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Setting up the LAN (Local Area Network)

After you have finished your planning and purchased the equipment, you are ready to start the installation. Here are the steps to take:

1) Physically install the Wi-Fi PCM cards into the portable computers, and the USB or PCI Wi-Fi units in desktop computers that will participate in your Wi-Fi LAN. In some cases the physical installation process triggers Windows plug-and-play feature. You can either install drivers and support software at this point, or use Control Panel’s Add New Hardware utility in Step 8.

2) If you are adding Wi-Fi to an existing wire network, attach the necessary cables between the existing network’s Ethernet repeaters or switches and the Wi-Fi access point units.

3) Position the access point units, most of which include mounting hardware or other ways to secure them to walls or cabinets.

4) Position and attach any external antennas.

5) If a WAN is involved, make the necessary connections to it.

6) Set up your network operating system.

7) Install the drivers and utility software that came with the Wi-Fi equipment on the portables, desktop clients, and servers.

8) Using the utility software that came with the Wi-Fi equipment, set the parameters for the access points and the PCM cards or USB cards. These parameters are the SSID (network ID), any encryption settings, the Wi-Fi channel, and any settings unique to your hardware (such as network type). Some access points can be configured via utility software located in a Wi-Fi-equipped portable computer; other access points require physical serial port or other kinds of connections for their configuration. Other access points accept configuration via their Ethernet connection.