First and foremost, one needs to decide where wireless coverage is absolutely needed, be it single room, a whole floor, or the entire house. Depending on coverage needed and the layout of the house, it may become necessary to use two separate routers, or a router and an access point. For those wondering, an access point is like a wireless router, except that it only provides wireless coverage unlike the router which acts as a gateway for internet traffic into your home.

Now, once you have the list of rooms that need coverage take a look at it. Are the rooms adjacent to each other? Rooms that are clustered together, will make optimizing the coverage easier. For rooms to be adjacent they can either be next to each other, or on top of each other. Your wireless router sends out the signal in an omnidirectional pattern. If the rooms you want coverage in are not adjacent to each other that’s ok too, we’ll just need to do a little careful planning.

While it may seem like common sense, the best location for your router is most likely in a central location relative to where you want coverage to extend to. This being said, it can sometimes be difficult to achieve based on where your internet connection comes into the house. A few ways around this for the craftier folks out there, is to try things such as running a cable through a heating vent, up around door frames, or to get your cable company to put in an additional cable run. Though the last choice there might incur a service fee.

Central location or not, it is best to understand what can affect the spread of a wireless connection. The most obvious first answer to that is walls. Walls no matter how thin will cut the signal of your wireless by at least a little bit, the more walls obviously the more resistance to sending your signal. Beyond that, of course the thicker the wall the more of an effect you will notice. What you might not know is that certain things in the wall can have a bigger impact. Concrete, metal, electrical lines, and water all have a fairly noticeable impact. Water especially can be detrimental if you are trying to send the signal through a bathroom or kitchen, or through an area that often has several people in it. Remember a human body contains a high level of water which can absorb the signal and weaken it. Back to the bathroom note, you can have a good signal at one point, and then see it drop as a shower is running, something to keep in mind when placing your router. Also of note, cordless phones, baby monitors, and microwaves can also cause interference.

With all these considerations to keep in mind it may seem like this is still going to be a daunting task. First, remember that these items that can weaken a signal will not stop it all on their own, a signal can pass through a few walls if need be. The best advice is to find something as centrally located as possible, and one that minimizes walls, and water interference. If you are still having problems after placement, and having done your best to minimize interference, you still have a few options. Not all wireless networking products are created equal. Do some research and get devices that aim to boost signals further. Wireless N products, while still in draft mode are becoming very common, and many of them have boosted signal making it easier to send through walls and to multiple floors in a home. The biggest advice for that is to make sure you do research on the different models and see which ones are best for sending strong wireless signals.

The Linksys WMP300N is an internal PCI wireless card for a desktop computer. Designed to provide high speed wireless access to your desktop, this card boasts an external antenna that can be placed anywhere around your computer to help maximize the signal reception to your computer. As part of the current draft Wireless N standard, this card takes advantage of the latest wireless technology, Multiple Input Multiple Output or MIMO. With the MIMO technology, this generation of wireless can achieve speeds more than doubling the current rates found with Wireless G. However, it is also backwards compatible with Wireless G allowing you to receive and maximize on connections from an older router better than with a Wireless G alternative.

The WMP300N offers reliable wireless access that takes full advantage of the internal workings of your computer. Rather than have to fool around with a USB device that often will take up the neighboring port as well, this adaptor becomes a fully integrated component inside your computer. With some internal wireless adaptors this can be a problem as it means the antennas are stuck to the back of the computer. Put it under a desk, sit in front of it and it can really degrade your signal reception. The WMP300N solves this with an external antenna with an extension cord long enough to allow placement of the antenna anywhere around your computer desk. The antenna itself features three separate individual antennas providing maximum reception from your access point.

Being an internal component to your computer as opposed to an external adapter such as a USB wireless device, there is a slightly higher degree of technical skill involved. That being said, Linksys provides fairly detailed instructions for this adapter making it fairly easy to install for even the most basic of computer users. A few words of caution, always make sure that the computer is off and unplugged before adding and removing components. Also, make sure you are standing in an area free from extra static build up such as a carpet or rug. Static can discharge and damage your computer with a person not even able to feel it. Those warnings aside, if you follow the included instructions you should be just fine, but if you feel you need extra assistance look for either an unsuspecting relative that can help you, or a local computer repair shop that won’t charge as much as Best Buy.

The actual install process is fairly painless. Linksys has to run their CD, shut down the computer, install the card, turn the computer back and finish the setup. From their they provide their own console for connecting to wireless networks, which is fairly painless so long as you know all the proper information for your home wireless network. If your wireless is provided to you by your internet provider they should be able to give you all of the information over the phone.

Once the card is installed and configured you are ready to start taking advantage in the latest wireless technology. Again, Wireless N uses its MIMO technology to provide significantly faster data transfer rates over the previous G standard. Combine this with a Wireless N capable router to take full advantage of this technology and you will be rewarded with wireless that is a reasonable alternative even to a 10/100 wired connection, making this handy for people whose internet connection is not near their computers but still need a viable alternative to be able to get work done. The WMP300N is a great choice when paired with or without a Wireless N router in terms of picking up signals and maximizing data transfer rates.

Linksys’ WRT110 Router, is their entry level addition to the Wireless N market. While not technically part of the Wireless N draft standard, it does use the technology behind Wireless N to provide some very solid performance well over what Wireless G is capable of. Capitalizing on the new Multiple Input Multiple Output functionality of Wireless N, this router seeks to provide home users a gateway into better connections and faster data rates. Combine that with the latest security features, interoperability with Wireless B and G, and a slick new look and you have yourself a nice starter router in the Wireless N realm.

First and foremost, the biggest feature that stands out on this router is its Wireless N capability. Wireless N is the next major advance in wireless technology, offering eventually offering speeds up to 14 times faster than Wireless G counterparts. In addition to speed bonuses both the N capability plus Linksys’ RangePlus technology offers superior wireless coverage through walls and floors alike. In fact, you will have to take extra precautions to lock this router down because your neighbors well almost certainty be able to see your network now. The added bonus of RangePlus, is that unlike other manufacturers similar feature sets, RangePlus works with any vendors equipment. This means for you, that any existing, or future for that matter, Wireless N adaptors will take full advantage of what this router has to offer.

In addition to the Wireless N features, the WRT110, also comes with the standard set of features most home wireless routers come with. This includes a full security suite, providing both a hardware firewall, as well as the latest in over the air encryption. In addition to the standard security it also offers Wi-Fi Protected Setup which forces users to push a button on the physical router before a new device can connect for the first time. Very good tool in keeping unwanted neighbors or would be attackers from connecting to your network. Along with the security features, the WRT110 also offers the standard 4 port switch built in, allowing for nearby computers to connect into your network via a hardwired connection.

As a dual capable router, the WRT110 can operate both with Wireless N networks as well as the Older Wireless B and G networks. The nice thing about this particular router though is, that it suffers very little in terms of performance when running in a mixed mode environment. This allows you to upgrade your home network over time rather than having to run out and spend an arm and a leg upgrading every piece of wireless technology in the house.

While not the highest end wireless network on the market, the WRT110, offers quality at a much higher level than G counterparts, and comes in just slightly behind full on Wireless N equipment. Shop around for this and get a decent sale price and it will be more than worth the investment as a step up from an older worn out router.

Today wireless networking has almost become synonymous with home networking. Go down to Best Buy, pick up a Linksys router, connect in your laptop and you are all set. While there are a few basic security features that should be turned on, this wireless solution is more than sufficient for that majority of home networkers. However, there is a much wider world to explore when considering wireless networking. First and foremost one must decide on a standard. For personal use you will see as many as four different letters describing wireless technologies, A, B, G, and N, but to the laymen, these terms mean nothing more then a spoonful of alphabet soup.

Wireless A

Wireless A came out at the same time that Wireless B did. It provides faster data transfer speeds but much shorter range then its B counterpart. Generally Wireless A did not catch on or achieve very high market saturation. Few routers or wireless equipped laptops even support this standard anymore and with newer standards such as Wireless G and Wireless N, this standard is mostly obsolete.

Wireless B

Wireless B was significantly slower than it’s a counterpart, but it did however offer superior range and home coverage making it ideal for early home networking solutions. Its two bigger drawbacks however are in the reduced speed, and the interference the signal can receive from microwave ovens and some cordless phones. Most new laptops and wireless devices that support Wireless G are still backwards compatible with Wireless B as it is still found in many locations.

Wireless G

Wireless G operates on the same frequency as Wireless B, however, it uses the same still of signal as Wireless A, allowing it to send at a much higher rate than Wireless B. Wireless G opened the door to widespread implementation of wireless technologies. Wireless G made wireless much more prevalent both for home users as well as business class networks. Like Wireless B though it still suffered from the same interference.

Wireless N

Wireless N despite still being in draft phase is now becoming very common in both the home and business markets. Offering both incredible improvements over range and speed, Wireless N is also backwards compatible with both Wireless B and G. In terms of performance, Wireless N is the current leader in what it can offer, and is not significantly more expensive than Wireless G.

Choosing a standard – G versus N

In implementing a home wireless solution, the question comes up, should one go with G or N? Wireless G is most likely more than sufficient for the average home user. With companies like Linksys putting out their RangeBooster, and SpeedBooster options, why would one want to spend any more money than they have to? Especially considering that more than likely any existing laptops will only support wireless G. Perhaps the single biggest reason to adopt Wireless N is scalability. Even if all of your devices are Wireless N, a Wireless N router will still produce a stronger signal. Also, as more devices start supporting wireless N adopting a Wireless N router now will mean that the infrastructure will already be in place. Ultimately the decision needs to be made on cost versus performance and scalability, based on both ones current needs as well as future growth.