Wireless Home Networking - Index of

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Part III: Installing a Wireless Network
� Dynamic or static wide area network (WAN) IP address: If your network
is connected to the Internet, it must have an IP address assigned
by your ISP. Most often, your ISP dynamically assigns this address. Your
router or Internet gateway should be configured to accept an IP address
dynamically assigned by a DHCP server. It’s possible, but unlikely, that
your ISP will require a set (static) IP address.
� Local IP address: In addition to a physical address (the MAC address),
the AP also has its own network (IP) address. You need to know this IP
address to access the configuration pages by using a Web browser. Refer
to the product documentation to determine this IP address. In most cases,
the IP address is 192.168.xxx.xxx, where xxx is between 1 and 254. It’s also
possible that an AP could choose a default IP that’s in use by your cable
or DSL router (or a computer that got its IP from the cable or DSL
router’s DHCP server). Either way, if an IP conflict arises, you may have
to keep the AP and cable or DSL routers on separate networks while
configuring the AP.
� Subnet mask: In most cases, this value is set at the factory to
255.255.255.0. If you’re using an IP addressing scheme of the type
described in the preceding paragraph, 255.255.255.0 is the correct
number to use. This number, together with the IP address, establishes
the subnet on which this AP will reside. Network devices with addresses
on the same subnet can communicate directly without the aid of a
router. You really don’t need to understand how the numbering scheme
works except to know that the AP and all the wireless devices that will
access your wireless network must have the same subnet mask.
� PPPoE: Many DSL ISPs still use Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
(PPPoE). The values you need to record are the username (or user ID)
and password. The DSL provider uses PPPoE as a means of identifying and
authorizing users.
Changing the AP Configuration
Each brand of AP has its own configuration software you can use to modify
the AP’s settings. Some products provide several methods of configuration.
The most common types of configuration tools for home and small-office
APs are
� Software-based: Some APs come with access point setup software you
run on a workstation to set up the AP over a wireless connection, a USB
cable, or an Ethernet cable. You don’t see this much any longer except
in professional high-end equipment that needs remote management not
meant to work over the local network. One big exception here is Apple’s
AirPort Extreme (discussed in Chapter 8), which uses software built into
Apple’s OS X operating system (or a downloadable software client for
Windows) instead of a Web-based configuration system.