Eithernet or Wi-Fi?

[Thebiga]

We have just got our orange livebox and have not plugged in anything yet. I know that it can run our pc's by the Eithernet or the Wi-Fi but which would be best. I know that the answer will probably be eithernet but our main pc's are in another room and it would mean a rather long eithernet cable so will the wi-fi be just as fast or not?

So Wi-Fi or a 10m Eithernet cable 'Thats if they do one that long. Any thought's are appreciated.

Thankyou 

[Jay]

You can get an ethernet cable any length you want http://www.rueducommerce.fr/index/cable%20ethernet but I would be inclined to use WiFi rather than put that length in, even if the cable is more reliable.

[Quillan]

Er not true when talking about copper cable.

Thin ethernet cable 185M

Twisted pair 10Mb/100Mb is 100M

Thick ethernet cable 500M

As the router is RJ45 then its going to be 100M max.

That is unless you want to install repeaters etc.

If on the other hand you are talking about how much twisted pair you get on a drum or in a box then anywhere up to 1000M, mainly the size is limited because the bigger the drum/box the harder it is to handle.

[Thebiga]

Thanks for that the two of you. Is the wi-fi just as fast if talking about say 8 Mega with livebox or is the cable the way to go? So Quillan are you saying that the thicker the cable the better?

Cheers

[Jay]

Oh come on be realistic. The OP is talking about 10m for goodness sake.

[Quillan]

[quote user="Jay"]Oh come on be realistic. The OP is talking about 10m for goodness sake.
[/quote]

Yes but making a statement like that is wrong because others may read it and think they can have a cable run as long as they like and thats not the case.

[Quillan]

[quote user="Thebiga"]

Thanks for that the two of you. Is the wi-fi just as fast if talking about say 8 Mega with livebox or is the cable the way to go? So Quillan are you saying that the thicker the cable the better?

Cheers

[/quote]

WiFi speeds are much the same as how ISP's describe internet access speed so your WiFi card (or chipset if its built in to the motherboard) can deliver up to 100Mb although in reality it can be a lot less as there are so many things that can affect it.

For the want of 10M of cable (you can buy them in computer shops or big hypermarkets) and for your main (or perhaps only computer I can't remember what you have) I would run a cable, the speed will probably be faster and of course the security will be much better. If it was not that I allow guests access to the internet in my B&B I would not be running WiFi, if you don't use WiFi then turn it off, your much more secure that way.

[AnOther]

To get back to the crux of the OP's question, for all intents and purposes whether you use ethernet or WiFi it will not make a whit of difference to your internet activities.

All we are talking about when comparing ethernet to Wifi is the speed of the communication between the computer and the router which is nothing whatsoever to do with the speed of your actual internet service. Ethernet is capable of running at up to 1gb (but not with a Livebox) and WiFi (80211n) at a theoretical maximum of 600mb (again not with a Livebox), however, if you happen to be a lucky SOB and have 20mb internet service then bottom line is that that is the very fastest the system (internet) can possibly perform.

The only time you might reap the benefit of the potential speed of ethernet or Wifi is if transferring files between machines on your own network.

In short then, ethernet or Wifi, over 10m, there is nothing to chose or recommend other than which is most convenient for you.

[Jay]

[quote user="Thebiga"]

Thanks for that the two of you. Is the wi-fi just as fast if talking about say 8 Mega with livebox or is the cable the way to go? So Quillan are you saying that the thicker the cable the better?

Cheers

[/quote]

Desktops generally use wired connections unless distance to

modem/routers is very large. The main benefit of wireless is that it

lets laptops roam. Performance-wise you want wired.

[Jay]

[quote user="Quillan"]

[quote user="Jay"]Oh come on be realistic. The OP is talking about 10m for goodness sake.

[/quote]

Yes but making a statement like that is wrong because others may read it and think they can have a cable run as long as they like and thats not the case.

[/quote]

Do you know anyone that would consider putting a cable in over half a km long? Totally and utterly unrealistic post which could only confuse the issue the OP was interested in.

[Quillan]

[quote user="Jay"][quote user="Quillan"]

[quote user="Jay"]Oh come on be realistic. The OP is talking about 10m for goodness sake.
[/quote]

Yes but making a statement like that is wrong because others may read it and think they can have a cable run as long as they like and thats not the case.

[/quote]

Do you know anyone that would consider putting a cable in over half a km long? Totally and utterly unrealistic post which could only confuse the issue the OP was interested in.
[/quote]

Clearly a person who has no experience of network infrastructure design or data cable installation. [:(]

[Jay]

[quote user="Quillan"][quote user="Jay"][quote user="Quillan"]

[quote user="Jay"]Oh come on be realistic. The OP is talking about 10m for goodness sake.

[/quote]

Yes but making a statement like that is wrong because others may read it and think they can have a cable run as long as they like and thats not the case.

[/quote]

Do you know anyone that would consider putting a cable in over half a km long? Totally and utterly unrealistic post which could only confuse the issue the OP was interested in.

[/quote]

Clearly a person who has no experience of network infrastructure design or data cable installation. [:(]

[/quote]

We are talking about someones house here, what planet are you on?

[AnOther]

Some might think long lengths were possible if they didn't know or were not told otherwise, after all their internet is delivered over sometimes several km of copper wire so it would be a logical assumption for the uninitiate [Www]

Knowledge is power [;-)]

[Jay]

Thebiga I apolagise if the above posts have only confused the issue, this often happens when you get so called "experts" posting. I would suggest you will find little difference using WiFi or cable under normal home circumstances. Personally I would use a cable if it is easily installed otherwise WiFi is fine, taking precautions as AnOther suggests. I use both, cable for the desktops and WiFi for the guests in our Gite.

[Quillan]

[quote user="Jay"] this often happens when you get so called "experts" posting. [/quote]

What exactly do you mean by that comment and who were you aiming it at exactly?

[AnOther]

May I remind you of your earlier comment;

[quote user="Jay"]You can get an ethernet cable any length you want http://www.rueducommerce.fr/index/cable%20ethernet but I would be inclined to use WiFi rather than put that length in, even if the cable is more reliable.[/quote]To the novice that would quite clearly intimate that the lengths on offer are in fact useable [Www]

[AnOther]

[quote user="Jay"].......WiFi is fine, taking precautions as AnOther suggests......[/quote]Precuations, moi ?

Non, that was Q [8-)]

[Sunday Driver]

I have my router plugged into my telephone socket in the hall.  I have my WiFi enabled PC in the basement and my WiFi enabled laptop for use anywhere in the house/terrasse/veranda.  I have an 8 Mega Orange account.

My setup is fast and stable with no difference in performance between the two computers.

 

[Thebiga]

I would like to use a eithernet cable if I could but as I said a fairly long one and it has to go across a door opening which unless it is a thin cable will be a problem, If, I go down the route of only having the wi-fi to use then how do I keep my personal stuff secure? At a later date I would like to give access of the wi-fi to our Gite guests but again will need to keep my mine secure what do I do then?

Thanks for all your help people[:)]

[Bugsy]

Turn on/enable your WAP/WEP encryption and create a good password.

Change the default SSID.

Protecting your own stuff from guests etc can be done with good additional access passwords to your private files.

.

[Pierre ZFP]

I think there's a lot of paranoia about Wi-Fi security resulting from the fact that there are so many unprotected networks out there or with just the out-of-the-box passwords set.

If you follow Bugbears excellent advice above you will have no problems.

Also change the default Admin password on your router

It is possible to blast through a WEP key in about 10 minutes but there's not that many people that can and want to do it (yes, I can but I don't).

A WPA key is much more difficult, taking days to break and a WPA2 key is just about unbreakable so you might want to use that option

[Quillan]

When you got your LiveBox you probably (well I did) get one or more short Ethernet cables, these are about the same diameter as what you normally buy. They come in various lengths 5, 10 ,15, 20 ,30 and even 50M long so you just need to work out to within a metre how long it has to be, always go longer you can always coil the excess up and put a bit of tape round . Two sources I found were Ebay or Amazon. Personally I have found the hot glue guns quite good for sticking them to surfaces although fortunately having a basement under all of my house and the office being downstairs I can clip it to the roof of the basement then drill a small hole through the floor and bring it up where I need to.

I don't think you need to worry about people hacking in to your computer so much as hacking in and using your Internet connection via WiFi. What worries people more is somebody hacking in and then downloading a shed load of 'illegal' films, music, software etc and under the new French laws its your fault for allowing it. Even having security enabled via the WEP key system does not guarantee 100% security, there are programs like Aircrack that you can download to hack in to a WiFi network. As I said I really wouldn't worry about your PC so much unless of course you have enabled print and file sharing on it but then the security on Windows 7 is much better than anything previous. If your are really worried about your computer being hacked then upgrade to the Ultimate version, you will then find under the Control Panel an icon marked "BitLocker Drive Encryption" which when enabled encrypts all the data on your hard drive. Unfortunately it comes at a price, about £200 extra for the upgrade.

Hope that helps.

[Thebiga]

Thanks for all your information people. I have a couple more things to try and get my head around as I am not realy up to speed on a lot of this stuff so please bear with me.

1. Can I use a eithernet cable at the same time as using the wi-fi on another pc (Such as a netbook) from the live box.

2. I have 2 pc's in one room ours and one for our daughter, Can I run one eithernet cable in to the one room and then into a router box to split it from that point to the 2 pc's or is there a easier way. Or do I just have one on wi-fi and one on cable.

3. In the very near future if you have seen my other threads we would like to give wi-fi access to our gite guests so would keeping our pc's on cable and them on the wi-fi make it safer on our side (Hacking wise etc).

4. How do I set up the security (WEP ,WAP) etc to keep our side safe as I have no idea.

5. Can we then give our guests a password or something when they are here so they can access the wi-fi and how is this sorted.

Sorry to ask so many questions its just that I don't want to go and mess it all up and end up with problems further down the line and I know that a lot of you forum members are a lot more computer speak than I am. So here's to you and I look forward to your answers.

Cheers[:)]

[Bugsy]

[quote user="Thebiga"]

Thanks for all your information people. I have a couple more things to try and get my head around as I am not realy up to speed on a lot of this stuff so please bear with me.

1. Can I use a eithernet cable at the same time as using the wi-fi on another pc (Such as a netbook) from the live box.

YES.

2. I have 2 pc's in one room ours and one for our daughter, Can I run one eithernet cable in to the one room and then into a router box to split it from that point to the 2 pc's or is there a easier way. Or do I just have one on wi-fi and one on cable.

YES & YES you can but simply using WiFi for both of them is probably much easier. The Livebox does have 2 Ethernet ports which you could use.

3. In the very near future if you have seen my other threads we would like to give wi-fi access to our gite guests so would keeping our pc's on cable and them on the wi-fi make it safer on our side (Hacking wise etc).

NO.

4. How do I set up the security (WEP ,WAP) etc to keep our side safe as I have no idea.

The WEP key is set on a Livebox and, in your case I would leave it as it is.

5. Can we then give our guests a password or something when they are here so they can access the wi-fi and how is this sorted.

YES.

Sorry to ask so many questions its just that I don't want to go and mess it all up and end up with problems further down the line and I know that a lot of you forum members are a lot more computer speak than I am. So here's to you and I look forward to your answers.

Cheers[:)]

[/quote]

[Quillan]

[quote user="Thebiga"]

1. Can I use a eithernet cable at the same time as using the wi-fi on another pc (Such as a netbook) from the live box.

[/quote]

Yes if it picks up the WiFi signal.

[quote user="Thebiga"]

2. I have 2 pc's in one room ours and one for our daughter, Can I run one eithernet cable in to the one room and then into a router box to split it from that point to the 2 pc's or is there a easier way. Or do I just have one on wi-fi and one on cable.

[/quote]

Yes you can but its called a hub (usually switched hub) not a router. You plug the cable from the LiveBox in to it then two cables to each of the PC's. If you have a network printer you can plug that in as well so both computers can use it.

[quote user="Thebiga"]

3. In the very near future if you have seen my other threads we would like to give wi-fi access to our gite guests so would keeping our pc's on cable and them on the wi-fi make it safer on our side (Hacking wise etc).

[/quote]

The WiFi is technically on the same network so in theory yes they could hack in o your computer. It makes it harder if you have not enabled File and Print Sharing on both computers. In practice I have never had any guest attempt or suceed in hacking in to one of our computers. They would have to really want to try and be pretty bored.

[quote user="Thebiga"]

4. How do I set up the security (WEP ,WAP) etc to keep our side safe as I have no idea.

[/quote]

When you switch on a computer, normally a laptop which has built in WiFi it will automatically find the wireless network, it will then ask you to type in the WAP key which is a long number and found both in the paperwork and on a sticker on your LiveBox and then they get access to the Internet. This is a typical LiveBox WAP key number as an example, its got the right number of digits but of course every WAP is different so this won't work with yours (I made it up anyway just as an example so you can see the type of thing you are looking for).:

F608E8DBF2745B25618F3EAE9B

[quote user="Thebiga"]

5. Can we then give our guests a password or something when they are here so they can access the wi-fi and how is this sorted.

[/quote]

The LiveBox comes with WiFi enabled and the WEP key, you give them the key and they enter it themselves in the same way I mentioned above.

Hope that helps