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Introduction | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3
STEP 2: Install and Configure
Wi-Fi routers and network cards come with software to walk you through the installation. The steps will vary slightly, depending on each computer's operating system. The older the OS, the trickier it can be; Windows XP is designed to detect and configure a PC card to talk to an existing network, and getting an iBook running Mac OS X to communicate with my Linksys router was a breeze.
Before you start installing anything, make sure you have the following information handy: your broadband connection's IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and dns IP addresses. You can get these things from your Internet provider; your customer-service rep will know what you're talking about. Each is just a series of numbers (e.g., 123.43.2.1) that you'll be prompted to plug in during setup. (If your provider supports a protocol called dhcp, your router should retrieve these settings automatically when you plug it in.) You may also be asked to choose an ssid (service set identifier), work-group names and a wireless channel; keep these consistent for all of your machines.
Step 3: Cut Your Losses >> |
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