802.11 a vs. b vs. g

[WeeZer51402]

there seems to be a few choices for data protical that wireless operates over, whats the difference between the 3, whats better, what i am trying to do is set up a small home network with a 9600/350, a G3/266 and an iMac DV/500 but what is the best to use for this?

[binaryDigit]

802.11a - 54Mbps 5.6ghz.
Pros - high performance, 5.6ghz means less interference from 2.4ghz stuff (other 2.4ghz networks, phones, microwaves, etc). Fewer people have 'a' so tends to be more secure.
Cons - higher frequency means shorter distances. more expensive hardware. very difficult to find 'a' products that support the Mac. 'a' not compatible with 'b' or 'g'.

802.11b (called Airport in Apple parlance) - 11Mbps 2.4ghz
Pros - most common, decent coverage (can do an entire house plus if the conditions are right). Excellent support for the Mac assuming Apple Airport products. Lots of choices in access points. Inexpensive
Cons - 2.4ghz means lots of potential interference (effects range from slowdown to outright failure). Very popular with war drivers so more potential attackers. Poor performance, fine for surfing, sucks for large file copying, streaming high res video (e.g. dvd/mpeg2), around 2mbps "real" throughput.

802.11g (Airport Extreme in Apple parlance) - 54Mbps 2.4ghz
Pros - higher speed than 'b' but better range than 'a' (about the same as 'b'). Compatability with 'b' clients ('b' and 'g' can exist on the same 'g' access point.
Cons - 2.4ghz means similar problems with interference. More expensive than 'b'.

I'm sure I've missed a few things, but that should cover all the major points. Fear not, choosing is fairly simple.

Avoid 'a'. It's fast, but usually only corp users who need the performance use it because of the lack of range and higher equipment costs. Very little support for the Mac as well.

Use 'g'(Airport Extreme) if you can afford it, 'b' if you can't. Important to note that 'b' and 'g' clients will work with a 'g' access point, so you can always get a 'g' AP and 'b' client cards to save some money, and then upgrade clients along the way. Another important thing to keep in mind is that you can use almost ANYONES 'b' access point with Airport. This should theoretically be true for 'g' as well, though there have been some reported problems. The IEEE has only last week released their "final" 'g' standard, so interop problems will hopefully go away once everyone upgrades their firmware.

[WeeZer51402]

besides airport what is a decent 'g' access point, i allready found a couple d-link pci 'g' cards and i found a usb 'b' adapter for my iMac but im sure i could find a 'g' but i cant find a access point that is mac compatible, at least not at mac mall, any suggestions.

[binaryDigit]

Originally posted by WeeZer51402
besides airport what is a decent 'g' access point, i allready found a couple d-link pci 'g' cards and i found a usb 'b' adapter for my iMac but im sure i could find a 'g' but i cant find a access point that is mac compatible, at least not at mac mall, any suggestions.

Sorry, can't help you there. All my stuff is either 'a' or 'b', don't have any 'g' yet (and really no need since I have 'a', though I'd LOVE to be able to get my Pismo on my 'a' )

In theory, any 'g' AP should work, though I understand in practice this isn't always the case. The most popular 'g' (other than APE) is the Linksys, so you might want to check out any reports on it's compatibility. Like I said, maybe now that the 'g' standard is "set", these interop issues will go away.

[WeeZer51402]

i think ill stick with 802.11b i think i found a decent setup and all my cordless phones are 900mhz so the only concievable problem left is the microwave, i kinda need the range so i think 'b' is gonna win.