Wireless Networking
April 15th, 2010
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Requirements for Wireless Use of ChiroPulse365:
- Wireless-N Mini Card (self installed w/ screwdriver, ~ $50)
click here to see several samples at Amazon.com in a new window/tab - Wireless-N Router or wireless Bridge/Access Point
click here to see several samples of Bridges (to use with your existing router) at amazon.com in a new window/tab - Windows 7 (any version)
- Windows XP (any version) SP2 or SP3
- Windows Vista (any version) SP1 or SP2
Wi-fi wireless roaming between treatment and other rooms
As people can wirelessly use their phones & view the web or fetch email, it is a nice goal to be able to wireless access your ChiroPulse data from anywhere in your office. We have tested and used wi-fi going back to Winter 2005 when we launched ChiroPulse Advanced v4 (replace by ChiroPulse365) using D-link 104mpbs and early Pre-N wifi setups.
Wi-fi using Wireless-N is a great tool for network PCs (ie. for the doctor) but does have a few areas of concern that you need to be aware of & work around by following these strict guidelines:
- Reliability. Wired networks are 100% reliable & require no configuration. Wireless networks are less reliable obviously and are subject to interference, lost signals, poor reception and/or improper setup. Wireless is great for notes, scheduling & looking up patient data (i.e. used by the doctor). Wireless is not to be used for running invoices, reports or data-intensive tasks that take time to complete.
- Security. Wireless networks WPA2 encryption are completely safe as its security has not been breached. Unsecure wireless or wifi using basic WEP encryption is easily breached. You must run WPA2 level encryption or better on your wireless router and all cards. This is business-level security that matches wired networking.
- Ease of Setup & Maintenance – wi-fi networks require a new Wireless-N router (or you can simply piggyback a wireless-N access point) in addition to Wireless-N wifi cards for laptop computers. Wifi requires setting up WPA2 security, creating keys/passwords and doing the initial connection & permissions. Installing a wireless-N wi-fi card cards takes a screwdriver, popping out the old card, disconnecting the small wired antenna & inserting the new card. It is a quick & pretty easy do-it-yourself swap though. Some laptops (not netbooks) have express PC Cards which allow you to insert the new network card in the side like a large credit card that protrudes a little bit. We recommend the internal mini-PCI card since it takes up no space and is done once and never touched again.
- Wireless-N 802.11N standard only – this is the latest, most robust & secure wifi standard above Wireless-G. Wireless-N is required and must be running at full bandwidth on all devices (notebook/netbooks & router/wifi-access point). Wireless-G and most internal wifi cards that come with less expensive computers are insufficient in regard to speed and security. Thankfully these Wireless-G cards can be easily replaced/upgraded by the user to Wireless-N. Note that the ChiroPulse hardware requirements apply to the Tablet PC also (XGA screen, 1GB ram, etc).
- Never use wireless wi-fi to connect two desktop PCs. That is silly, costly and a waste of time and energy. Use wireless to connect a Notebook/Tablet/Netbook laptop to your wired network. You can mix wired PCs with a wireless notebook or two.
Remember Pentium 4 computers from 3 years ago were 3Ghz – actually faster in some ways for single applications & data throughput. Avoid older 32-bit Celeron processors as they’re they’re older, slower and waste energy. Just about any PC at this level will be OK and give you a few years use as expensed office equipment.