Misconceptions about Wireless Networking

I was browsing through my local MegaMart recently. I belong to the group of men who find themselves in the Electronics Department or some other manly area of the store while the wife is shopping for groceries. It seems we are better off out of their way. As I was browsing, a store associate was dealing with a customer near the wireless routers and associated goodies. I know the associate well. He knows that I'm "in the business". He was trying his best to satisfy the customer's needs. He was not having very much luck so he asked me for my help.

It seems that the customer, who was with his wife, wanted a 50 foot USB cable. Now the MegaMart has loads of stuff, but a 50 foot USB cable? That's a stretch. Here's where I get stupid and jump into the conversation. I asked him why he needed such a long cable. He said that he wanted to hook it to his child's laptop. He said the laptop wasn't getting a good wireless signal. He wanted to connect a USB wireless adapter to the cable and get it closer to his "router".

Now this is a "solution" that I haven't run into in my experience. He told me he thought that if he could get the USB adapter he bought closer to the "router" he could get better reception. Not necessarily a bad idea. I knew that the cable wouldn't connect to the adapter. If you know the anatomy of a USB cable it has two types of connectors. An "A" connector is at the PC end and a "B" connector is on the peripheral end. So I get nosey. I asked him about the type of house they lived in and if it was single or two story. It was a single story ranch. Did they have a kitchen or bathroom between the laptop's location and the "router" and other pertinent about features of his house that would reduce his signal strength. He gave me a "no" to all my questions.

Now I ask "What kind of router do you have?" We are standing in front of a shelf loaded with all sorts of 802.11g and 802.11n (draft) routers. I ask him if it is one of these brands. He says he has an "insert name of a major high speed cable broadband provider here" router. You know the one I'm talking about. It starts with a "C". I personally use this provider. I'm relatively familiar with them. I've done plenty of installations with the provider and I feel I have some expertise regarding their service and products.

I am not aware that this company provides wireless routers to their customers. If so, then where's mine? He assures me that he has a router provided by this service. I then ask him about how his network is set up. I'm looking for network topology here. He says he has one desktop PC connected by Cat 5 Ethernet cable going to his "router". He also has a coax cable coming from the wall going to his "router". He says there are no other ports on the back. "So this is you cable modem", I ask. He replied, "No, it's my router." If he only has a cable modem, then how is his laptop connecting now and then. We'll find out later on in the article. At this point I hadn't made any mental connections.

I'm really confused now. I wish that the sales associate hadn't gotten me involved. Sometimes trying to help isn't what it's cracked up to be. This guy really wants the cable modem to be a wireless router. Nothing I say will convince him. After all, he is getting on the internet now and then.

Now here's where I tick the guy off. I keep asking about his "router" trying to get some kind of picture of his system in my mind. He keeps getting more and more aggravated as I keep asking questions. I'm only trying to help. He stomps off. His poor wife looks apologetic. His problem is unresolved. I have just made his blacklist. The store associate apologizes for pulling me into the situation. I should know better.

In project management there is always a "Lesson's Learned" document written at the end of a project. I'm not going into that level of detail. My lesson is simple. People live in their own realities. This guy is convinced that his cable modem is a router. I knew it wasn't. I should have left him believing that when I realized he didn't want to hear anything else. I tried too hard.

Now why was his child getting any reception on his laptop? I believe he was on the edge of a neighborhood hotspot. That's the only solution I could come up with. It could be the reason that the customer wanted the 50 foot USB cable was to get the USB wireless adapter closer to the hotspot. Not the modem. He might have thought it was cheaper to buy a cable than buy a router. In that case I can understand why he got so aggravated. He could have known that he was "stealing" signal and was feeling a little guilty about it. It could be that he did think the modem was a router. Who knows at this point?

There are a lot of misconceptions regarding wireless networks out there. If you want more information on wireless networking, please read my article "A Simple Guide to Wireless Networking".

Randolph M. Wells Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator IT Training and Certification Consultant IT Project Management Specialist Download This Free Report That Reveals Every Single Tool Mike Filsaime Uses To Run His Million Dollar Online Business Get the Free Resource Report Here! Profit Master Blog