subject: Wi-Fi Networking- A Few Tips for Home Users [print this page] Wi-Fi Networking- A Few Tips for Home Users
Wireless networking has come of age and is gaining immense popularity day by day. Like corporate users home users have also started using wireless technologies at home. Different home end Wi-Fi devices are coming out in the market. According to computer support professional, initially it was the computers (desktop/laptop), and then came printers, scanners and now in mobile phones too. The latest smart phones have more added features in Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi networks are nothing but a common LAN but without wires. In Wi-Fi instead of using the wired hubs and routers all such devices are wireless like wireless routers, wireless access points and adapters.
But before you set up a wireless home network you need to know a few facts. Here are a few terminologies and tips for setting up a home wireless network.
Terminologies: SSID-Service Set Identifier This is your network name
WEP-Wired Equivalency Protocol- Security of your network
WPA/WPA2-Wi-Fi protected access- Security of your network
802.11a/b/g/n- These are wireless communication standards. 802.11a and b is Obsolete now. 802.11g and 802.11n is the latest one with the fastest communication ability.
Once you have all these devices handy depending on your need you are ready to set up your
Home wireless network.
Let's get started:
Turn on the router. (Every router brand comes with a set-up guide of its own.) This will help
you in setting up the router.
Once you have the router on and you see a green light it is indicative that the router is Emitting wireless signals. Now you need to access the router through your computer. This is called Embedded Web Page or the router page where you need to log in using the provided user name/password by the router company and check/change settings like change network name , add security and encryption password, change channel etc.
Now once you have the router set-up you need to add the same security type and password in your computer too. Once this is done your computer is connected to the wireless network and you will be able to see a wireless network icon saying connected along with the network name you have chosen in the right hand corner of your computer. In the same way you can add more computers to the wireless network.
This way you can add printers, mobile phones etc to the network too. And once you are done you will have a complete secured home wireless network.
