DS-PC Connectivity
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 - 4:03am
My plan is to buy a PCI wireless adapter for my PC and use that to connect to Nintendo WFC i.e. trade pokemon(j/k) in Infrastructure mode(cause then my PC acts as an Access Point, correct?) and use Ad Hoc mode(& an R4 or similar) to access my PC's files from around the house. My PC is connected to a router which is connected to a cable modem.
Is this a good plan? What is wrong with this plan? Nintendo gives info on router incompatibility but I would like to have info on wireless pc adapter compatibility if this set up is even possible, which it really should be.
Suggestions on homebrew apps and solutions and wireless adapters are also welcome.
Thank you.
Go buy Bangai-O Spirits and make some levels!
I have no problem connecting to the internet here, and we have the same setup you do (wireless router connected to cable modem). Specifically, we have one of the cheaper (in price, not quality) Linksys routers from *shudder* Walmart.
And hey, don't joke about trading Pokemon over the wifi. The GTS is the most awesome feature in the new games.
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"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to hook up a DS to wireless, because it only supports B-level encryption -- ie, none worth mentioning. If you get a WAP set up to let the DS in, you're also letting in any clueful person within antenna range. Depending on line of sight in your area, this can literally be miles.
If you're really determined to do this, I suggest buying a compatible access point. Connect it directly to the cablemodem. Then plug your existing firewall into that, so that your WAP is outside your trusted zone. This adds an extra layer of NAT, meaning that you'll have to forward ports twice now, instead of once, but it's the safest way to get a DS online without spending too much money.
Alternately, if your cable company will let you rent a second IP address, you can run the DS access point right next to your existing setup, plugging both into a hub/switch that's connected to the cablemodem. You're just running two separate networks with two separate external IP addresses. This is the very best solution, and it's what I did when I had my DS online.
Nintendo sells some kind of gadget to hook to your PC that works roughly how you describe. If you buy it, make sure to disconnect the Windows Client and Server services from that interface. (right-click Network Neighborhood, choose Properties, bring up Properties on the Nintendo web thingie, and uncheck both the Client and Server services.)
This is less safe than running in either of the other two modes, and the double NAT (your PC and then the router) is likely to make it very hard to host or join games, but it's the cheapest of the three options.
Either of the first two ways should let you host games just fine; usually you set a 'DMZ' to be your DS's IP, and things just work. But the third option, with the PC in the way too, is likely to be fairly painful, I'd think.
WEP
I was hoping to be able to use MAC filtering and maybe a maximum number of devices if I used a PC wireless adapter, that would be adequate security for me.
Forwarding ports twice does seem doable. I hadn't thought of it before. I do have an old router but it isn't the current one for a reason.
I have a switch, but I don't get how those work. I guess it was because I didn't have a second ip address.
The Nintendo USB Wifi Connector. You can still find them but I thought that Nintendo quit making them for some reason and I don't know how well it would act as an AP when using homebrew apps.
Go buy Bangai-O Spirits and make some levels!
MAC filtering is fairly limited protection. While it helps against the drive-by hacker, your DS won't be on all the time, and MAC addresses are easily spoofed. Anyone who wants to get in just sniffs your traffic for awhile, grabs the DS MAC when it comes online, and then uses it when the DS is turned off.
This does mean they have to be a little more determined about it, but it just adds time, not difficulty.