Transcript TabithaWiest

Installation and
Setting up a
Wireless LAN
Why would you want a Wireless LAN?
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Because it would take a lot of cable to set up your
Internet, and a wireless router and card would be
cheaper and more organized.
Your staff uses mostly laptops and travels through the
building jotting notes.
Wireless LANs also are good for make resources
available in buildings where you may not be able to run
wires. In these buildings your only options are to run a
wireless network.
Another great aspect to a wireless LAN is if you were to
move it is easy to rework your network in a different
area. Where it is difficult for someone to relocate a
regular LAN.
Once you have decided how to you
go about preparing for the set up?
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First you want to figure out how many
devices you will be putting on the network.
After deciding that you must buy either a
LAN card, or a USB device to insert into each
device.
You also must buy at least one wireless
adaptor, and if you have a large network you
may want to consider more than one of these
devices. 15 computers is a good number to
be on one access point.
Another thing you need to think of
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You also need to think about the placement of
your router. Because if you put your router on
the side of the building you will make it easier
for a hacker to get into your network. By
putting it in the center you also have to think if
the signal will carry to everyone that should be
on the network. You will need to think about
this as well. If your wireless cannot be accessed
by everyone through a single router you may
have to think about putting more than one
router for the network.
How to decide which device to use
for which of your devices.
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A USB wireless adaptor would be a good idea for
desktop computers that you would not like to
tear apart. This device allows you to plug it into
your USB port and access the wireless internet
that way.
How to decide which device to use
for which of your devices. (cont.)
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A wireless LAN card would be a card that
you would put into a device like a laptop
that would allow the computer to access a
certain workgroup/your internet network.
How to decide which device to use
for which of your devices. (cont.)
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A router is the device that you would hook up
to the Ethernet port that will allow you to send
the wireless to your other devices.
How to decide which device to use
for which of your devices. (cont.)
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Another idea of something you might want to
add to your network is wireless PDA’s. There
are also adaptors available for these devices.
Now that I have the devices how do I
start my network?
After purchasing the devices you need to either
insert the LAN card, or install the USB device
into the computers.
 Next you will need to hook your router up to the
Ethernet port in the wall.
 Lastly you will need to use the software that
comes with your router, and set it up so that
only the people you would like to have access to
your network have access to your network.
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Other thoughts when implementing a
Wireless LAN.
If your wireless router does not come with
a disk, you may need to get drivers for the
router although most of the time the
routers are plug and play devices.
 Next, normally you will want to open an
internet explorer page and type in
my.router . After doing this you should
have a page come up.
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What if the page doesn’t come up?
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Sometimes your computer will not
recognize the router in which case it may
be that you might need to go into the
properties of your TCP/IP and change the
settings for your IP address.
How do I know if it is working
properly?
If your wireless is working properly you should
have an icon in the bottom right hand corner of
your screen that looks like a monitor with three
curved lines next to it.
 If that is there you then need to double click on
it to see if the network you set up is there.
 Finally to see if it is properly set up you may
want to see if a computer that is not registered
on your network can access your network.
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If it isn’t working properly what do I
do?
If you are still having troubles setting up your
wireless LAN you may want to call the company
that makes it, and ask them if there is anything
that you are doing wrong. Sometimes the
company will walk you through the process of
setting up the router.
 You also might want to find someone who has
set one up before, and ask them if they had the
same difficulties, because chances are if you are
having a problem someone else has had the
same problem at one point or another.
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If it isn’t working properly what do I
do?(cont.)
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Another thing to check if your wireless is
not working right is if you are too far away
from your router. If you are too far away
from it your computer may not be able to
pick up the signal from the router.
Therefore inhibiting you from being able
to access the internet through your
wireless devices.
Disadvantages for Wireless LAN’s vs.
LANs
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Yes, cordless phones, radios, and other nearby
wireless LANs can also interfere or degrade the
operation of a wireless LAN. “External sources
of RF energy in the 2.4GHz band periodically
block users and access points from accessing the
shared air medium. As a result, the
performance of your wireless LAN will suffer
when RF interference is present. So obviously
you should strive to minimize sources of RF
interference and possibly set the access point
channels to avoid the interfering signals.
(Geier)”
Disadvantages for Wireless LAN’s vs.
LANs (cont.)
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Security is also another disadvantage for
Wireless LANs. Because wireless LANs are
transported over radio signals through a
broad area there is a big risk of intruders
getting into your information.
How to deal with the security risks
for Wireless LANs
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“First, the business can program a special
coded number into each access point and
every authorized wireless device.” “As
further protection a business can encode
data transmitted between the access point
and the wireless device in such a way that
only the recipient can decode the message
using a special electronic “key.” (Ciampa,
20)”
What else will I need to finish my
Wireless LAN?
You also want to make sure you have a/an:
-virus protection software
-pop-up blocker (normally included with a
good virus protection)
-spy-ware/spam-ware
-a good security policy in place
What if an unauthorized user can
access my network?
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If you find that a computer that you did
not authorize can get onto your network
you may want to go back and try to
reconfigure your settings on your router to
make sure this will not happen in the
future.
Can you mix both Wireless LANs and
regular LANs?
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Yes, some of the routers you may find might
actually have places in the back of it for
outgoing lines that way you can hook up not
only your wireless to the router, but you can
hook up a Cat 5 cable to it to use on your
desktop. This can be beneficial, because many
desktops do not come with a wireless card, and
this way you can be able to access the internet
with your desktop and your laptop with the
same set up.
At the conclusion of setting up your
Wireless LAN.
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At the end of setting up your wireless LAN you
are going to want to document what you have
done. That way if someone needs to go back
and change/fix something they know what you
have done. This way also if something happens
and you cannot go back to look at the problem,
one of your co-workers can figure out what you
did wrong or differently that may not have been
working (Geier).
Sources
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“Solutions-how-to guides.” Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
2006. 25 Sept. 2006
<http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/howto/wireless_lan/plan_it.html>.
“Solutions-how-to guides.” Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
2006. 25 Sept. 2006
<http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/howto/wireless_lan/do_it.html>.
“Wireless Networking Guide.” 25 Sept. 2006
<http://www.tigerdirect.com/static/html/wireless-Info-New2.html>.
Geier, Jim. “Maximizing Wireless LAN Performance.” Wi-Fi Planet. 2002. 7
Oct. 2006. <http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/1560371>.
Ciampa, Mark. Guide to Designing and Implementing Wireless LANs.
Canada: Course Technology Thomas Learning, 2001.
Geier, Jim. “Wireless LAN Installation Steps.” Wi-Fi Planet. 2003. 9 Oct.
2006.<http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/1718161>.
Questions?