Wireless Home Networking - Index of

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Part III: Installing a Wireless Network
The Setup Assistant is a “follow along with the steps” program (like the wizard
programs often used on Windows computers) that guides you through the
setup of an AirPort system by asking you simple questions. The Admin Utility
is used for tweaking and updating your settings later, after you already have
everything set up. Most people can just use the Setup Assistant for all their
configuration needs — though we recommend that you occasionally run the
Admin Utility program to upgrade the firmware (the underlying software
inside your AirPort), as we discuss later in the “Upgrading AirPort base station
firmware on OS X” section.
Configuring the AirPort
base station on OS X
When you’ve purchased a new AirPort Extreme base station or AirPort
Express (that you will use as a base station), the easiest way to set it up for
use in your wireless home network is to use the AirPort Setup Assistant. The
AirPort Setup Assistant reads the Internet settings from your computer and
transfers them to the base station so that you can access the Internet over
your wireless network. To use the AirPort Setup Assistant, follow these steps:
1. Before running the AirPort Setup Assistant, set up your computer to
connect to the Internet by dial-up modem or by broadband (cable or
DSL) modem.
Check with your ISP for instructions on getting connected:
• If you connect to the Internet by dial-up modem: Connect the
telephone line to the phone line port on the base station.
• If you connect to the Internet by DSL or cable modem: Use an
Ethernet cable to connect the modem to the base station’s WAN
port.
2. Click the Applications Folder on the dock.
3. When the Applications folder opens, double-click the Utilities folder
icon.
4. In the Utilities folder, double-click the AirPort Setup Assistant icon to
display the AirPort Setup Assistant window, as shown in Figure 8-3.
5. Select the Set Up a New AirPort Base Station option, and then click the
Continue button.
If your computer is in range of your wireless network, the Setup Assistant
automatically configures your AirPort card to select that network and proceeds
to the America Online Access panel. However, if you happen to be
in range of more than one wireless network, you see the Select an AirPort
Network panel, which asks you to select your network from a pop-up list.
Your network will have its name assigned at the factory, similar to Apple