Networking 101

Copyright Priscilla Oppenheimer

Lab 4 Wireless Networking

Scenario

You are a network administrator working for a large company. You will be installing a new wireless network for a branch office. To start with, you will install a wireless access point and a wireless NIC. You can test the wireless network with the NIC that you install or your own wireless notebook computer. Once you have a basic wireless network running, you will improve the security of the network

Steps

  1. Install a wireless access point.
    1. Plug in the wireless access point's power connector.
    2. Connect the wireless access point's Ethernet interface. (The instructor will show you where to connect it.)
    3. If you have a wireless notebook, see if you can see the new wireless access point. It may be that easy!
  2. Open a desktop computer and install a wireless NIC.
    1. Bind TCP/IP to the wireless NIC.
    2. Configure TCP/IP for the wireless NIC.
    3. Test the new configuration on the desktop computer.
  3. Prepare the access point for security.
    1. For the SMC wireless access point, install the "AP Manager" software on one of the desktop computers. The instructor will give you a diskette.
    2. The Cisco access point is configured using a Web page, so you can use a Web browser.
    3. Both access points are configured using IP. The access points receive an IP address from a DHCP server. Check the DHCP server in the lab to determine which address it assigned to the access point. (If there's no DHCP server, the SMC access point uses 192.168.0.254 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. The Cisco access point uses 10.0.0.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, if it has been reset to factory defaults.)
    4. Connect to the access point using AP Manager for the SMC access point or a Web browser for the Cisco access point.
  4. Secure the wireless network and test the security.
    1. Configure the access point for WEP security.
      1. Enable WEP and type in a simple key.
      2. On the Cisco access point, be sure to select "shared key."
      3. Configure a wireless notebook or desktop computer for WEP security with the same key.
        1. Test whether you can still reach the network.
        2. Make sure devices that are not configured for WEP security cannot access the network.
    2. If there's time, also try to configure MAC address filters that will only allow specific stations to use the wireless network.

Reflection

What were the work goals of this project? (Please write this as if you were writing a work status report. In other words, write the project goals, not the learning objectives.)

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What problems did you encounter?

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What concerns do you have for the future for this network? Assume that you and your co-workers will now have the job of operating and monitoring this new "real-life" network. Based on your experiences setting it up and any problems encountered, what will you be keeping an eye on? What problems may occur?

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