Hi-Tek Peru
Your technology connection in Lima
Wireless Access Point / Router, Part III
Connecting the "wireless" portion
By F. P. Nagle
Editor's Note: This is the ACAP Newsletter's inter-active column. You can reach the interactive forum at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Hi-Tek-Peru - where ACAP readers and others can sign up, ask questions raised by this column, post comments and suggest future column topics. It is also available for general discussion on technology issues pertinent to expatriates in Lima. Go to this web site and click on “Join this Group” to participate. |
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So you finally have your Wireless Access Point (AP) up and running. But so far you may only have a “direct” / wired connection. Now you'd like to use your laptop or PDA (hand held computer) while sitting on the terrace or near the pool. That's the reason you bought the AP to begin with.
First a little bit of information regarding “addresses” for the different devices. All Internet devices have an Internet Protocol (IP) address. When you install your cable modem, the modem has an address assigned that relates to Cable Magico. When you install your ASDL modem (Speedy), the modem is assigned a “local” IP address of 192.168.1.1.
Now you need to determine what the IP address is for your AP. If you're using Cable Magico, the default of 192.168.1.1 works fine. If you're using Speedy, unless you're brave enough to change the address of the modem (it is possible), you'll need to configure your AP to an address of 192.168.1.2 since the modem and your AP cannot both have the same address.
Once you connect a computer to the AP, the software automatically assigns an IP in the 192.168.1.xxx range where xxx normally starts at 100 and can go as high as 255. My setup assigns my computer with an address of 192.168.1.100 and additional computers follow on with 101, 102, etc.
When I connect my Palm PDA through wireless, it is assigned the next number in sequence not being used.
As far as the laptop setup, the following are a series of steps necessary to get one operational:
1. |
Follow the manufacturer's instructions for installation of the card into the laptop. If you have one of the newer Intel Centrino™ computers, wireless is “built in.” |
2. |
Make sure that you've assigned a computer name and workgroup to each computer. The name is unique to the computer while the workgroup is the SAME if you want to be able to see the other computers in your network. On a Windows PC, you “right click” on the “My Computer” icon and select properties. Click on the tab that says Computer Name and you'll see Computer description, Full computer name and Workgroup. You can change these values by selecting Change on the screen. I've used a “generic” naming convention of Compaq Presario, Omnibook 900, etc to reflect each of the computers attached to my home network.
I've also assigned a workgroup name of “CASA” since I don't like using the default names that Microsoft has assigned. |
3. |
Once all your computers / laptops / PDAs have a name and a common workgroup, you can configure the wireless access. I'll use my example of the Linksys AP and PCMCIA card. When you install the card on your system, it also installs a wireless “control panel” which appears in the system tool bar (normally located at the bottom of your screen). Selecting this control panel, you can see the current wireless status.
When I click on Linksys panel, it initially opens to the Link Information screen and shows me the signal strength and whether there is a link to the Internet or not. If you haven't configured the card yet, you may see signal strength to the AP, but now you need to configure this access. |
4. |
Click on Site Survey and you'll see a list of sites that are available to you to connect to. (Only if you have SSID - common wireless network name - turned on this setting on the AP enables or disables broadcasting the ID of the AP.) If it is turned off, you'll need to manually configure the information so you can connect to your AP. Once you've identified your access point, you'll need to enter the same information on the Laptop as on the AP if you've turned on security. Click on connect, select the type of encryption (I use WEP), enter the pass phrase (same as on the AP) and press OK. Once you've done this you should be returned to the main “Link Information” screen and see that you have a signal connected to the AP and a line indicating a connection to the Internet. |
5. |
To verify that everything is functioning correctly, open your Internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape) and enter an address to connect to. If all is well, you should now be connected wirelessly and able to roam about your house while connected. |
My current configuration consists of 4 computers (two wired, two wireless) and a PDA (wireless) that can surf the Internet independently of one other, but can also see each other and so, share files (music, documents etc.) for use throughout the house.
I know that individual installations may involve more complex setups, and so, should you have particular concerns, please use the on-line Forum (see above) to post your questions which I or others will try to answer.
