Wireless all- In-One for Dummies- P4 pptx

Book II Chapter 4 Deciphering DHCP 69 Understanding DHCP If you do break out a separate area for statically addressed machines, it’s a good idea to make a note of it somewhere. DHCP, get out of my hair! Sometimes you just want to turn off DHCP. You only want one DHCP server on your home network. If you have another device that’s doing the job of DHCP and you plug in your device, then you’ll have two devices handing out addresses. DHCP is so simple that most devices come with it turned on. As you add more pieces to your network, you’ll probably come across the situation where you get two DHCP servers. Make sure to turn that second (or third, or fourth) server off. As a case in point, these combination router–access point–switch devices are roughly the same price as an access point, so you might just come home one day with a second router to expand your new wireless network. Configure wireless, turn off DHCP, and give the new router a different static address, and you can plug it into the rest of your network as if it were an access point. Just remember to leave the Internet port unplugged, because your first router is providing the path out to the Internet, and the new one is bridging your computer between the wireless and wired inside networks. But wait, there’s more! Looking back at the results of ipconfig /all from Figure 4-3, a bunch of other information is there. Most of it isn’t that noteworthy, but tI discuss two in the following sections. Default gateway The Internet is one big game of Hot Potato. One guy throws his packet to a router, who throws it to the next router down the line, all the way until it lands at its destination. To join in, you have to know where to throw your packet. Your default gateway is the place that your computer sends all the packets it doesn’t know what to do with (for people on your local network, you can talk directly to them). DHCP tells you the address of your gateway when handing out the address. You can see that this address is 192.168.1.1, which is your router. Without a default gateway, you’re not going to get on the Internet. DNS servers This chapter has talked a lot about addresses like 192.168.1.1, but you’ve probably never typed one into your browser. You’ve always typed URLs like http://example.com/, right? 70 Understanding DHCP DNS, the Domain Name System, is what translates those names that you understand into the numbers that computers understand. It’s like the phone book of the Internet. Most routers make themselves the DNS server and relay your requests to your ISP’s DNS servers. Sometimes they just tell you to talk to your ISP’s name servers directly by handing out those addresses. Either way is good. The funny thing about DNS is that you can be connected to the Internet, but without DNS, you’ll get nothing but errors when you try to do anything. That’s because your computer has no way to figure out how to convert the names to IP addresses, and you probably don’t know the addresses off the top of your head, either. The address is required for your computer to con- nect to your destination, such as a Web server: a name won’t cut it. Troubleshooting DHCP If you get an address through DHCP, then DHCP is working great. It’s pretty simple that way. With DHCP, you usually don’t end up without an address. If there’s a prob- lem, your computer will assign itself an address starting with 169.254, which is called the autoconfigure address range. This address isn’t helpful, because it’s not one of yours and therefore can’t be used to talk to the Internet. If you get this autoconfigure address, then make sure you’re within range of your access point. Sometimes you get enough strength from the wireless signal to see the other side, but not enough to have any meaningful con- versation, such as the whole, “Hey, I need an address” song and dance that starts things off. Other times, the problem is related to your wireless drivers, especially if you’re trying to get equipment from two different vendors to play nicely together. You need to check to see if you can hookup using a wired connec- tion, and download some updated drivers. Of course, if you’ve turned off DHCP on your network, or never had it in the first place, you’ll see a lot of those 169.254.x.x addresses until you set up a static address or turn on DHCP. Contents Chapter 4: Deciphering DHCP 63 Understanding DHCP 63 Chapter 5: Installing Your Wireless Adapter In This Chapter ✓ Installing PCI-based network adapters ✓ Installing laptop expansion cards ✓ Installing USB adapters ✓ Configuring drivers and wireless utilities A fter your wireless router is up and running, you are ready to install the wireless network adapters. Unless you were fortunate enough to have wireless functionality built into your computer, you’re going to have to plug something into your computer so that you can get on the wireless net- work. That something is a wireless adapter, and they come in all shapes and sizes. In this chapter, you find out how to install different kinds of network adapters. Installing a USB Adapter USB adapters can be used in both laptops and desktops. Some USB adapters are sleek, little numbers that are designed to be unobtrusive in a laptop, and some are larger but flatter and are designed to be hidden on a desk. They’re easy to install in either case, which is why we’re looking at them first. The USB adapter I’ve been working with is from NETGEAR and is of the laptop variety. However, it includes a USB extension cable and a simple bracket designed to be Velcroed to the wall, so it’ll work equally well on a desktop. Have a look at Figure 5-1 to see what I mean. A spare USB port is, of course, a prerequisite for a USB adapter. If you have USB ports but none are free, consider an inexpensive USB hub that splits one port into four (or more). If your computer doesn’t have USB, the only way to get a port would be to add a PCI expansion card. USB devices are hot swappable, meaning you can insert and remove them without powering down your computer. Be careful about the removal part, though; if you’re storing anything on the USB device, it might get lost unless shut down properly! 72 Installing a USB Adapter Figure 5-1: A laptop USB dongle that’s attached to a desktop. Installing the drivers first As magical as it might seem, your computer needs to be told how to do everything through software. You’re probably familiar with installing appli- cation software such as a word processor, spreadsheet, or games. Another class of software is called drivers, which are smaller pieces of code that tell Windows how to work with hardware. Chances are the piece of equipment you just bought came out after Microsoft released your version of the oper- ating system, so Windows probably doesn’t know how to deal with your new card without the right drivers. In some cases the hardware is generic enough that Windows will work fine using its default set of drivers. If the hardware I’m installing includes its own drivers, I always use those. Vendor-supplied drivers are going to have the latest fixes and are usually faster than a generic version. After all, if the vendor made the hardware, I trust its drivers. When installing the vendor’s drivers, you usually get the opportunity to install the vendor’s wireless management software, which is much better than the software built into Windows. It’s a win-win situation. Book II Chapter 5 Installing Your Wireless Adapter 73 Installing a USB Adapter 1. Load the CD that came with the adapter into your computer. After you load the CD, the setup wizard starts. (See Figure 5-2.) Figure 5-2: Starting the USB wireless wizard. 2. Select the Install from CD option. The wizard is helpfully offering to check for a newer version of the driv- ers. Because this computer doesn’t have any Internet connectivity (yet), the check would fail. 3. Accept the license agreement and default installation path. The wizard reports that the software is installed, as shown in Figure 5-3. Figure 5-3: The driver software has completed installation. 74 Installing a USB Adapter 4. Click Next to confirm that the software has been installed, and pro- ceed to the next step. You are asked to plug in your USB wireless adapter. If you got ahead of the game and did this earlier, don’t worry, things can still work! 5. Plug your USB wireless adapter in now. If you need help, see the next section, “Plug in the adapter.” 6. Click Next. A legal message appears, as shown in Figure 5-4. Figure 5-4: You’re not going to use that in Japan, are you? 7. After you agree not to engage in any radio warfare, you’re asked if you want to use the built-in Windows configuration (Figure 5-5) or to install the vendor’s package (NETGEAR Smart Wizard in this case). I always install the vendor’s, so select that option and click Next. Understanding legal restrictions Despite the various 802.11 standards being agreed upon internationally, some federal gov- ernments have slightly different limits on which frequencies can be used. As a result you get some oddities where some of the higher 2.4 GHz frequencies are legal in Japan, but not the United States, so they get a couple of extra channels than us. If you’re prompted with a legal message like the above, it’s best just to fill in the proper country and rely on the software you just installed to know which frequencies can be used. Book II Chapter 5 Installing Your Wireless Adapter 75 Installing a USB Adapter Figure 5-5: Choose the vendor’s manage- ment software. At this point your wireless card is installed and ready to go. If you continue along with the wizard, you’ll be able to get online right away. I’m going to stop here and pick it up again in Chapter 6, though. Plug in the adapter Identify the USB port on the back of your computer and plug in the USB adapter (or the cable, if you’re using the cable.) It should take only slight pressure, so if it’s not going in right, try flipping the adapter over. If you think pliers might solve your problem, you’re probably wrong. Figure 5-6 shows me plugging in the cable to a USB port on my desktop. Your computer will probably emit a satisfying beep indicating the adapter was inserted correctly, and then you’re off to the races. The next chapter tells you how to log in to your wireless network. Using USB USB is a pretty nice technology. You can pull the adapter from one computer and move it to another if you want, or only have it plugged in when you need to use wireless (like any peripheral, a USB wireless adapter uses power even when you’re not using it). Keep in mind that if you move the adapter from one computer to another, you need to install the drivers on both computers, but only once. The con- figuration is stored on the computer, not the adapter, so you’ll have to set up the wireless networks separately. 76 People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms Figure 5-6: Plug in the USB cable. Finally, be careful! Although the adapter is pretty resilient, after you plug it into the computer it’s not too happy being pulled at or bent. If there’s a downside to USB, it’s that it sticks out of the side of your computer. People who worry about bashing their adapter might be wise to use the desktop adapter and stick it to their monitor; the worst that happens is the cable breaks. People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms Laptop users have another option called PCMCIA cards, PC Cards, or ExpressCards. PCMCIA stands for the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, though I always remember it as “People can’t memorize computer industry acronyms.” ExpressCards are the newer standard, and replace PC Cards. Depending on how old your computer is, you may have one of each or only ExpressCard slots. Either way, these cards slide inside the base of your laptop, leaving only an antenna sticking out. Book II Chapter 5 Installing Your Wireless Adapter 77 People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms PC Cards might also be a good choice for older laptops with the slower USB 1.1 ports, which run a lot slower than the PC Card interface. The D-Link DWL-G630 card I’m using here follows a similar setup process to the other hardware we’ve looked at. 1. Make sure your PC Card isn’t plugged in. Just like the USB installation procedure, you install the drivers before the card. 2. Start the installation program by inserting the CD that came with the card into your CD drive. 3. Click Next. A dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 5-7. Figure 5-7: The D-Link installation starts with a warning. 4. Insert the PC Card into one of the slots in the side of your computer, like in Figure 5-8. Do this gently because you don’t want to bend any pins inside your computer. If the card doesn’t fit, check to see if you are trying to plug an older PCMCIA card into an ExpressCard slot (you will see a small piece of plastic inside the slot which is designed to prevent you from plug- ging the wrong type of card). A hardware detection dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 5-9. 5. Select Cancel to return back to the manufacturer’s installation process. You may see a screen like the one shown in Figure 5-10 that indicates that the driver hasn’t passed logo testing. 6. You are using the manufacturer’s driver, so you can safely select Continue Anyway. 7. Wait while your computer installs the software. 8. After the installation quits, click the Exit button to exit the process. 9. Reboot your computer with the wireless card still inside. 78 People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms Figure 5-8: A PC Card that’s been inserted into a laptop. Figure 5-9: The Windows hardware detection dialog box. [...]... but don’t see it in your list of available wireless networks: 1 Right-click on the wireless adapter icon in your system tray and select 2 Select Change Advanced Settings View Available Wireless Networks The Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog opens Configuring Windows XP 3 Select the Wireless Networks tab shown in Figure 6-6 Figure 6-6: The Wireless Network Properties window Book II Chapter... Windows XP, you need to find out some information about the network you’re currently connected to You may think that I’m putting the cart before the horse, but knowing what a properly configured network looks like makes it easier to follow along when configuring your own network Microsoft developed the Wireless Zero Configuration system (WZC) short) for configuring wireless inside Windows XP The name implies... meantime shoot for excellent through good Checking status That information from the hover was nice, but you can find more help by clicking your mouse a few more times Configuring Windows XP 87 Right-click on the wireless adapter icon in the system tray and select Status Something like Figure 6-2 appears Book II Chapter 6 Getting Your PC On the Net Figure 6-2: The Status page for a wireless network... Windows XP, you find out how wireless is configured in Vista A lot has changed in Vista, so it’s worthwhile looking at it separately Finally, you discover what else you can see in the wireless world If you’re ever on the road, this information can come in handy, because you’ll have to find a different network to connect to Configuring Windows XP Before you can configure wireless networking in Windows... First, you take a look at how to configure a wireless network within Windows XP without the benefit of your wireless utilities Sometimes those utilities just don’t work as well as you’d like, and you have to resort to the old standard After looking at using the default wireless configuration, you see how life can be made easier by using the manufacturer’s utilities For those that are still running Windows... again re-enables the adapter 88 Configuring Windows XP ✦ View Wireless Networks: You use this later to show all the wireless networks that your computer can see You can then pick the one that you want to connect to The Support tab, shown in Figure 6-3 has more information about your connection Figure 6-3: The Support tab within the Wireless Network Connection Status page The Support tab shows you... Configuring wireless, the zero configuration way Ideally, Windows will take care of all the technical details behind wireless configuration All you need to know is the name of the network and the password Configuring Windows XP 89 With that in mind, open up a list of the available wireless networks You get there either by right-clicking on the adapter icon in the system tray and selecting View Available Wireless. .. (WZC) short) for configuring wireless inside Windows XP The name implies that there’s no configuration for you to do; unfortunately, that’s not necessarily true 86 Configuring Windows XP You put a password on your wireless network, so you know that at some point you’ll have to type it in But WZC for short tries to make most of the other choices on your behalf Figuring out if you are connected The... neighbor’s insecure wireless network, because all it has to go on is the name With the defaults at the bottom, you avoid the embarrassing situation where you connect to your neighbor’s network when you should be connecting to your own Go back to the Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog by rightclicking on the wireless adapter in the system tray, selecting View Available Wireless Networks, and... manually or let Windows set it up for you Using Wireless Utilities The Windows Zero Configuration method isn’t too difficult, but you need to do a lot of clicking to find what you want Wireless support in Windows XP was almost an afterthought, so it’s no surprise that there are some annoyances Getting Your PC On the Net Managing your preferred networks Book II Chapter 6 94 Using Wireless Utilities Modern network . network. Microsoft developed the Wireless Zero Configuration system (WZC) short) for configuring wireless inside Windows XP. The name implies that there’s no configuration for you to do; unfortunately, that’s. wireless utilities A fter your wireless router is up and running, you are ready to install the wireless network adapters. Unless you were fortunate enough to have wireless functionality built. ever on the road, this information can come in handy, because you’ll have to find a different network to connect to. Configuring Windows XP Before you can configure wireless networking in Windows