What is Wi-Fi and how to create a home network with your own hands. How to improve your home Wi-Fi: tips for dummies! Tune in to a free channel

The technology of wireless Internet networks has become quite integrated into the life of modern people. We constantly hear words such as Wi-Fi, router, 3G, and others, one way or another related to Internet technologies. The Internet is used almost everywhere: in shops, in transport, in cafes and restaurants, in public places equipped with wireless access points, but with a little effort, you can organize home wifi internet so that any existing device can be connected to the Internet anywhere in the apartment. This is not at all difficult to do, and with some time skills it will only take a few minutes.

Features of organizing a wireless network

Usually, when connecting to a WiFi access point, it is assumed that you will be connected to the global network and access the Internet. This is not entirely true. A wireless connection is the same connection of computers or other devices into a local area network as using cables. The only difference is the technology. Naturally, combining home resources with the resources of an Internet provider and accessing the Internet will be an additional advantage, but this is far from the only area of ​​application for home WiFi. As an example, when used home Wi-Fi only for internal needs, this is the organization of a media server on which films, music or photos are stored, and to which all users of the home network can connect for viewing.

In order to make a wireless network for the home, inexpensive access points or Wi-Fi routers are usually used. When organizing a wireless network, there are several factors to consider:

• data transfer speed within the network;
• protection against unauthorized access;
• range of the access point, i.e. transmitter power;
• location of the access point in the apartment.

Considering these factors, you can organize a wireless network anywhere with maximum efficiency. A very important point is the correct location of the transmitter in the room. If a wired network is organized, then each device or computer is connected via wires, and the connection speed is affected only by their quality and length. Wireless networks are a little more complicated. Radio signals are transmitted through the air and may cause interference as they travel. This interference depends on the material and thickness of the walls, on the finishing material, on the power of the transmitter; interference can also arise from objects located in the apartment.

The optimal location for the router is approximately in the middle of the apartment and as high as possible towards the ceiling. Usually this is a place in the corridor, at a point equidistant from the rest of the rooms. This placement will ensure the most uniform distribution of the signal over the entire area. Of course, you can place the router on a table or system unit in one of the rooms, but then you should not expect that the signal will be the same strength throughout the apartment.

The speed of information transfer on the network depends on the selected WiFi standard - 802.11b/g/n. Modern models of routers and mobile devices support all communication standards. In the standard with index n, the speed will reach 150 Mbit/s under ideal conditions. But it is also worth taking into account the fact that if a client that does not support the n standard and works, for example, on 802.11g connects to the router, then automatically all devices on the network will switch to operating in this mode, i.e. will operate at speeds up to 54 Mbit/s.

Connecting and setting up a router

Typically, almost all Internet providers provide their customers with wired Internet access. This means that a twisted pair cable is laid from the provider’s managed switch to the client’s apartment. In this case, the function of the provider is only to provide access to the Internet or to the resources of its network. Not many providers help their clients with services for setting up routers or organizing a home network, or such services are provided on a paid basis. Actually set it up home wifi internet easier than it seems. To do this, you need to adhere to the following algorithm, which is suitable in most cases:

• Internet access is configured according to the settings issued by the provider;
• Internet television (IPTV) is configured if such a service is provided by the provider;
• wired connections are configured (by and large, only internal IP addresses are changed if desired);
• the wireless connection is configured by specifying the access point identifier and security parameters;
• changing the password to enter the router configuration page;
• access policies are configured, such as port forwarding, access to resources and various servers.

The settings of each router are purely individual, but the operating algorithm described above is suitable for each of them. If the router is not new, but has already been used for connection, then before setting it up you need to reset the installed configurations to the factory ones. On each router, this is done by pressing and holding the “Reset” button for 10-15 seconds. This button is located on the back panel, where the cable connectors are located. On some models, the reset button may be located on the bottom. To understand whether the configuration has been reset, just pay attention to the power indicator on the front panel. It should flash frequently.

If you are not sure what address you need to enter in the browser in order to get to the settings page, just turn the router over and “peep” this information. A plate or sticker must be attached to the bottom, on which the router address, user name and access password are written. There is also information about the device address, which may be required if the provider filters clients by MAC. Detailed router settings with specific configuration examples can be found on the Internet or on this website.

Wi-Fi is rapidly bursting into our lives. Laptops, tablets, smartphones, and even equipment that is obviously not designed for this are equipped with a wireless communication module: refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, irons, washing machines, stoves, air conditioners. You may not have such an abundance of smart technology, but if you have several PCs at home, the question may arise of how to create a home network.

A home network will allow you to easily exchange data between devices

Previously, this would have required laying meters of wires, getting confused in them, and stumbling. Now that many people have a Wi-Fi router at home, you can organize and configure a local network using it very quickly. Let's take a closer look at this process.

Why is this necessary?

When working with several PCs, sometimes you will need to transfer files between them, print a document on a remote printer, watch a video or listen to music from another device. In order not to run around the house with a flash drive, it is recommended to deploy a local network through a router.

Setting up the router

If you already use a wireless connection at home, you can skip this step. If you are still going to configure the router, enter the settings using a browser (192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1), add a login and password (initially in most cases it is admin/admin, admin/parol).

In the “Wireless Network” tab, change the connection name, password, and encryption protocol. We recommend choosing WPA2-PSK, it is the most secure. Save the settings, reboot the router.

Changing the network type

In Windows 7, the network types are “Home”, “Enterprise network” and “Public”, and in Windows 8, 8.1, 10 - “Private” and “Guest or public”. It is possible to create a home group only if the type is “Home” or “Private”. When you connect for the first time, the OS makes a discovery request, agree to it.

• In the tray, right-click the connection icon - Network and Sharing Center.
• In the line “View active networks” you will notice the name of the connection and its type.
• To configure the required type:
• Windows 7
• Click on the Internet icon - “Home Network”.
• Windows 8, 8.1
• Open the side menu by pressing Win+I or moving the mouse cursor to the right edge of the screen.
• Changing computer settings - Network - Connections - name of the connection.
• Activate "Search for devices and content."
• Windows 10
• Start - Settings - Network and Internet - Ethernet (Wi-Fi is the name of your connection).
• If connecting via cable, click on the name of the connection and activate the “Make this computer discoverable” slider.
• When communicating via Wi-Fi, under the list of connections, click “Advanced settings” and make the computer discoverable.

From now on, it is possible to set up a local group through a router at home.

Changing the PC name

This item is optional, but it is better to replace the PC name, since it is automatically assigned in the form of an alphanumeric code, then it will be difficult for you to navigate the names. To configure the laptop name, follow these steps:

• Right-click on the “My Computer” icon on the desktop (Windows 7) or launch Explorer - My Computer (on Windows 8–10).
• System properties - Additional system settings - Computer name - Edit.
• Come up with a convenient name - OK - Apply, and then restart Windows.
• Repeat the procedure on each device.
• Create a HomeGroup
• Go to Network Sharing Center.
• In the “Home Group” line, select “Ready to Create”.
• Create a homegroup - Next - Select files and devices to share - Next.
• Write down the password and click "Done".

The group with access via the router is ready. You can connect other devices.

Connecting to a homegroup

To add other devices to the newly created group via Wi-Fi, on the connected PC in the Network Control Center in the lower left corner, click on “Home Group” - Join. Enter the password and specify the shared folders. Restart all connected devices.

To make sure that the connection between laptops is working at home, go to Explorer and all available devices will be presented in the “Network” tab. If you have a printer at home, you can even print documents from any connected device.

Create a shared folder

In addition, if you do not need network printing at home, you don’t have to create a group at all. Simply use File Explorer to share the required folders on each laptop.

Login from other devices

You can access your home network from any Android or iOS device. It is enough to use a file manager with a remote access function. Scan available devices, connect to familiarize yourself with shared folders.

Conclusion

Please also note that various errors may occur from time to time. Try turning off your antivirus with Windows Firewall and try again.

Do you use a local group through a router at home? Did our guide help you? We are glad to receive your comments.

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Gone are the days when a single home computer was the pride of the owner and the center of leisure for the whole family.

The pace of development of electronics leads to the fact that soon there will not be a single household item that does not have a processor installed, albeit small. And even now in every home there are five or two devices capable of storing, processing and transmitting information. And sooner or later there comes a time when we, tired of running with a flash drive from one device to another, begin to think that it would be nice to connect them with each other.

Of course, ideally it would be to think through the composition of the equipment in advance so that incompatibility problems and unnecessary expenses do not arise. But in practice, it often happens that a host of different devices is already present in your home and you need to somehow connect them together, minimizing effort and costs as much as possible.

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The optimal cost/effectiveness ratio is a wired Ethernet network. Of course, it requires drilling into walls to lay the cable, but it works very reliably and is unrivaled in terms of connection speed, especially if you use ports with a speed of 1 Gb/s. And if all future nodes (that’s what network nodes are called) are equipped with an RJ-45 port and rarely move around the apartment beyond the designated areas, then this will be the best solution. All that is required to create a network is a few tens of meters of twisted pair cable and a simple router or switch.

But we will consider a more complex case, when some devices are constantly moving (netbooks, laptops or tablets - whoever has what), others do not have an Ethernet port, but are equipped with a Wi-Fi module (PDAs or communicators), and others have neither , nor anything else (HD media player or external drive). You can be sure that building a network in any case is not something outstanding and is quite within the capabilities of everyone.

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Types of Wi-Fi networks
Obviously, at home, the only possible universal solution will be a wireless network based on Wi-Fi. First, you need to decide on the basis of which Wi-Fi standard the future network should be designed. At the moment, there are four varieties of them: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n, colloquially called a, b, g, n - after the last letter.

The most common is b, which is also the slowest: the transmission channel speed does not exceed 11 Mb/s (compare with 100 or 1000 Mb/s for Ethernet). Moreover, if for Ethernet the real data transfer speed approaches the channel speed, then for a wireless network it is usually about two times lower (see the article “In the city “n” in this issue).

A and g have higher speeds - up to 54 Mb/s, but a operates at a different frequency - 5 GHz, which is not certified in Russia, unlike b and g, which operate at 2.4 GHz. This speed is sufficient for browsing the Internet and most other applications, so we will choose 802.11g as the basis for our network. As a rule, every device based on the g standard also supports b, which will ensure compatibility with less advanced devices such as PDAs.

If the speed of 20-30 Mb/s (i.e. only about 3 Mb/s) seems insufficient (for example, you plan to transfer large files over the network, such as high-definition movies, etc.), you will have to fork out n - the most modern and expensive standard, allowing you to achieve speeds of as much as 300 Mb/s. There are two versions of it - at 5 and 2.4 GHz, the first of which is also not certified, but is more effective, since it uses the currently almost unused frequency range.

Therefore, the most demanding users can be advised to purchase dual-band devices at their own risk (taking into account the very limited range of the transmitter - about several tens of meters, you can see that the risk is small). But here a compatibility problem may arise, because not all 802.11n devices operate at 5 GHz (this means high-speed mode n, since they still support modes b and g).

Sharing resources
One of the main advantages of the network is the ability to share access to information (for example, movies, music or documents). A similar problem can be solved in several ways. One of them is to share folders on one of the computers using standard operating system tools (for security, you can limit yourself to the “Read Only” mode). This method is quite simple, but requires constant operation of the computer with general data. Similarly, you can make a locally connected printer or MFP publicly available.

Looking ahead, let's say that routers with built-in USB ports provide more convenience. They allow you to connect an external hard drive or printer, making them available to each network node, and even organize a torrent download. It will be able to work completely autonomously and around the clock (it is not customary to turn off the router, and its power consumption is quite insignificant), download files not only from distributions, but also from most popular file hosting services (the latter usually requires installing modified firmware, but this is beyond the scope of this article ).

Wireless routers equipped with USB ports can also provide network access to external storage devices in the form of an FTP server. This method is a little more complicated in settings (they are performed through the router’s web interface), but more universal, does not depend on the computer, however, it forces you to convert the file system of the external hard drive, for example, to EXT.

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Equipment selection
Now let's talk about what equipment we need. To organize a Wi-Fi network, you need a so-called access point: it is responsible for sending data packets from one device to another. But it is only suitable for connecting several devices over the air, so we will use a Wi-Fi router that has such a point inside as the “heart” of our wireless network, as well as a built-in switch for wired devices. It is he who can provide not only the connection of “wired” devices (storage system or desktop computer) along with wireless ones, but also the connection of this entire equipment to the Internet. Without a switch, we would have to keep one of the computers constantly on.

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So, conduct an audit of your computer hardware and choose a router that is suitable for the price with the required set of ports and wireless standard. For example, it can be a budget option with four hundred-megabyte Ethernet ports and an 802.11b/g access point, or a sophisticated one with eight Gigabit Ethernet ports, a dual-band 802.11n access point and three USB 2.0 ports, covering almost any need.

Particular consideration should be given to cases where the connection to the Internet is made not through a local Ethernet network, but via ADSL (an example is the well-known “Stream”), or in a more exotic way (WiMAX, GPRS or some other way). Then this should be taken into account when choosing a router. Stream will require a special router with a built-in ADSL modem, or, if you couldn’t find one or want to save a little money, you can use your existing ADSL modem, connecting the Internet through it, and all other nodes through an additional inexpensive router connected to the modem .

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To work in WiMAX networks (Yota, Comstar and the like), there are special devices that include a WiMAX modem and a Wi-Fi access point. In this case, a router is either not needed at all, or can only be used to connect wired devices; you just need to pay attention to the fact that it can connect to the WAN via Wi-Fi (usually this is not possible using standard firmware). The same applies to a GPRS/EDGE connection (or a more modern version, the so-called 3G) - the easiest way is to purchase a communicator that can share an Internet access channel using the built-in Wi-Fi module.

It is still better to connect all devices with Ethernet ports with wires: files will be transferred more reliably and faster. The rest will use built-in Wi-Fi adapters or must be retrofitted with such adapters. For most laptops, it is easy to purchase and install a built-in PCI Mini / PCIe Mini card, or use an external USB adapter, which also fits some media players and NAS.

For a torrent network drive, an external USB drive or flash drive (64 GB models are already quite affordable) connected to the router (it must have a USB port) is suitable. A flash drive has the advantage that it does not require additional power, unlike the vast majority of USB hard drives (the built-in USB port in the router is very limited in terms of power provided), but it works slower. However, for most applications its speed is sufficient. You can organize a “rocking chair” in a media player or NAS, many of which support download mode, but this is less convenient, since it requires constantly turning on two devices instead of one.

Manual setting
To manually configure a network in each of the devices connected to it, you need to set three parameters - the IP addresses of the device and gateway, and the subnet mask. Everyone probably knows that an IP address is a unique number with which you can transfer data to any node on the network.

There are two versions of the address - v.4 and v.6, consisting of 4 and 6 bytes, respectively. The 6-byte version is not supported by all devices, but it will be the dominant one in the future. For now, the usual 4-byte one will suffice for us.

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Since the IP address is unique, it does not have to be the same between devices on the same network. This is an immutable rule, violation of which is fraught with either a complete failure of the network or permanent problems. Therefore, you will have to use your imagination and come up with four numbers from 0 to 255 for each of the devices. To make this difficult task even easier, there are certain rules.

Data in computer networks is transmitted using so-called packets or sets of bytes, equipped with a header indicating the IP address or addresses of the destination nodes. Obviously, transmitting packets to all billions of computers on the Internet at once would make the work impossible, so the networks are divided into smaller subnets, and IP packets for local computers should not leave the subnet. To simplify the transmission of packets, all nodes on the same network are assigned similar IP addresses: 1, 2 or 3 bytes are the same, the rest are different. The subnet mask will help determine the number of matching bytes. Units are written in the place of matching bits, and zeros are written in place of different bits.

Thus, the class C network mask 255.255.255.0 means that only 1 byte, the last one, can change, that is, there cannot be more than 256 nodes in this network (in fact, only 255, since the address x.x.x.255 is reserved for broadcast packets, delivered immediately to all network nodes). It is unlikely that you will have more devices, so it is advisable not to fantasize and use this particular format. Addresses from 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 are reserved for addressing nodes in a type C network. Considering that they can also be used in the local network of your Internet provider, and also taking into account the restrictions on the use of broadcast packets, it is reasonable to choose addresses from 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.0.254 or from 192.168.N.0 to 192.168 for home network nodes .N.254, where N is any number from 1 to 254 (but must be the same for all network addresses!), if the first specified range coincides with the provider’s network range. Let's leave the subnet mask as standard: 255.255.255.0.

And the last thing is the gateway address. A gateway is a network node through which all other nodes connect to the Internet. So for us this will be the address of the router (usually 192.168.0.1) or the always-on computer that we decided to use as it. When setting up the router itself as a gateway, we specify it (if it is connected directly to the provider’s network) or the address of the ADSL modem (if it is connected via a modem).

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The story about IP addressing will be incomplete if we do not mention one more, “special” address - 127.0.0.1. It is used to indicate the so-called local host, that is, the same computer from which the packet is sent. If you want to access files on the hard drive of the same computer you are currently working on through a browser, use the address 127.0.0.1, or localhost.

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Automatic setup
Although manually setting up IP addresses is easy, there are ways to automate this process. The main one is the DHCP server. As a rule, it is already built into most routers. It is enough to activate this option in the settings, and all network nodes that support the DHCP client function will be able to obtain an IP address themselves: you just need to tell them “Obtain an IP address automatically.”

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This can be convenient in some cases: for example, when friends often come to you with their laptops and you don’t want to go into their settings every time. In addition, some devices, such as smartphones and media players, do not allow you to configure the IP address manually and only accept the automatic option.

Although manually entering addresses also has its advantages - the network configuration becomes more predictable, and some programs strive to remember the IP address of a network resource, so after changing it (which can happen at any time in automatic mode) they happily report that “the resource is unavailable "

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Safety
Is it needed? Many users do not pay due attention to security, which is partly facilitated by the policy of equipment manufacturers: in order to make the initial configuration of devices as easy as possible, all security systems are disabled by default. In wired networks this is acceptable, since to achieve absolute security it is enough to disconnect your home network from the Internet, and then a possible attacker will have the only way to penetrate your network - to get inside the apartment and connect to your router.

Even when connected to the Internet, your internal resources are not visible from the outside: to ensure their visibility, you need to configure the Port forwarding function in the router (as they say, “forward ports”). Then, when accessing a local resource from an external network, the router will redirect the packet to the local network node where the required resource is located (each type of resource has its own port number). Initially, Port forwarding is not configured at all, which allows you to be calm until you decide to become interested in this issue and configure the function yourself.

The situation is completely different with a wireless network. Since radio radiation spreads well even through walls, connecting to it is possible at some distance from your apartment. That is, an attacker living in a neighboring apartment or simply walking into the entrance (and sometimes sitting on a bench near the house) can easily connect to an unprotected (“open”) network. With the use of directional antennas this is possible even at a distance of several kilometers!

And don't say that you have nothing to hide. In the best case, attackers can simply steal your traffic (even if you have unlimited traffic, the speed will still drop), and in the worst case, they can commit some illegal action (say, steal passwords from a bank) by accessing the Internet through your network. And then the security service, having discovered the hack, will track the hacker's IP address, which will lead to - where do you think? - straight to you! And explaining that you have nothing to do with it will be quite problematic.

Therefore, using an open wireless network is not acceptable. There are three ways to protect data: authorization, encryption and packet filtering. Authorization is used to allow access to network resources only to those nodes that know the secret key. Encryption prevents possible interception of transmitted data by an attacker. Finally, packet filtering blocks network access to all but pre-defined users. You might think that authorization and filtering are similar; in fact, this is not so - node packets that have not passed filtering do not even reach the authorization stage.

But encryption and authorization are similar in that they are usually controlled by the same security standard. Modern routers and access points support the following standards: WEP (aka Shared Key), WPA-Personal (sometimes referred to as WPA-PSK), WPA-Enterprise, WPA2-Personal and WPA2-Enterprise. All but the last two are best not used due to insufficient security, and WEP encryption (sometimes controlled by separate settings) also leads to a noticeable drop in transmission speed.

However, there are no other options on the 802.11b network, and the few WPA implementations from different manufacturers are generally incompatible with each other. And if there are such devices in your network, the entire network will work in mode b, with all the ensuing consequences, including snail’s speed.

So it is highly advisable to get rid of legacy devices that do not support 802.11g. In laptops this is usually possible by replacing the built-in Wi-Fi card or using an external USB adapter, but in PDAs... Old PDAs will have to be replaced entirely or not used at all on the network.

Now let's talk about the difference between Personal and Enterprise encryption options. The first of them uses the generation of access keys based on a password, which, of course, should be chosen as long as possible, using letters of different case, numbers and special characters. If you fail to connect one or more devices, you should try entering the key in hexadecimal form, which is provided in almost all devices.

Of the two key encryption options - TKIP and AES - it is recommended to choose the second, more secure one. The combination TKIP+AES option that is sometimes encountered seems redundant and can lead to problems. Enterprise encryption is more secure, but requires a special RADIUS server. Therefore, if you do not have the time and/or desire to set up such a server, it is advisable to limit yourself to the “personal” option, especially since WPA2-Personal provides a quite sufficient level of security - in conversations about hacking wireless networks, WEP or, less often, WPA is usually mentioned and almost never WPA2. The decrease in network performance when using WPA2 encryption is almost invisible.

For those who want to take their security level to the paranoid level, we can recommend enabling filtering by MAC addresses. A MAC address is a unique device identifier, different for each wireless adapter, laptop or PDA. By adding the MAC addresses of your devices to the list, you can be sure that only they will be able to access the network, and activating the hidden network mode (turning off the Broadcast SSID) will not give an attacker even a reason to become interested in it. Additionally, you can activate the firewall (aka firewall) built into the router, leaving only the necessary ports open. In addition to protecting against port scanning, this is good against DoS (denial of service) attacks. You can also enable MAC filtering in the firewall, which will protect against unauthorized access through the wired network segment. Of course, this still won’t protect you from the attention of the mafia or intelligence services, but it will be several orders of magnitude more reliable than the lock on your front door.

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The delights of high speeds
Appetite, as they say, comes with eating. It’s the same in building a network: having assembled and tested “at least some kind of network,” you immediately want “the same one, but faster.” Wide distribution of high-quality films of 30-40 GB each and other entertainment content requires impressive resources not only for storing it, but also for transmission. Therefore, if finances and the availability of available equipment allow, it makes sense to build a network immediately with a reserve for the future, that is, based on 802.11n.

True, expecting from this standard a threefold increase in speed compared to Fast Ethernet would, perhaps, be overly optimistic. As tests show (see the article “In the city of “n” in this issue of the magazine), the maximum that can be expected is to get very close to 100 Mb/s. Well, a fourfold increase in speed (compared to g) is also not bad. This will allow, for example, to transfer a gigabyte file in a couple of minutes or directly watch a Full HD movie from a network drive.

However, if you are just going to open the movie file with a player program, smooth viewing will only be possible if its size does not exceed one DVD disc. Due to possible dips in speed, which is almost inevitable with radio communications, jams may occur on larger files. If you want to watch movies this way, you will have to install a video streaming server, but this is a topic for a separate article.

To achieve even such relatively modest results in speed, you need to spend some time. First - on the selection of equipment. Since we nevertheless chose a router as the main element of the network (we will immediately discard the budget option - using a computer with a Wi-Fi card instead, since we decided to go for a walk), a lot depends on it.

The best choice would be to use a dual-band (2.4/5 GHz) device, since the 5-GHz band, due to its unoccupied nature, provides noticeably better connection stability (even if the average speed does not differ much from 2.4 GHz). This will allow applications that are critical to the quality of communication (such as video players) to be placed on the 5 GHz channel, and 2.4 GHz to be used to work with devices that are incompatible with the higher frequency channel.

If there are no strict requirements for connection stability, you can limit yourself to a single-band 2.4 GHz device (you should not purchase a single-band 5 GHz router - it is incompatible with most client adapters. However, I have never seen such ones). But you should pay attention to the company and model, otherwise there is a risk of disappointment. If you have a fast Internet channel connected via VPN or PPPoE, do not choose a model with a weak processor, as it may not keep up with the speed of the channel.

For laptops, it is preferable to use the built-in card. Of course, a USB adapter is convenient and versatile, but due to its limited size, most dongles have an ineffective antenna, which has a detrimental effect on the quality of communication. The antenna built into the lid of the laptop is unrivaled here. Unfortunately, due to problems with certification in Russia, it can be difficult to purchase a built-in card, but this can be done without any problems abroad - through online stores. A wide variety of such cards allows you to choose an option suitable for price and characteristics for almost any laptop, and sometimes even with free shipping.

As for 802.11g devices, they, of course, will work on the n network in compatibility mode, but if this is not necessary, it is better to disable this mode. Now we’ll tell you in more detail how to configure 802.11n for maximum performance.

802.11n - squeeze out the last one
How to ensure stable network operation at high speed? To better understand all the intricacies of the settings, we’ll tell you a little about what reserves were used to increase the speed in 802.11n.

First, the modulation type was changed from direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), increasing the speed from 54 to 65 Mbps. The “green field” mode made it possible to reduce the size of the introductory packet and thereby reduce the overhead costs of service information. And finally, combining packages (Frame Bursting) made it possible to reduce the required amount. Thus, the speed has increased slightly to 72.2 Mb/s. “Where is the promised 300 Mb/s?” - you ask, and I will answer that the laws of physics are unshakable, and 72 Mb/s is all that can be obtained in one standard communication channel.

A further increase in speed was achieved only by the “brute force method” - the number of possible channels was increased to four (the so-called MIMO, or multi-beam transceiver mode), and the frequency band in each channel was doubled. All this added up to a maximum speed of almost 600 Mb/s. However, there are no devices on the market with such bandwidth yet, since the number of channels in real devices is limited to two. But this leaves the possibility of releasing them in the near future without any problems.

Now let's talk about how to use this magnificence. Often there are very few settings in the driver - only the channel number and frequency band. And it’s the second default parameter that is not configured in the best way: it is set to 20 MHz instead of 40, which gives only half the speed! Of course, this needs to be fixed. It is advisable to choose the channel number experimentally - for the best quality of communication and the absence of interference with other devices. You can use “Auto” - the router will try to select the least loaded channel, and all adapters will adapt to it.

All other options listed earlier must be enabled, otherwise the speed will drop. Unfortunately, the use of “green field” and Frame Bursting leads to packet collisions when there are devices on the network that do not support them (and these are all 802.11g devices). It is also advisable to activate the WMM (Wi-Fi multimedia) mode - this will ensure more stable operation of streaming applications, such as VoIP, through the use of the QoS (Quality of Service) service. Enabling WMM mode in the router may be required for the operation of some adapters, which otherwise will refuse to work at high speed. The WMM No-Acknowledgement checkbox in the settings can add a little more speed, but cause an increase in the number of errors in conditions of strong interference.

In order for all the features of the 802.11n network to function, clients exchange information with each other about what exactly each of them can do. The 802.11d protocol is responsible for this. Without it, the maximum speed will not be achieved, so it must be turned on. But it’s better not to use non-standard “improvers” like Afterburner: not only will they work only on those devices that are supported (and there are very few of them), but they will also only work in 802.11g mode, plus they impose a lot of other restrictions.

And finally - about the physical configuration of the network. “What could be the configuration? - you say. - Arranged the pieces of iron - and forward!” But just this moment can significantly affect the quality of radio reception, and therefore the speed and stability of the channel. If in the case of a single antenna, radio waves propagate from it evenly in different directions, then in the case of two antennas (namely, two channels are used in modern n-standard routers), due to interference, the signal level can vary greatly. Try tilting or rotating one of them and see the results.

Setting the transmitter power to maximum (where it is possible to regulate it) is not the best solution. Of course, a more powerful signal is guaranteed to “reach” the farthest corners of your apartment, but it can drown out the response of the receiving device, and as a result, communication will be ineffective (the so-called near-field effect).

Attention should also be paid to the location of the devices. It is advisable to install the router higher, if possible at an equal distance from all reception points. This is especially critical in houses with reinforced concrete walls, since the internal reinforcement of such walls noticeably weakens the radio signal. In general, experiment and your efforts will be rewarded. At the planning stage, try to borrow equipment from friends for a while to figure out what and how. It is possible that you will need to audit other devices in your apartment: for example, a wireless mouse operating at a frequency of 47 MHz has a noticeably less impact on the operation of the Wi-Fi network than its sister based on Bluetooth technology.

Photo from the site hardnsoft.ru

Finally, we would like to thank the readers for the patience they needed to read the article to the end. As you can easily see, it contains the bare minimum of recommendations, and we tried to avoid specific examples. This was done deliberately, since specific implementations of certain parameters may vary from one manufacturer to another, but once you get the gist, it will not be difficult for you to determine which checkbox is responsible for the desired parameter. The most important idea that I would like to convey to the reader is that there is nothing complicated in creating wireless networks. Just do it and you will succeed!

Which providers provide wireless internet in Moscow? Probably almost everything. The only question is how well they do it! Home Wi-Fi is extremely convenient, because most Moscow apartments have at least one mobile device, for example, an inexpensive smartphone. In this case, using a home Wi-Fi connection is much more profitable and practical. Mobile traffic costs money, so why spend it if you can get by? In addition, the speed of a home connection is still higher than a mobile one, then why spoil your mood by waiting and taking a long time to load? In Moscow wireless Internet It has long since turned from a luxury into a necessity, it’s time for you to have one of these! Moreover, AKADO offers excellent and truly beneficial conditions for you: free connection at unlimited Internet rates and the latest Technicolor TC7200.d router for only 15 rubles, subject to concluding a contract for at least a year. Just a fairy tale, not the Internet!

Your router as a gift is here!

A Wi-Fi router is almost free (for 15 rubles) when you order the AKADO tariff 60, 90 or 150!

Basic tariff for wireless Internet

Home wireless Internet AKADO (AKADO home WiFi) - connect any wireless devices with Wi-Fi support to the Internet!

As well as a special tariff for wireless Internet:

The tariff is valid for the entire time of using the service for new subscribers connecting to the AKADO network for the first time.

Internet+TV tariffs with included WiFi router Technicolor TC7200.d

With our help, you can not only connect home wireless internet, but also add a digital TV service to it, which will entertain not only you personally, but also your family and friends. Millions of people have not yet come under the full influence of the Internet and enjoy watching TV. We noticed that after connecting the service, the frequency of guests visiting our subscribers increases sharply - after all, you now have so many opportunities to entertain them. For example, football fans greatly respect NTV Plus Our Football, which saves them from having to look for which cafe will show a match that is not the most rated, but is so important to them. To make this experience much more interesting, we offer you up to 160 quality channels in stunning HD quality. The choice of quantity depends only on your desire.

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that no less fabulous conditions apply to digital television - a service that is no less popular than Internet without wires in Moscow. Or rather, the “Internet + TV” series tariff plans, which already include the two most popular home services.

Super Promotion: the first three full months (November, December, January) the price of any set is 449 rubles.

Internet and digital television for one TV in a single package at the best price.

Wireless Internet and digital TV for the whole family on two TVs.

AKADO’s gift to new clients is a maximum of high-quality services at a favorable rate, which is valid for the first three calendar months. After this period, the price for “Lite” remains the same, and for the “Optimum” and “Extra” sets it changes to 743 rubles/month and 893 rubles/month, respectively. The single comprehensive tariff already includes everything for your comfort: unlimited wireless Internet, digital television with 105, 121 or 152 channels, set-top box.

The process of connecting to our network is simple: you leave a request to connect to the Internet and digital television at once, receive a discount on both services and wait for our specialists to appear at your home. All! So easily and carefree anyone can join AKADO any day of the week all year round. We work for you, and therefore we strive to achieve your absolute comfort in connecting to the Internet.

Connect to wireless Internet with a free router! Online application.

You can activate all of the above services on the best terms at any time by filling out the application below. To make choosing an unlimited Internet tariff easier, we even separately noted the most popular options among our subscribers. All the best goes to you!

To plug unlimited wireless internet in the capital it is not only possible, but also necessary! After all, this is not only convenient and practical, but also... Actually, what other arguments are needed here? Everything at home should be convenient, even the Internet connection. This is exactly what we are creating for you. And we do it in such a way as not to disturb either you or your neighbors. For example, we haven’t made holes in walls with a drill for a long time; this is truly a thing of the past! To connect, you only need your shield and a television cable, which has been lying around for a long time and is boring in your home. This discreet cable actually turns out to be much more functional than you thought it was. With its help, we can just connect you to wireless Wi-Fi Internet at the best rates you can find. Yes, for Wi-Fi you will need a separate device - a router. You can purchase it yourself, and if you are too lazy to read reviews and study the issue, we can easily provide Technicolor TC7200.d, already approved and tested by our specialists, which will not lose its relevance for a long time.