Can anybody tell me the difference?

Thanks ahead of time,
Nate

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Can anybody tell me the difference?

Thanks ahead of time,
Nate

the difference?

Speed is a measure of how fast something is
Strength is a measure of how strong something is

:mrgreen:

strength-v-speed, compared to what?

I will assum you mean wired compared to wireless???

Speed, most average wired networks can run at 100Mb/s, wireless networks (assuming you have the right adapter and access point) can reach speeds of 108Mb/s, most wireless networks (in my experience) run somewhere between 5Mb/s and 22Mb/s I have never actually been on a wireless network that runs faster than this.
Wired technology can transfer files at upto 1Gb/s (most new boards will have gigabit lan ports.) I haven't ever seen a network running faster than 100Mb/s.

Strengths.
Wired:
More secure, you actually need a physical connection to the network
technology is very cheap
Fewer compatibility issues compared to wireless, when using OS's like Linux.

Wireless:
No Wires (oddly enough), this means no hiding wires and no drilling holes
Perfect for laptops, allows you to use the network whilst in the garden.
If you decide to move the computer to another room, or in a different place in the same room, just move it, no haveing to re-route your cables.

Wireless is less secure than wired lans for the simple fact that you do not have to have a physical connection to the network, In my home I can connect to my neighbours network, and get speeds of around 11Mb/s I often wonder why I bother paying for ADSL, i could just use theirs.

You can make wireless networks secure, there are steps you can take to reduce the risks, things as simple as changing your SSID right through to setting WEP encryption and using MAC address tables to restrict devices.
Unfortunately nothing is perfect, a determined person could still breach your network, the biggest advantage to Wired networks is the physical requirement, lets face it, if this is a home network, I think your gonna notice someone trying to connect their Cat5 cable to your router.

Oh, wireless networks can be funny at times, I have seen cases where the wireless network will work everywhere in the house, and even the garden, but wont work in the one corner of the room where your computer is. ??

I use wireless and wired, wired just because I have the kit left over from the 'old' days and wireless because I have a need to use my laptop in more than one place (home, work, cafe's, friends house's)
My wired network connects the devices in the same room as the ADSL line, wireless deals with the rest of the house.

SE (Dave)

I think what we are looking at are the two graphs on a wireless client application.

Strength is far more important than speed. If I have a solid connection at 1 Mbps but my ISP only gives me 768k and the remote webserver only gives me 40k from their end, the differences between 1Mbps and 54Mbps really don't matter much.

If your signal strength is too low you may experince problems maintaining a connnection, especially if there are may access points in a small area.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.