simply need to enter its IP address (by default, 192.168.0.1) from any connected computer (PC or Mac) and configure the SSID network name and encryption key. Better wireless products support 128-bit WEP ("wired equivalent privacy") -- beware of closeout cards and discontinued products that support only the older and less secure 40-bit encryption.

Conversely, it is not difficult to add a PC to a wireless network based upon Apple's AirPort Base Station, although Apple, not surprisingly, doesn't directly support configuration by Windows PCs -- it says you need at least one AirPort-enabled Apple computer to set up the base station. Nevertheless, a number of third-party AirPort Base Station configuration systems have been developed. One of the most flexible is the Java-based AirPort Base Station Configurator offered by Jon Sevy of the Geometric and Intelligent Computing Lab at Drexel University's Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. Our AirPort Q & A has links to other options.