* Dr. Internet columnist Steve Blass explains why hospitals ban cell phones * Help Desk columnist Ron Nutter offers advice on how to get a Linksys wireless router and PIX working together
* Why hospitals ban cell phones
By Steve Blass
Q: Do you know why using a cell phone in a hospital unit could be a problem, when that same hospital provides wireless network service for visitors and patient rooms in the same areas?
A: I’ve been told it’s because the hospital can define and control the wireless network equipment and the frequencies that the wireless network uses with enough certainty to ensure that there won’t be interference with the patient monitoring equipment, but that the uncertainty associated with the way multiple cellular telephone services operate and the variety of handsets makes it more difficult to ensure that there won’t be any interference.
To read Steve’s response in its entirety, please click here.
* Getting a Linksys wireless router and a PIX to work together
By Ron Nutter
Q: There is a Linksys wireless router (WRT54G) with the Internet going into the one of the 4 LAN switch plugs. Another line comes out and goes to a Cisco PIX router. One more line comes off of the LAN ports and plugs into the WAN port. I figured this would give wireless users public IPs to log into the Cisco PIX, but I cannot figure why the loopback from the LAN to the WAN port.
A: If I am understanding what you are trying to do correctly, your wiring should look something like this: the WAN cable from the Linksys WRT54G router should plug into one of the LAN ports of the PIX (assuming you have a model 501 with multiple LAN ports on the chassis). Other models may have multiple LAN ports depending on what feature cards have been installed. Make sure that the IP address range used by the Linksys router on the LAN side is different from what the PIX is using for its LAN ports. Although NAT (Network Address Translation) is being used by the Linksys, it may be a little confusing on troubleshooting if you haven’t dealt with it some. In this configuration, everyone who is coming into the WRT54G will show up as the same public IP address that the WRT54G gets from the DHCP server running in the PIX.
To read Ron’s response in its entirety, please click here.
