Step-by-Step: Creating a Wireless Network - Part 2 Configuring Your Broadband Connection Aaron Weiss
Step 5: Configure Your Broadband Connection
You may recall way back in Step 2 you determined the type of broadband connection you have. Now it's time to set up the router accordingly. On this model, we clicked the "Basic" menu and "WAN" submenu. Again, your model may differ, and newer models may include a guided wizard that takes you through these steps. Users without a broadband connection can likewise skip this step.
Figure 4.
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In our case, we have a broadband connection of the DHCP variety, also known as "Dynamic IP" as you see in Figure 4.
PPPoE users should click that button and a prompt will request your login name and password, as supplied by your service provider.
Static IP users will be prompted to supply several numerical addresses, also supplied by your service provider.
It's important to click "Save Settings" (sometimes called "Apply Settings") whenever you make a change.
Test that your router is successfully connected to your broadband. One quick way is to simply open a page to a Web site, such running a search at Google.
If you cannot access the Web, the most common cause is choosing the wrong broadband connection type for your service.
Step 6: Configure Your Wireless Network Basics
If your router is connected to broadband and it's working successfully, we can (finally!) set up the wireless networking configuration. On our sample router we clicked the "Wireless" submenu.
Figure 5.
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It sounds simple, but note that the router reports that the wireless radio is on. Without that we would get nowhere. This particular router has a physical switch on the back to enable the wireless function. Other routers will include a checkbox in this administration interface for enabling or disabling all wireless function. Some wireless routers come out-of-the-box with their wireless disabled, others enabled. So it's important to doublecheck.
Assign your wireless network a name, also known as an SSID. Choose a unique name in case there may be neighboring wireless routers nearby.
The visibility status setting is sometimes known on other routers as "hidden" mode. Some people mistakenly believe that hiding your network name is an effective form of security. It is not. You don't need to hide your network name.
Figure 6.
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Also note the 802.11 mode setting, typically found on "g" variety wireless routers. Here you can tell the wireless router to connect only to devices that support the faster "g" mode, only the slower "b" mode, or either kind of device. Supporting both modes will make your wireless network more compatible with a variety of users. But if you know that you have only "g" wireless hardware in your network, selecting g-only mode can significantly improve overall wireless performance.
Step 7: Configure Your Wireless Security
Figure 7.
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In most circumstances you should employ encryption to protect your wireless network from all manner of attack and interception. Wirelss networks located far removed from other people, like rural locations, probably don't run much risk without using wireless security. But we're often better safe than sorry.
Most wireless network users will select one of three common forms of secure encryption: WEP, WPA, or WPA2. As a general rule of thumb, you should only use the older, less secure WEP security when you know your network must support users with only WEP-capable computers. WPA is stronger than WEP and supports a wide variety of computers. WPA2, the newest form of wireless security, is even stronger still, but supports only the newest wireless computers.
7a.
If you must use WEP security, try to choose a key length of 128 bits. If your router or wireless computer do not support 128 bit keys, you can try 64 or 40-bit keys, but note that these are even less secure.
Supply a passphrase for your WEP encryption. Later you'll need to use this same passphrase when configuring WEP on your wireless computer connection. Typically you can leave the remaining WEP options unchanged.
Figure 8.
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7b.
Choose WPA2 encryption if supported by your wireless computers. Our particular router offers a mixed WPA mode that will connect to WPA2 where available or else try WPA. Your router may or may not offer this feature, in which case you may need to select WPA mode if your network users could be using hardware that does not support WPA2.
Your "Pre-Shared Key" is your WPA password. It must be longer than 8 characters and up to a maximum of 63 characters. A longer, more difficult to guess key provides stronger security, but you must write it down somewhere safe because all connecting computers must use this password key.
