|
You have two issues to consider when deciding where to place computers on a wireless network: the distance between the computers and the need to avoid potential sources of interference with the wireless radio signals.
How far can you go?
Distance is a serious problem for wireless home networks. Most manufacturers rate the range of wireless adapters at a couple of hundred feet indoors and more than a thousand feet in open spaces. But those are technical possibilities, and it's unlikely you'll be able to count on those numbers as you decide on placement for your computers. In fact, many home wireless networks don't achieve half those distances, and some don't achieve a third of them. The distance problem is aggravated (or mitigated, depending on how you look at it) by whether the computers are in a "line of sight" of each other.
If you've planned a nifty wireless network that covers several floors of your home, you'll probably have to redo your plan. You can usually extend the distance of the signals with a hardware device, either a router or an access point.
You don't have to move your entire network onto your front lawn to achieve maximum distance, because "open space" means that computers aren't separated by solid structures. For example, if you have a computer in the kitchen and a computer in the family room, and you have one of those "designed for open living space" houses, it's probably fine that the computers are 100 feet or more apart. The separations between the rooms are probably not much more than archways, or even furniture, instead of a solid wall (containing pipes and ducts) with a small doorway.
 | The farther a radio frequency (RF) signal has to travel, the slower it moves. So, you need to decide whether distance or speed is more important to you. |
Detouring around obstructions
Radio waves travel freely in the air until they run up against metal or water. Both elements stop radio waves in their tracks. The water problem probably isn't something to worry about in your house, unless you plan to store your computer under a waterbed. However, the metal problem can be serious.
Plaster walls with metal lath, and walls that hold cast-iron plumbing pipes, frequently interfere with the ability to run a wireless network in a home. Of course, you could replace all the plaster with drywall and replace the drainpipes with PVC pipes, but that seems a bit much just to have a wireless network. Some people have reported that the metal ductwork for heating and air-conditioning systems also interferes with wireless communications.
The problem of metal isn't restricted to what's in your walls. You can't put your computer under a metal desk or in a place where a metal file cabinet or bookcase is between the computers that need to talk to each other.
Another (actually, more common) obstruction that your wireless network may encounter is radio-signal interference. For example, the 2.4-GHz frequency that's used by 802.11b and 802.11g devices is also used by most cordless telephones. In fact, you should always avoid putting a computer near the phone's base station (which is an extremely active transceiver). Microwave ovens also "broadcast" in the 2.4-GHz band, so keep your computers away. In addition, you can experience interference from fluorescent lights.
Sometimes interference comes from any dense obstruction that might be in the path of your wireless signal. Communications aren't stopped dead, but they're slower and travel only a short distance. For example, a pile of books near the antenna can mess up your wireless signal.
| Regardless of the jokes or rumors you may have heard about your electric garage door unexpectedly opening when you transfer files across your wireless network, interference isn't a problem. Garage doors operate in the 433 MHz range, far away from the ranges used by computer network devices. |
| 
