Take Control of Your AirPort Network

Take Control of Your AirPort Network

Released May 2007
Publisher(s): Peachpit Press
ISBN: 0975950355

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Book description

Make your AirPort network fly!

In this title about classic 802.11b- and 802.11g-based AirPort networking, Wi-Fi networking expert Glenn Fleishman shows you how to select the best networking gear (both Apple's AirPort hardware and cheaper options), position a base station for optimal performance, configure devices, and lock out snoopers.

Learn the four things to consider when purchasing hardware (and what device to avoid!), solutions to seven common Internet configuration problems, how to connect a USB printer to a base station, and four ways to extend your network's range. Whether you're just getting started with wireless or you have an existing network you want to expand or make more secure, you'll find useful information that will save you money and time. Cool extras! Locate adapters for older Macs and learn the best ways to configure AirPort Express and AirTunes!

Read this ebook to learn the answers to questions like:

  • How do I work with Keychain Access?

  • How do I configure AirPort Express extras?

  • How do I connect to a network and manage profiles?

  • How do I connect with WPA Enterprise?

  • Help! How do I diagnose network troubles in Tiger?

  • How do I handle dynamically assigned addresses?

  • How do I set a password to restrict access to my base station?

Includes coupons worth $15! Coupons at the end of the ebook save you $10 on IPNetRouterX from Sustainable Softworks and $5 from any order at Small Dog Electronics! (In other words, use both coupons and the ebook will make you $5. Hard to beat that.)

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Read Me First
    1. Onscreen Reading Tips
    2. Printing Tips
    3. What’s New in Version 1.2
  3. Introduction
  4. AirPort Networking Quick Start
  5. Wireless Basics
    1. Early AirPort
    2. AirPort Extreme
    3. AirPort Express
    4. Compatibility among Different AirPort Devices
  6. Pick a Base Station
    1. Consider an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express
      1. Commonalities
      2. AirPort Extreme
      3. AirPort Express
        1. Ethernet
        2. Audio
        3. USB
        4. Modes of network connection
    2. Decide What to Buy
    3. Don’t Buy Older AirPort Base Stations
    4. Consider a Software Base Station
    5. Consider a Wireless Gateway Alternative
      1. Generic alternatives
      2. AppleTalk
      3. Bridging
      4. 802.11b instead of 802.11g
      5. MIMO, MIMO, it’s off to N I go
      6. Printing
      7. Cheap adapters
    6. Buy Subsequent Access Points More Cheaply
  7. Set Up Your Base Station and Local Network
    1. Unpack and Set Up Your Base Station
    2. Set an Administrative Password
    3. Configure LAN settings
    4. Pick the Right Place for Your Base Station
      1. General testing advice
      2. Testing with the AirPort Client Monitor
      3. Testing with other cards
      4. Testing with handheld sniffers
      5. Sniffing for Wi-Fi
  8. Set Up Your Internet Connection
    1. Plug a Broadband Modem into Your WAN Port
    2. Receive a Dynamic Address over Broadband
    3. Log in via PPPoE over Broadband DSL
    4. Deal with MAC-Address-Restricted Cable Broadband
    5. Set a Static Address over Broadband
    6. Configure a Dial-Up Connection
  9. Configure AirPort Express Extras
    1. Turn Wireless Off
    2. Connect as a Client
    3. Play Music
      1. Set up music features in AirPort Admin Utility
      2. Play music with iTunes
    4. AirPort Express Profiles
    5. Reset AirPort Express
    6. Disable Ethernet and Control the Status Light
  10. Connect Your Computers
    1. Panther and Tiger
      1. Configure how Tiger connects
      2. Configure how Panther connects
    2. Windows XP Service Pack 2
  11. Setting Up a Shared USB Printer
    1. Rename a Shared Printer
    2. Add a Shared USB Printer in Mac OS X 10.2–10.4
    3. Troubleshoot an Unavailable Shared USB Printer
    4. Add a Shared USB Printer in Windows XP
  12. Improve Coverage Area and Range
    1. Add Additional Access Points for Roaming
    2. Bridge Wirelessly
      1. How it works
      2. WDS options in hardware
        1. Apple’s WDS approach
        2. Buffalo’s WDS approach
        3. Linksys’s WDS approach
      3. Configuring WDS on an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station
      4. Configuring WDS on a Buffalo gateway
    3. Extend with HomePlug
    4. Add an Antenna
    5. Solve the Titanium PowerBook Range Problem
    6. Set Interference Robustness
    7. Talk to Your Neighbors
  13. Secure Your Network
    1. Likelihood, Liability, and Lost Opportunity
      1. Likelihood
      2. Liability
      3. Lost opportunity
      4. Your spot in the security spectrum
    2. Simple Tricks That Don’t Work
      1. Closed network
      2. MAC address filtering
    3. Protect with WEP
      1. WEP basics
      2. WEP’s weakness
      3. Setting up WEP on an all-AirPort network
      4. Extracting an AirPort key for a non-AirPort adapter
      5. Connecting to an AirPort network from Windows XP using WEP
      6. Join a WEP-protected, non-AirPort network with any AirPort card
    4. Protect More Easily with WPA
      1. Turning on WPA with AirPort Extreme
      2. Connecting with AirPort or AirPort Extreme under Panther or Tiger to a WPA network
      3. Connecting from Windows XP to a WPA network
    5. Log In Securely with WEP or WPA-Enterprise
      1. Difficulties in enabling 802.1X with EAP
      2. Connect with WPA Enterprise
        1. Connect with Panther or Tiger
        2. Connect with Windows XP Service Pack 2
    6. Deploy Application Security
      1. Secure Webmail
      2. Secure FTP (SFTP)
      3. SSL email
      4. APOP and Authenticated SMTP
      5. VPN
  14. A. Setting up a Software Base Station
    1. Configuring Software Base Station in Mac OS 8.6/9.x
    2. Configuring Internet Sharing in Mac OS X
  15. B. Connect without AirPort Adapters
    1. Older Power Macs That Predate AirPort
    2. Older USB-only iMacs
    3. Older USB-only iMacs
    4. PowerBooks and Power Macs (G3s and G4s)
    5. PCs Running Windows XP
    6. Pre-Windows XP PCs
  16. C. AirPort Management Tools
    1. Using AirPort Management Utility
    2. Adding a Base Station
    3. Configuring One (Or More!) Base Stations
    4. Working with a Model Configuration
    5. Logging
    6. Monitor Signal Strength and Bytes Transferred
  17. D. Dynamically Assigned Addresses
    1. Don’t Get Your Service Canceled
    2. Configuring DHCP with AirPort
    3. Configuring DHCP with the Linksys WRT54G
    4. Software-based DHCP servers
      1. Panther and Tiger Internet Sharing
      2. IPNetRouterX
      3. Mac OS X Server
    5. Wired Broadband Gateways
    6. Pass Traffic to Individual Computers on a Private Network
      1. Ports
      2. Port mapping
        1. Setting a static, private address for port mapping
        2. Set port mapping with AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express
        3. Set port mapping on a Linksys WRT54G
      3. Port triggering
      4. DMZ host
  18. E. Diagnose Network Troubles in Tiger
  19. About This Ebook
    1. About the Author
    2. Author’s Acknowledgements
    3. Take Control: The Series
    4. About TidBITS Electronic Publishing
    5. Production Credits

Product information

  • Title: Take Control of Your AirPort Network
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: May 2007
  • Publisher(s): Peachpit Press
  • ISBN: 0975950355