1. Select a hardware vendor of your choice. This is probably
one of the single most important steps as many vendors will
"end of life" many of their products fairly early. For home
based networking, Linksys does a great job of providing almost
all of the features one might need in a wireless router/access
point.
2. Conduct a wireless survey. Before setting up your wireless
router/access point, survey the airwaves to find the best
setting for your network. A lot of times neighbors' wireless
devices (access points, phones, etc.) can slow your network to
a crawl if channels overlap. Along with your laptop or desktop
equipped with a wireless card, use a tool like Net Stumbler to survey the area. Pay specific attention to the channels that wireless networks/devices are accessing, if your neighbor is using channel 6 (most common), a safe bet is to choose channel 11.
3. Update the router/access point. One key feature that most
networking devices have is their ability to upgrade with a
readily available firmware download that is usually available
through the manufacturer's website. The updates only take a
few minutes and can alleviate many problems that you might run
into with your device, especially when it comes to
compatibility issues.
4. Define your network space. Many people telecommute these
days and need to have access to their corporate network with
a company provided laptop. Access to your network may be
unobtainable if you skip this step. Ask your network
administrator the network address you should utilize for your
home network. If you do not connect to an office network, the
default network space configured with your router will work
and no changes will be necessary.
5. Setup the hardware. Unbox your router/AP, hook up the WAN
ethernet using a Category 5/6 ethernet cable that probably
came with your Cable/DSL modem, use another ethernet cable
(provided usually by the hardware manufacturer) to your laptop
or desktop computer and, finally, apply power to the router.
6. Check to see if you have a live Internet connection. Open
your web browser and make sure you can get online. If not,
you may have to manually configure your Internet settings,
e.g. the IP address and/or username and password provided by
your Internet Service Provider.
7. Log in and configure your router/access point. Locate the
manual. The setup information that you need to get started
resides at the beginning of the manual. Find the default IP
address for the unit as well as the administration username
and password. Open your web browser and type in the IP address
of the router, nine times out of ten it is '192.168.0.1'.
Enter the user credentials, again nine times out of ten the
username is 'admin' with a password of 'password'. Once you
are logged in, change the password and write it down somewhere
safe. Find the wireless settings and change the channel of the
router/AP to the predetermined channel (probably 11).
8. Setting up security. Depending on your operating system,
you may have to be selective on the level of wireless security
that you choose. There are three generally used wireless
encryption protocols that are used in home networking: WEP,
WPA, and WPA2. If you can, keep away from WEP as it can
easily be cracked using freely available software. Sometimes
however if you have to use one of these, do so. Some security
is better than none. Try to use at least WPA or WPA2
(preferred). Again find the wireless settings and point to
security. You will have the option of selecting the encryption
type and a passphrase. Use the most cryptic string of
characters that you can stand and, again, write this down
somewhere safe. Also, a good rule is to type it into a text
file so you can copy/paste it into your connection string
when you connect. This also comes in handy for guests who
need to access the network. Save your changes and disconnect
from the router/AP.
9. Connect to the network. Assuming all goes as planned you
should have had a pop-up stating that a new wireless network
has been found. If this is the case, select "connect to the
network" and enter your passphrase -- you are set!
If not you will need to manually configure the
connection. This, depending on your system settings, is
usually available as a widget in the system tray. Depending
on your hardware you may use the built-in Windows wireless
configuration module or other third party vendors like Intel
or Linksys will usually have an icon located in the system
tray as well. If you are on a Mac, look in your file menu in
the upper right and look for the three parallel bars, you
should be able to find the wireless connection through there.
If you're still having problems, you can always ask for
help with your computer or wireless connectivity.
Other things to consider
Placement of your router/AP can have a significant affect on
the performance device. Try to keep the device away from
microwaves, avoid hiding it in a metal desk/closet, and also
I have noticed that older homes with plaster walls can
sometimes inhibit the use of a single wireless access point
in your home (especially if it is a very large house). Look
into adding repeaters or other access points if this becomes
a problem.
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