I'm afraid that I don't have a magic recipe that guarantees perfect WL
networking, but I've always had complete success with WL networks, both
large and small. Perhaps being an engineer causes me to approach the
problem a little differently, but these are the basic steps that have lead
me to solid success with WL networks.
1) Insure that the PCs are working, stable and reliable. This sounds
obvious but is probably the most important step. If the computers are
flaky, nothing can be done to make the WL network solid. Remove all
junkware and crapplets, insure that the OS is up to date with service packs
and updates, have good anti-virus and firewall software running to keep the
computer clean and to stop new infections. It's probably simpler to set up
the network if all PCs are running the same OS, but it's not necessary. My
WL networks usually have a variety of OSs. The hardware must be rock solid.
2) Make sure that the network hardware is solid. Hubs and routers with
plastic cases don't work in RF environments. Some people use shielded CAT5
cable, but I question whether the requisite current paths and proper shield
connections exist in an Ethernet system to make the shield actually operate
properly.
3) Design a good network and implement it carefully. I've only ever used
TCP/IP protocol, since it's so versatile and is built into every OS. Pick
an IP subnet in a private address space and assign static IP addresses to
the computers. This rules out having a computer's IP address lease expire
at a bad time and have a different address assigned by a DHCP server. If
your firewall supports trusted zones, make the subnet a trusted zone,
otherwise insure that each PCs is "cleared" to receive traffic from the
other PCs. Make sure that every PC can ping every other PC, even while
transmitting. Use Windows Networking to be sure that every computer can
find and browse to all the other PCs. Share the WriteLog and Contest
folders on each PC so that all computers can share files easily.
4) Install WL carefully on each PC. It probably helps to have the same
version of WL on each computer, but I often don't. Make sure that WL runs
reliably on each PC before trying to start the network. It *is* important
to have the same empty .wl file on each computer before the contest starts,
so that each instance of WL opens with the same fields, settings and
configurations.
5) Follow the instructions to start the network carefully, one computer at
a time. The WL network startup instructions are well documented, so I won't
repeat them. Follow them all the way through on one computer before moving
on to the next one. If everything is solid up to this point, and the
instructions for starting the network are followed on every computer, there
will be joy.
As I said at the start, I don't have a magic recipe for making WL networking
operate. Nevertheless, I hope that some users find these tips helpful. 73
- Jim, W8WTS.
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