71

P

ART

II

Network

Wireless LAN

(73)

Wireless Tutorial

(93)

WAN

(101)

LAN

(111)

Guest WLAN

(117)

DHCP

(123)

Network Address Translation (NAT)

(129)

Dynamic DNS

(139)

72

NBG334W User’s Guide

73

C

HAPTER

5

Wireless LAN

This chapter discusses how to configure the wireless network settings in your NBG334W. See

the appendices for more detailed information about wireless networks.

5.1

Wireless Network Overview

The following figure provides an example of a wireless network.

Figure 33

Example of a Wireless Network

The wireless network is the part in the blue circle. In this wireless network, devices A and B

are called wireless clients. The wireless clients use the access point (AP) to interact with other

devices (such as the printer) or with the Internet. Your NBG334W is the AP.

Every wireless network must follow these basic guidelines.

•

Every wireless client in the same wireless network must use the same SSID.

The SSID is the name of the wireless network. It stands for Service Set IDentity.

•

If two wireless networks overlap, they should use different channels.

Like radio stations or television channels, each wireless network uses a specific channel,

or frequency, to send and receive information.

Chapter 5 Wireless LAN

NBG334W User’s Guide

74

•

Every wireless client in the same wireless network must use security compatible with the

AP.

Security stops unauthorized devices from using the wireless network. It can also protect

the information that is sent in the wireless network.

Requirements

To add a wireless LAN to your existing network, make sure you have the following:

1

an access point (AP) or a router with the wireless feature

2

at least one wireless network card/adapter which varies according to your computer.

•If you have a desktop, use either a wireless USB adapter or a wireless PCI adapter.

•If you have a laptop, use either a wireless USB adapter or a wireless CardBus card.

3

a RADIUS server only if you want to use IEEE802.1x, WPA or WPA2

To have two or more computers communicate with each other wirelessly without an AP or

wireless router, make sure you have the following:

1

two or more wireless network cards/adapters which vary according to your computers.

•If you have a desktop, use either a wireless USB adapter or a wireless PCI adapter.

•If you have a laptop, use either a wireless USB adapter or a wireless CardBus card.

Setup Information

To set up your wireless network using an AP or wireless router, make sure your AP or wireless

router and wireless network card(s)/adapter(s) use the same following settings:

• SSID:_____________________

• Channel: auto or _________

• Network type of a wireless network card/adapter: Infrastructure

• wireless standard: IEEE 802.11b, g, b/g or a

• Security:

(

) None

(

) WEP (64bit, 128bit or 256bit key) (ASCII or Hex):________________

(

) IEEE 802.1x

(

) WPA-PSK (TKIP or AES):_______________

(

) WPA (TKIP or AES)

(

) WPA2-PSK (TKIP or AES):______________

(

) WPA2 (TKIP or AES)

Chapter 5 Wireless LAN

NBG334W User’s Guide

75

• Preamble type (if available): auto, short or long

To set up your wireless network without an AP or wireless router, make sure wireless network

cards/adapters use the same following settings:

• Network type: Ad-Hoc

• SSID:_____________________

• Channel: _________________

• wireless standard: IEEE 802.11b, g, b/g or a

• Security:

(

) None

(

) WEP (64bit, 128bit or 256bit key) (ASCII or Hex):________________

5.2

Wireless Security Overview

The following sections introduce different types of wireless security you can set up in the

wireless network.

5.2.1

SSID

Normally, the AP acts like a beacon and regularly broadcasts the SSID in the area. You can

hide the SSID instead, in which case the AP does not broadcast the SSID. In addition, you

should change the default SSID to something that is difficult to guess.

This type of security is fairly weak, however, because there are ways for unauthorized devices

to get the SSID. In addition, unauthorized devices can still see the information that is sent in

the wireless network.

5.2.2

MAC Address Filter

Every wireless client has a unique identification number, called a MAC address.

1

A MAC

address is usually written using twelve hexadecimal characters

2

; for example, 00A0C5000002

or 00:A0:C5:00:00:02. To get the MAC address for each wireless client, see the appropriate

User’s Guide or other documentation.

You can use the MAC address filter to tell the AP which wireless clients are allowed or not

allowed to use the wireless network. If a wireless client is allowed to use the wireless network,

it still has to have the correct settings (SSID, channel, and security). If a wireless client is not

allowed to use the wireless network, it does not matter if it has the correct settings.

This type of security does not protect the information that is sent in the wireless network.

Furthermore, there are ways for unauthorized devices to get the MAC address of an authorized

wireless client. Then, they can use that MAC address to use the wireless network.

1.

Some wireless devices, such as scanners, can detect wireless networks but cannot use wireless networks.

These kinds of wireless devices might not have MAC addresses.

2.

Hexadecimal characters are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, and F.