HP X5400 Network Manual page 4

options for options on how to assign your wireless network to a different channel which
may have less interference from neighbors.
Changing Wireless Networking Channels
Within a wireless networking standard such as 802.11g, individual channels exist which
allow for multiple wireless devices to use different portions of the available bandwidth (for
example in 802.11g there are channels 1 though 11). Many wireless access points and
routers are pre-configured to use a specific channel and if your neighbor has a wireless
network many times you are both using the same channel. This can cause both of your
wireless networks to slow down since they have to deal with traffic that doesn't belong to
them, changing to a different channel may improve your performance.
For 802.11g even though there are 11 available channels, there are actually only 3 that
do not overlap. You don't need to test all the channels, checking 1, 6, and 11 should be
sufficient to see if you can improve performance with this technique. To change your
wireless networking channel you need to use the web page administration utility of your
access point or router. See your wireless access point or router instruction manual for
more details on advanced configuration of your wireless network.
Network Topology Changes
One of the difficult modifications to make to your home network is also the thing which
could have the most significant impact on overall performance, network topology
changes. You may for example have a Media Center PC in your living room, a
productivity PC in an office or den, and want to put a Media Center Extender in your
master bedroom. If your DSL internet access is coming into your house at your office or
den, then you may want to have both the Media Center PC and the Media Center
Extender connected wirelessly. This type of configuration is not supported because video
must travel over wireless twice, and may result in seemingly unsolvable network
performance problems.
Consider more complex modifications to your home network such as changing the point
of entry of internet into your house. If you have a phone jack near the Media Center PC
in the living room, perhaps the DSL modem and your router can move there and the
office PC can connect wirelessly. This configuration change allows the Media Center PC
to connect to the router with wired Ethernet and places significantly less stress on the
network for TV playback.
Another option to consider is moving your wireless access point or router to a different
room in the house that reduces the overall wireless distances or obstructions. Perhaps
it's reasonably easy to run a longer Ethernet wire between your Media Center PC and
the access point but still get it into another room.