The Wi-Fi Experience: Everyone’s Guide to 802.11b Wireless Networking

Table of contents

1. Copyright
   1. Dedication
2. About the Authors
3. Acknowledgments
4. Tell Us What You Think!
5. Introduction
6. 1. Understanding Wi-Fi
   1. What Is Wireless Networking?
   2. The 2.4 Gigahertz Spectrum
      1. Bluetooth
      2. 802.11b
   3. The Politics and Economics of 802.11b
      1. The Role of the IEEE
      2. WECA and Wi-Fi
      3. 802.11b and 3G
7. 2. Setting Up Your Personal Wireless Network
   1. How Much Does It Cost?
   2. Benefits of a Home or Small Office Wi-Fi Network
   3. Understanding Range
      1. Automatic Slowdown
   4. Measuring Data Rates: How Fast Is Fast Enough?
      1. Indoor Coverage
      2. Outdoor Coverage
      3. Seeing Speed
      4. Understanding SNR
   5. Installing a Simple Wi-Fi Network
      1. Want to Be an Administrator?
      2. Manufacturers Differ
      3. Preknowledge Expectations
   6. About the Four-Step Installation Process
      1. Get the Latest Version
      2. Don’t Mix and Match
   7. Step 1: Attaching the Hardware
   8. Step 2: Driver Installation Under Windows 98
   9. Step 2 Continued: Driver Installation Under Windows 2000
      1. Digital Signatures
   10. Step 3: Using Utility Software to Define a Wi-Fi Connection Under Windows 98 or Windows 2000
   11. Step 4: Setting Up a Peer-to-Peer Network
       1. Protocols
       2. Specifying an IP Address
       3. Joining a Workgroup
          1. The Windows 2000 Version
          2. The Windows 98 Version
   12. Sharing: It’s a Good Thing
       1. The Windows 98 Version
       2. The Windows 2000 Version
   13. Providing Printer Permission
   14. Testing Your Connection
       1. Success...
       2. ... or Failure
   15. What To Do If All Else Fails
8. 3. Larger Scale Wi-Fi Setups
   1. The Need to Plan: Before the Site Survey
   2. Conduct a Site Survey
   3. Doing a Survey Yourself
   4. Setting Up the LAN
   5. The Testing Process
      1. No Connection
      2. Bad Connection
   6. Channel Design
   7. Going Beyond a Single Building
      1. The Zapped Goose
      2. Traditional Wi-Fi
9. 4. At Home and at Work
   1. Case Study: The Author at Home
      1. No More Paper on the Walls
      2. Foreign Visitors
      3. No Legacy Connections
   2. Case Study: Checking In at The Venetian Hotel
   3. Case Study: Online at an Airport
   4. Case Study: Connecting at Starbucks
      1. What Is MobileStar?
      2. MobileStar and Starbucks
      3. Finding an “Unwired” Starbucks Near You
      4. Signing Up with MobileStar
      5. Using Your Wi-Fi Enabled Laptop in Starbucks
   5. Case Study: A Small Office Environment
10. 5. The Internet Connection
    1. Broadcast Your Broadband Connection
    2. Installing a Wi-Fi Cable Modem Connection
       1. Attaching the Cable Modem Unit to the Wi-Fi Access Point Unit
       2. Installing Drivers
       3. Installing Support Software
    3. Testing, Testing, Testing
    4. Adding Other Computers to the Connection
       1. If You Have Problems
       2. If You Still Have Problems
    5. ISDN, Ordinary Phone Line, or DSL Modem Connections
    6. Sharing Files and Resources
11. 6. Putting an Antenna on Your Roof and Elsewhere
    1. Types of Antennas
    2. What Antennas Do
    3. Wi-Fi Problems and Cures
    4. Improving Communication
    5. Mr. Techno Talks Science
       1. Interference
       2. Locating the Source of the Problem
       3. Multipath Loss
       4. Gain
    6. Getting Connected
       1. An “N” Connector at the Antenna End
       2. A Pigtail at the Wi-Fi End
    7. Tuning Your Antenna
    8. Where to Go from Here
12. 7. Lighting Up the Neighborhood
    1. Case Study: SFLAN—“Unwiring” the Presidio
       1. The SFLAN Geography
       2. Logging On to SFLAN
       3. The SFLAN Philosophy
       4. The Future of SFLAN
    2. Wake Forest Lights Up
       1. Two Plusses, Two Minuses
       2. Covering the Campus
       3. What About the Costs?
       4. The Internet and Free Files
       5. Media Orders of Magnitude
       6. Benign Uses
13. 8. Security and Encryption
    1. Special Wi-Fi Security Issues
       1. The Proprietary Solution
    2. Encryption Works Best
    3. Problems with WEP
       1. Technical Details
    4. Some Steps to Take
    5. The Problem with People
    6. Password Protection Flaws
    7. Social Engineering
    8. Snorters, Sniffers, and Peekers
       1. AirSnort
       2. AiroPeek
    9. The VPN Solution
    10. Setting Up Your Virtual Private Network
        1. Installing a Windows 2000 VPN Connection
        2. Installing a Windows NT VPN Connection
        3. Using the VPN Connection in Windows NT
        4. Installing a Windows 98 VPN Connection
        5. Installing a Windows 95 VPN Connection
    11. Using Firewalls and Intrusion Detection
        1. Hardware Versus Software
        2. Intrusion Detection
        3. Setting Up ZoneAlarm
    12. Security Summary
14. 9. The Wi-Fi Revolution
    1. An Unstoppable Trend
    2. Lowering Costs, Increasing Sales
    3. Is Wire Doomed?
    4. A Peek Into the Near Future
       1. Who Cares About Throughput?
       2. Who Cares About Energy?
    5. The Weightless Computer
       1. Distributed Computing
       2. Freeing Up Your Data
       3. Subscription Information Services
       4. Blurring Distinctions
    6. Wireless Freedom of Information
    7. What About HiperLan/2?
    8. VoIP: The New Telephone?
    9. Welcome to the Wireless World
15. A. Ideas and Resources
    1. Technical News
    2. Wi-Fi Technology
    3. Security Issues
    4. Wi-Fi Vendors
16. Glossary