Setting up your wireless network on LinkSys |
| Written by Mihai D. | |
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In this tutorial, I will explain how to build your wireless network using a LinkSys router in very easy steps.
Wireless networks became more popular these days since mobility is a key aspect in any environment, even for home users. This tutorial will show you how simple it is to setup a small wireless network to share your Internet connection for fixed and mobile users.
Get the IP address from the "default gateway" since that is the router's LAN address. Of course, you can get this address from the user's manual supplied with the router too.
After logging, you will see the router's menu. This indeed depends on the vendor and/or model, but the topics are quite the same for all. The first screen brings up the basic router configuration, like WAN and LAN IP addresses. The "Internet Setup" part should be configured using your Internet Service Provider addresses (DHCP/Static IP or PPPoE if you use some kind of authentication for your Internet access). The Domain Name and Hostname are optional.
The Network Setup reffers to your Local Area Network. I recommend you to leave the DHCP Server as enabled to allocate IP addresses automatically in your network; this is appliable to both wired and wireless interfaces. If you don't have any special needs, you can leave all fields here to the default ones, since it works perfectly for a network up to 50 clients. The MAC Address Clone tab activates a function that will duplicate one of your PC's MAC addresses on the Internet interface. This is useful only when the Internet Service Provider restricts the usage of the connection to the physical address of only one PC for security reasons.
If enabled, by clikcing "Clone My PC's MAC", the MAC address of the interface that connects to the Internet will be identical to the one of your PC; the Internet Service Provider won't know that you are sharing your internet connection and their equipments will think that they are still connected to your PC without any router. If this is the case, be sure that you are not violating any agreements between you and the company the provides you Internet services since that could lead to extra fees or worse.
Next fill in the SSID of the network; this is the name of the wireless network itself and should be set to something that describe your network (like Private-home for example). The wireless channel is not important, since any radio interface will scan all channels to find a wireless device to connect to; just be sure not to interfere with any other wireless router or access point, having the same settings and the same channel.
Save your setting and your ready to go. After connecting your clients, you can also use the "Wireless MAC Filter" tool for better security. This feature will learn the MAC addresses of the clients you select and allow traffic from those wireless interfaces only after enabling it. After you do all this, it's time to backup your configuration. FOr this, go to the Administration tab and click Backup Settings. A config file will be generated and you can download it to your PC and restore it if something goes wrong in the future.
For better security, change the router's administrator password too, from admin to something more complex to prevent unauthorized access. Enjoy your brand new wireless network!
written by Mihai Dobos , January 20, 2008
No problem, raj :)
written by Omoniyi Philip Tunde , January 22, 2008
i really enjoyed this tutorial,please keep it up its realy wonderful.you've saved me alot of mess.thanks a million.it's realy wonderful.
written by Arzu , January 23, 2008
Hello, This tutorial is very helpful, thanks! I have a question though: is there a way to see how many users are sharing the wireless signal through the router's interface? (e.g. by listing the MAC addresses of the users, etc) Thanks, Arzu
written by Mihai Dobos , January 23, 2008
Hello Well it depends on the model and on the firmware of the router; the easiest choice is to to see the DHCP client list or in wireless, connected clients on the MAC filter tab.
written by George Crentsil , January 25, 2008
Thanks. I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure it works. Please, is it the pass phrase that you enter in the Security segment that new clients will have to enter when they log on for the first time?
written by Mihai Dobos , January 25, 2008
Hello George The pass phrase is a private key that will encrypt your wirelss data so it cannot be read by a third party. It also authenticates the client to the wireless router. It must be entered only the first time on the client most of the times (MS Windows auto-saves it for example). Some versions of Linux don't save it, so you'll have to enter it every time. But for Windows XP/2003/Vista the network setting are saved (pass key included) so don't worry about setting it up. Enter it once, then it's plug and play. However, if you want to create a hotspot for your clients, it's best to isolate the router to have access only to the Internet and NOT to the local area network, and use open sessions (no encryption and no keys at all).
written by Kathy , February 20, 2008
Thank you!! Very Helpful!!
written by Delta , March 04, 2008
I wasn't sure about how to set up a network. When I set it up, I actually ended up setting up 3 different wireless network SSIDs. How do I go about fixxing this?
written by Asker , March 05, 2008
This Coloum is great.I have a problem where the network is setup properly and internet is working.But we cannot share files and Ping each other through the wireless network.Is there any other means of setting up for this cause
written by abdirahman , March 07, 2008
actually, the notes for the wireless helped me alot, and thanks for that, but i would like to ask how to set up when you are connecting three different locations to become one system? i look forward your reply
written by Leke Ilo , April 01, 2008
I gave a passphrase and it gave me a randomly (I think) generated key. I'd rather set my own access password, is this possible?
written by Kemal , April 04, 2008
i can't gain access to the options menu! i fill the password field with admin and it is not the correct
written by Saif ur Rab , April 17, 2008
if i want to install 3-4 linksys routers and want have same SSID then what steps should i take. and i am using WEP security mode. How can i use same passphrase for all linksys router, so that i can use same network key for all routers and do i need to hook up all routers to my wired network? Do you need more help? Ask now!
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 18 January 2008 ) |