Wireless Home Networking - Index of

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Part IV: Using a Wireless Network
Console wireless networking equipment
As we mention earlier, the current consoles all have inherent Wi-Fi networking
capabilities (though this is optional with the Xbox 360). For older Ethernet
consoles, you simply need to add an inexpensive Wi-Fi Ethernet bridge. The
deeper you get into the networking world, the more likely you are to run into
the concept of a bridge, which is simply a device that connects two segments
of a network. Unlike hubs or switches or routers or most other network
equipment (we talk about much of this stuff in Chapters 2 and 5), a bridge
doesn’t do anything with the data flowing through it. A bridge basically passes
the data straight through without manipulating it, rerouting it, or even caring
what it is. A wireless Ethernet bridge’s sole purpose is to send data back and
forth between two points. (It’s not too tough to see where the name came
from, huh?)
While we’re discussing these wireless Ethernet bridges in terms of game console
networks in this chapter, they’re handy devices that can be used for lots
of different applications in your wireless LAN. Basically, any device that has
an Ethernet port — such as a personal video recorder (PVR), an MP3 server
(such as the AudioReQuest), and even an Internet refrigerator (such as the
Samsung Internet Refrigerator) — can hook into your wireless home network
by using a wireless Ethernet bridge.
The great thing about wireless Ethernet bridges, besides the fact that they
solve the problem of getting noncomputer devices onto the wireless network,
is that they’re the essence of plug and play. You may have to spend three or
four minutes setting up the bridge itself (to get it connected to your wireless
network), but you don’t need to do anything special to your game console
other than plug in the bridge. All the game consoles we discuss in this chapter
(at least when equipped with the appropriate network adapters and software)
“see” your wireless Ethernet bridge as just a regular Ethernet cable.
You don’t need any drivers or other special software on the console. The
console doesn’t know (nor does it care in its not-so-little console brain) that
there’s a wireless link in the middle of the connection. It just works!
If you have encryption (such as WPA) set up on the network, you need to
complete one step before plugging your wireless bridge into your gaming
console’s Ethernet port. Plug the bridge into one of the wired Ethernet ports
on your router and access the bridge’s built-in Web configuration screens;
there, you enter your WPA passphrase (or WEP key if you’re using WEP) and
network name (or ESSID). After you’ve made these settings, you’re ready to
plug the bridge into your console and get online. It’s that simple!
Not all the wireless Ethernet bridges support the (much more secure) WPA
encryption technology that we discuss in Chapter 9 (and which we highly
recommend you use on your wireless network). If you’re using WPA, make
sure that you choose a wireless Ethernet bridge that supports this encryption