How to Setup a wireless Network?

Karanislove

Karanislove

It's D Grav80 Of Luv
One of my friend wanted me to setup his wireless network. I told him that I dont have much knowledge about wireless network. But now I think it would be better for me to know, how to setup a wireless network.
Things which I think, I have to do while setup a wireless conection is.....
Suppose I have
Systems
2xLaptops,
2x Desktops

Wireless Objects
1x802.11abg router
2wireless card for laptops(I am not sure but I think we call them PCMCIA 802.11a/b/g)
2x802.11a/b/g desktop wireless cards

Internet
Broadband 256kbps speed

Router Setup
First of all, I have to setup the Router. To setup Router, I have to connect it with one of the machine through USB. Here I get confused what actually I have to do to setup a Router.:confused:. According to my ISP, I will recieve the IP adress and DHCP adress automatically. How do I have to setup the Username and Password in the Router? What will be its use? Do I have to setup ports in it as well? Does that password and username will be required by other machines as well.

Machines Card Setup
Insert the cards in all the machines. Install the drivers. Set the IP address and DHCP adress to recieve automatically and here we go.........

But how do I make sure that my connection is secure?:confused:
 
i think a wireless network was by definition insecure (somebody driving past your house could use your wireless broadband, similar to bluetooth on mobile / cell phones) but advances could have been made (that i´m not aware of)

EDIT: but yeah, i think your right (although i havn´t used wireless myself, so i could just be talking crap)
 
Its not as hard as you'd think :).

802.11a is not commonly used, its sometimes known as the betamax of the 802.11 family. It uses th 5GHz band and so it range is only about half that of 802.11b. My advice is to stay away from it and have less hassle. The majority of PC wireless devices now are b/g. Plus the fact the 802.11a and b/g are incompatible.

As for the router, you would not actually connect it to the PC via USB.

You best implementation is this:
ADSL modem -ethernet cable->Wifi router -wireless link> devices with wireless NICs.

Assuming you have a modem which has an ethernet port, the router will do the job of sharing the internet connection and providing the backbone for the network.

Alternatively you could do the following instead.
ADSL wireless router -wireless link->devices with wireless NICs.
You could effectively use the router to connect to the phone line (if its ADSL) and make your current modem redunant. This means you only have one device, instead of 2 which may be better.

This is an example of an ADSL router (must be ADSL, otherwise it won't be able to connect to phone line): Aries ADSLWR - ADSL Wireless Router 54Mb - 4 Port + Modem Builtin

Security
By using wireless networks you're transmitting network traffic through the air. Security (relative) can be achieved by using encryption which is highly recommended.

Overview:

WEP
WEP is Wired Equivilent Privacy and is an aging and obsolete method of encryption. It is very easily cracked if someone knows what they're doing. Advantage of this is that nearly all wireless cards support it.

WPA
WPA is Wifi Protected Access and is the successor to WEP. It is much more secure and I use it on my home network.

It uses a different encryption method, and is much more resistant to cracking attempts.

I strongly suggest you use WPA. There are two methods of encrypting with WPA. TKIP and AES. TKIP is the more common way, its not as secure as AES but requires less processing time and all WPA devices support it. AES can be used if you want but not all devices will support it.

To choose whether you use TKIP or AES you configure it in your router's web configuration tool. You will also need to configure each wireless device to use one or the other. The encryption key for WPA-PSK is in the form of a passkey, like microsoftsucksass.

WPA2
WPA2 is more secure than WPA, but few routers/cards support it.

Tips:
  • Use WPA instead of WEP for security. Choose a strong passkey, but don't forget it!
  • Hide your ESSID. Your ESSID is the identifier for your network, so you can call it karanislovewifi etc. You don't have to hide your ESSID, but doing so will stop normal people from seeing your network in their list of scanned networks. However, it is possible to find the ESSID with a tool, so this isn't really a security measure.
  • Do try to maintain a line of sight. Metal objects, mirrors and concrete walls all degrade a wireless signal. Metal objects in the path will especially make it weaker.

One last note, you would not normally need to configure ports to do web surfing. If however you want to use bittorrent, or run a game server etc on a computer, you will have to set up port forwarding on your router so that it allows traffic through that port.

Basic steps of wireless networking
  1. Connect your router to the modem, or phone line depending on your setup.
  2. Connect the router to a PC using an ethernet cable to initially set up router.
  3. On the PC, point the web browser to the router's IP address. This can be found on the underside of the router.
  4. Enter your admin name and password. The default one is found underneath the router.
  5. Enter the web configuration tool, and change the default password to something memorable.
  6. Go to security options, and set up your security. Use WPA, and choose a passkey.
  7. If you're using the router to connect to the phone line directly, enter your ISP username and password etc.
  8. Apply changes to the router, it may need to reboot.
  9. Disconnect the router from the PC and enter the wireless network settings onto the PC.
  10. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR ROUTER BEFORE DOING ANYTHING!

You may receive a setup CD with your router. Remember, this is not essential and you will not need it to set up the router. However, it's up to you whether you use it.
 
If using ethernet cable, there is lot's to choose from, e.g. CAT5e, CAT6 Patch etc .. The higher the CAT (category) the faster the transfer speed is. I have 20m CAT6 ethernet cable and this is much more faster and reliable than my Wifi link. I recommend wired over wireless. Some things you should know are:

- The distance from PC to Router.
- To use Patch ethernet cable (Router to > PC [NIC])
- Always, always use strong encryption, I use WPA TKIP like Addis.

Hope this helps
 
Chris said:
If using ethernet cable, there is lot's to choose from, e.g. CAT5e, CAT6 Patch etc .. The higher the CAT (category) the faster the transfer speed is. I have 20m CAT6 ethernet cable and this is much more faster
Click to expand...
But there is a bottle neck in your Network card. What is the use of higher category if Cat5e can do the same work?


Addis said:
Go to security options, and set up your security. Use WPA, and choose a passkey.
Click to expand...
Is it possible that a router supports WEP but not WPA coz my friend told me that its the only option available in his router. He might be wrong but I want to make sure first that if its possible.
 
Addis said:
I strongly suggest you use WPA. There are two methods of encrypting with WPA. TKIP and AES. TKIP is the more common way, its not as secure as AES but requires less processing time and all WPA devices support it. AES can be used if you want but not all devices will support it.

To choose whether you use TKIP or AES you configure it in your router's web configuration tool. You will also need to configure each wireless device to use one or the other. The encryption key for WPA-PSK is in the form of a passkey, like microsoftsucksass.
Click to expand...

Hi Addis, that's a very helpful description. But how do I work with the client devices, namely laptops that I want to connect to the network? I don't know, for instance, if my laptop supports TKIP or AES. My wireless LAN card or whatever u call it doesn't have its own manual, nor its own software/control panel as far as I can tell. All I have is the general laptop manual which doesn't talk about it. The manual from my router tells me to look in the "client manager software" but there is no such thing. The wireless LAN card just has its own special entry in the control panel's device manager list, with a few details listed when I click on it to see the properties. But that's all I got. So how do I 1.) find out whether my LAN card supports TKIP, AES, both, or neither and 2.) how do I configure it, as you say must be done in your second paragraph I quoted?
 
Excellent explanation, addis. Also note that it's a very good idea to keep wireless and wired networks isolated from one another. A good way to allow your trusted wireless devices to interact with wired devices, like printers and servers, is with a VPN. That way, you can have a secure, encrypted tunnel even over a less than trustworthy medium (like a wireless network or the Internet).
 
[ot]Due to the matter of fact that this thread has got some more unsolved questions, I m setting it to unsolved.........[/ot]
 
yea cheers for the reply about the wireless.i will start another thread as you advised..just thought this could at least be a start as im new to these forums etc...
i have already worked out how to set up the wireless router so that i can have another pc in my sons room with a wireless connection running from my pc in here..and thats all fine..set up p/word,wep key etc....hes connected..but signal is low i notice..:confused:
but i really just need to know how i can share files over the 2,the easiest/best way,so i can burn some info onto dvd on my old pc which has a dvd burner...as my new 1 is going to be reinstalled with xp again..and i want to save some data on it first...plus it only has a cd/dvd combo...and i need to make dvd of the data as cds not big enough.
i have read some stuff about sharing files..and have followed some instructions..but just when i think ive cracked it...i see it hasnt worked yet..i managed to get my wired new pc to see my sons pc in its network..but not vice versa yet..and i cant open any files on the pc...know what i mean..anyone..?
 
nik said:
..i managed to get my wired new pc to see my sons pc in its network.
Click to expand...
Make sure that u r using Minimun of Category5e cable, you will find it written on the cable itself....
I've done sharing in the wired network but I dont know much about wireless as you can see that it was me who started this thread....
 
yea...me neither..:(
all i know is theres so many little wizards and stuff on xp for setting up wireless network,file sharing etc...its ridiculous...all i want to do is share a few files over the 2 pcs..but it seems thats not as simple as it sounds on win xp..with a wireless connection..plus the wireless pc....keeps losing its connection..and i keep having to reinstall the s/ware cd again and again..its getting silly...why is this i wonder..?

and if im connecting the 2 pcs via a wireless router..surely i dont need any cables wires etc to be able to share files over them..??
 
Okay u dont need to reinstall the software over and over again just cuz it loses its connection. U just have it reconnect. And with the signal being weak issue, maybe in your router's control panel u can raise/lower its antenna signal strength? Some allow u to do this. But if not, or if its maxed anyway, u just gotta get a stronger antenna and/or better wireless adapter(s). U can buy antennas for wireless routers which are stronger than the ones they come wiht out of the box, and same with wireless adapters: they vary in their ability to sense the signal; u get what u pay for basically.

As for file sharing, I can't help, sorry. Don't know anything about it.
 
ok..thanks for reply.

i tried to reconnect..but it wasnt working b4..but i think its ok now...was perhaps something to do with me messing about with the wizards on the xp which was disabling it somehow...so ive left the networkin thing for now.

the adapter is not 1 of most expensive i dont think...its just a bt usb one..but it seems ok considering.maybe ill get another later..but it seems to be doing it job for now..thankfully.i moved it onto the table too..and thats made a fair bit of difference.

mm..ill have to research the file sharin thing..but for now..i think ill just transfer the files over the net..from one pc to the other if i need to..this seems the easiest way for now..
 
Hey guys, ok. im in a similiar boat as you. i have two PC's. one is wired to the router which is connected to the hogh speed internet while another is connected wirelessly to the router.ive been looking around and doing alot of research on the topic and ive read this "http://help.lockergnome.com/general/Computer-39-Access-work-ftopict15676.html
"
it talks about not using the wireless network config cause it causes problems, it also talks about this specific problem ive been having where it says this

"MSHOME is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions

The network path was not found"

i dont know if the same error message comes up to anyone else but it happens to me. i have been fooling around but still havent got anything to work right.

if anyone figures out how to configure filesharing over a wireless network from please help me out, thanks.
 
nik said:
..i think ill just transfer the files over the net..from one pc to the other if i need to..this seems the easiest way for now..
Click to expand...
Do you guys do something like this to share the file?...
Right click on the folder and select sharing and then select the share radio button and prove a network name to the folder....
Then on second computer, go to My Computer > tools > Map Network Drive, browse for the drive and then ok...
 
i have figured it out!!!!! wow this made me so happy when i finally got it tonight. what needs to be done first is open all the ip's from your network (usually 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.255). once that is done you can begin to share files!! getting to this option was what got me but its acually pretty simple. if you are using windows firewall you should already be able to file share. if you are using others(i had symantec security) you will need to go into the firewall tab and go to configure. in configure there will be a networking tab, press it. once pressed you can add an ip, or a range of ip's to be allowed access through the firewall. press add near the bottom of the window. what i did was range to make sure it was open. type the starting ip as 192.168.1.1 (or whatever you starting ip is.) then set the end ip at 192.168.1.255 once this is done go to networking and see if you can filre share. respond back if you still have problems. i am just so happy i got it and want to help anyone who is still working on it.
 
wkd ..funnily enough i was looking at my firewall stuff last night and was thiking i would need to allow it in there somehow..so thats the key eh..;))

im just not sure what you mean by add ip/s in a certain range etc...do i just find out the ip add of the pc i want to share with ..and just add that 1 in the firewall..is that what you mean..cos i tsounds like tyoure saying i have to add more thatn 1 ip add...im not too up on the ip stuff..

just let me know..and then i should be able to start sharin files i guess...mm...ill let you know if it works after ive done this.plus i guess ill have to run through some wizards again on the xp...the files and settings transfer 1 ..and the networking 1 maybe.

ok..hit me back ..cheers.:)
 
ok, your wireless computer is connected through your router to the internet right? if you want to know your current network ip go to the control panel/Network Connections/Wireless network Connection and press the support tab(this is done on your wireless computer) and under Ip adress is the wireless computers network ip. under gateway is your router ip. for me my router ip is 192.168.1.1 and my wireless computers ip is 192.168.1.101 so what i did is created a range from 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.255 beacuse i have another computer on there thats 192.168.1.100 and sometimes i have ppl over to share a connection with so i can add them into the filesharing process also.

But if you want to network with you internet functional you will have to configure your firewall to allow these ip's access to your computer. any mroe questions?
 
you dont need to run the wizards, i didnt. all the wizards do is set it up for you(but it never works, or at least never did for me because it doesnt fool around with the firewalls) it seems like you arent using windows firewall and thats what your problem is here. so again i say, configure your firwall to allow those ip's (hint your ip might be 192.168.2.X just check the wireless network connection as i said above) ill be waiting for a reply!
 
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