Why Start a Network

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Ever since the first radio waves were transmitted – and received – people have been fascinated by wireless communication. The inventions of radio and television, which enabled instantaneous communication over vast distances, have had a profound effect upon the social and economic development of our planet over the past century.

For many of us, the first useful application of wireless technology in the home was the cordless telephone. No longer were you tethered to the only room in the house where you had a phone, or limited by the length of the cord. This was real freedom!

Just as the wireless revolution changed telephone technology, the same thing is happening to computer networking. More than ever, mobility is the buzzword of the computing industry, both at the office and in your home. For many, though, the questions are “Should I install a home network?” and “If I do, why should I go wireless?”

What Are the Benefits of a Network?

What are the benefits of having your own network?

You get to...

Share your printer
Share your high-speed Internet connection
Secure your computers against Internet threats
Share your music, pictures, and other files
Play head-to-head games online

If you have more than one computer, a home network will let you share resources among them. Any computer can print on a shared printer located anywhere in the house. And your computers can share all kinds of files—music, digital pictures, and documents. Keep all your digital music on one computer, and listen to it anywhere in the house. Organize and keep all of your family's digital pictures in one place, so it's easy to find the ones you want and make backup copies on CD-R. Use extra free space on one computer when another's hard drive starts to fill up. Play network computer games either head-to-head, or on a team.

If you have a cable or DSL Internet connection, a home network will allow all your computers to share the line. Everybody can keep a private e-mail account and surf the web at the same time. You can also play online computer games with friends and opponents from around the world. Plus, the same router that lets you share Internet access also helps to protect your computers from Internet threats.

Why choose a wireless network?

Freedom—work anywhere
Quick, effortless installation (usually)
No cables to buy
Save cabling time and hassle
Easy to expand

Wireless networks are rapidly becoming more popular and coming down in price. Since they don't require cables, you can use the devices anywhere in an office or home, even out on the patio. There's no need to roll out an Ethernet network cable to each room of a house; you can network anywhere—without wires. Outside of the home, wireless networking is available in hotspots at coffee shops, businesses, and airports, great when you're on the road and need to get some work done. For convenience, wireless networking is the answer

What Else Can You Do with Home Wireless

Wireless game adapter – X-Box, e.g.
Wireless Media adapter to play MP3’s stored on a PC over your home stereo
Play digital movies stored on your PC on your home television
If you have Tivo, play recorded programs anywhere
Access your network or the Internet from your PDA (Palm or Pocket PC)

As the technology matures and becomes less expensive, new concepts in home connectivity are being explored. For example, it is now possible to link digital media on your PC to a home entertainment center. Music files can be broadcast from your hard drive and played over your stereo system. Or, you can watch a slideshow of pictures on your television - pictures that are stored on your PC.

Perhaps the hottest topic is using your PC to capture digital video for viewing on your television. This can be your home movies, broadcast television captured and recorded on your PC, or streaming video from the Web.

Another popular activity is using wireless adapters to allow access to video games from either the Web or devices like the Xbox. Other adapters allow users to play the games from wireless control pods, eliminating the wires connected to the game box.

Public and Private Hotspots

What's a hotspot?

A hotspot is a place with a high-speed Internet connection and wireless connectivity provided by one or more active wireless access points. If you are at a hotspot and you have a computer with a compatible wireless adapter, then you can join its wireless network and access the Internet.

There are different types or standards of wireless networking: 802.11b, 802.11a, and draft 802.11g. (Currently 802.11b is the most popular standard for hotspots.) To use a hotspot, your computer's wireless adapter must be compatible with the hotspot's access point.

What kinds of hotspots are there?

There are two basic kinds of hotspots, public and private. The number of public hotspots is growing rapidly, allowing wireless connectivity in many airports, hotels, college campuses, public areas, coffee shops, and restaurants. Public hotspots can be free or pay-for-use (also known as commercial hotspots).

Private hotspots can be located in the workplace, or you may have a private group of users who choose to create and share a hotspot.

Community hotspots fall somewhere between the spectrum of public and private. Generally, community hotspots are free and open to the public, yet use privately owned access points. They can be independent or affiliated with a non-profit organization. There are also community hotspots built and maintained by public organizations.

What Kind of Equipment is Required?

Wireless Security

With no cables to run, wireless networks are convenient and easy to install, so homes with high-speed Internet access are adopting them at a rapid pace. However, wireless networking is inherently risky because it sends information over radio waves. Like signals from your cellular or cordless phones, signals from your wireless network can also be intercepted.

Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to improve wireless security, and the networking industry is working on even stronger measures, which will become available in the immediate future.

Wireless Security—Four Steps You Need to Take

Networking makes it easy to share Internet access and data. But you wouldn't want to share your information with just anyone. With a wireless network, your information is traveling through the airwaves—not physical wires, so anyone within range can "listen in" on your network. Here are four essential security measures you should take to secure your wireless network.

Change the default SSID (network name).
Disable the SSID broadcast option.
Change the default password needed to access a wireless device.
Enable MAC address filtering.

Change the default SSID.

Your wireless devices have a default SSID set by the factory. The SSID is the name of your wireless network, and it can be anything you wish. Linksys wireless products use linksys as the default SSID. Hackers know these defaults and can try them to join your network. Change the network's SSID to something unique, and make sure it doesn't refer to the networking products you use.

As an added precaution, be sure to change the SSID on a regular basis, so any hacker who may have figured out your network's SSID in the past will have to figure out the SSID again and again. This will deter future intrusion attempts.

Disable SSID broadcast.

By default, most wireless networking devices are set to broadcast the SSID, so anyone can easily join the wireless network. But hackers will also be able to connect, so unless you're running a public hotspot, it's best to disable SSID broadcast.

Change the default password needed to access a wireless device.

For wireless products such as access points and routers, you will be asked for a password when you want to change their settings. These devices have a default password set by the factory. (The Linksys default password is admin.) Hackers know these defaults and will try them to access your wireless device and change your network settings. To thwart any unauthorized changes, customize the device's password so it will be hard to guess.

Enable MAC address filtering.

If your wireless products—such as access points and routers—offer it, enable MAC address filtering. The MAC address is a unique series of numbers and letters assigned to every networking device. With MAC address filtering enabled, wireless network access is provided solely for wireless devices with specific MAC addresses. This makes it harder for a hacker to access your network using a random MAC address.

There are other security measures you can take as well, but these four are the most essential. For more information on additional security features, such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption, and details on how to implement these four steps, refer to the User Guides for your wireless products

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY COMPARISON CHART
Wireless Standard	802.11a		802.11b		802.11g
Popularity		New Technology		Widely adopted readily available everywhere.		Very new technology, expecting rapid growth and adoption
Speed (bandwidth)		Up to 54Mbps "shared" (5x greater than b)		Up to 11Mbps "shared" (cable modems typically provide 4 to 5Mbps "shared")		Up to 54Mbps "shared" (5x greater than b)
Relative Cost		More expensive ($100+)		Inexpensive ($35 - $75)		Inexpensive ($50 - $100)
Frequency		Uncrowded 5GHz band. Can coexist with other types of devices, such as the 2.4GHz cordless phones, microwave ovens, etc. without interference.		More crowded 2.4GHz band. Some conflict may occur with other 2.4GHz devices such as cordless phones, microwave ovens, etc.		More crowded 2.4GHz band. Some conflict may occur with other 2.4GHz devices such as cordless phones, microwave ovens, etc.
Range		Shorter range than 802.11b or 802.11g. Typically 50 - 75ft indoors, depending on construction, building materials, layout.		Good range. Typically up to 100 - 150ft indoors, depending on construction, building materials, layout.		Good range. Typically up to 100 - 150ft indoors, depending on construction, building materials, layout.
Public Access/Compatibility outside Kepner network		NOT WIDELY ADOPTED: Number of "hotspots" is limited and NOT expected to grow.		WIDEST ADOPTION: Number of "hotspots" is growing RAPIDLY, allowing wireless connectivity in many airports, hotels, public areas, coffee shops, etc.		NOT WIDELY ADOPTED: Compatible with current 802.11b "hotspots" at 11Mbps. Expectation that most 802.11b networks will easily add 802.11g connectivity.
Compatibility with other Wireless Standards		Stands alone and is not compatible with "b" or "g"		Compatible and interoperable with 802.11g networks (at 11Mbps) not compatible with "a".		Compatible and interoperable with 802.11b networks (at 11Mbps) not compatible with "a".
IEEE Ratification		Yes		Yes		No, but expected to be ratified in June or July 2003.

Guide to Acronyms

CSMA/CA - Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance

CTS - Clear To Send

DDNS - Dynamic Domain Name System

DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DMZ - Demilitarized Zone

DNS - Domain Name Server

DSL - Digital Subscriber Line

DSSS - Direct-Sequence Spread-Spectrum

DTIM - Delivery Traffic Indication Message

FTP - File Transfer Protocol

HTTP - HyperText Transport Protocol

IEEE - The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IP - Internet Protocol

IPSec - Internet Protocol Security

ISP - Internet Service Provider

LAN - Local Area Network

MAC Address - Media Access Control Address

Mbps - Megabits Per Second

NAT - Network Address Translation

NNTP - Network News Transfer Protocol

OFDM - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

Ping - Packet INternet Groper

POP3 - Post Office Protocol 3

PPPoE - Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet

PPTP - Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol

RJ-45 - Registered Jack-45

RTS - Request To Send

SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol

SSID - Service Set IDentifier

TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

TFTP - Trivial File Transfer Protocol

UDP - User Datagram Protocol

Popularity