Activating both A + G Wireless Channels

[brentromero]

Using only a Linksys WRT54g router, Gateway Desktop MCE with Linksys WPM55
A+G network cark, and the Linksys MCX, I want to separate the A and G
channels.

How do I do this? I can't locate the Wireless Zero Configuration in my MCE
2005 Desktop (Gateway 820 GM) per the Linksys A + G NIC instructions (just to
load the drivers).

I can activate one or the other freqs but I can't seem to activate both
simo. Also, is it possible/feasible/practical to configure my MCE to
communicate wirelessly on the 802.11a freq to the MCX and then use the
802.11g freq for internet access, etc.?

I currently have the MCX wired to the Linksys G router but the bandwidth is
used up in a hurry if the laptop is also running (wireless also).

ONe guy recommended ad hoc config but MCX does not give good ad hoc...only
infrastructure.

TIA
--
brentromero

[Frank Schwieterman [MSFT]]

First, let me say that I don't think any one network card will let you use
802.11a and 802.11g at the same time. I'm not sure you were asking to do
this, but it isn't doable.

You also ask how to use 802.11a for one device and 802.11g for another.
You can do this, but not quite how you suggest. What you suggest is to have
the MCE use 802.11a to access the internet and use 802.11g to access the
MCX. Instead, what you can do is configure the MCE to talk to the access
point via 802.11a or 802.11g, then configure the MCX to talk to the access
point via the other. This is something you can do and is a great way to
increase your available bandwidth. While all communications between the MCX
and MCE will have to make to wireless hops (one hop from from the MCE to the
AP, and the one from the AP to the MCX) these hops will use separate
frequency ranges so they don't have to share the available bandwidth in
either frequency range.

You would likely have trouble using both channels because access points
often give the same SSID to both channels. When you specify the SSID you'd
like to use on the MCE or MCX, the devices will consider any connection it
can make and choose the preferred one. Different components have different
preferences, but they may look at the signal strength or network type.
However, in this case the individual devices don't realize that you're
trying to coordinate the selection with the other machine. They need your
smarts, and the only way you can indicate to each device which channels is
to be used is to change the SSID of the channels so they are different for
802.11a and 802.11g and then select different SSIDs on each device.
You can typically change the SSID through the access point's configuration
panel exposed to your web browser. Often this is at http://192.168.1.1 or
http://192.168.0.1. If you're not sure about the address the access point
is using, you can run ipconfig in a 'cmd' console (click the "Start" button
on the desktop toolbor, select the "Run" menu item and then type 'cmd'.
When the console window opens run 'ipconfig'). The "Default Gateway" for
your network connection is also your access point. For instance, if you saw
the below output from ipconfig, you could access your access point at
http://192.168.1.1

>> C:\Documents and Settings\user>ipconfig
>>
>> Windows IP Configuration
>>
>> Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
>>
>> Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : redmond.corp.microsoft.com
>> IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101
>> Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
>> Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

Once you've found the configuration panel for your access point, look for
the SSID in the wireless settings. Make sure they are unique per network
type- perhaps by adding '-a' to the 802.11a SSID and '-g' to the 802.11g
SSID.

After changing the SSIDs, the AP will need to reset and you'll need to
reconnect any wireless devices to one of the "new" networks. You should
then reconfigure your MCX and MCE to use a different channels by selecting
different SSIDs. On the MCE, you might try right-clicking on the network
connection icon in the system tray (this icon probably looks like a computer
screen giving off radar waves). Right-click it and select "View available
wireless networks." If you don't find it there, go to the Control Panel and
go to the Networking section. Again, you should find the network adapter of
interest, right-click and select "View available wireless networks."

I don't have an XBox handy to detail the steps needed to select the
network on your MCX. Go through the wireless settings though, when you are
asked to select a wireless network pick the one with your modified SSID.

Reply if this works or not, or if you need anymore explanation on the
instructions. I'll try to stay tuned, good luck.

"brentromero" <brent...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C569976E-295D-4237...@microsoft.com...

[Frank Schwieterman [MSFT]]

Oh, I'm obligated to include the below signature/disclaimer. :)

--
Frank Schwieterman [MSFT]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

"Frank Schwieterman [MSFT]" <fsch...@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:436816b9$1...@news.microsoft.com...