Installing Wireless Access Points(i.e. Wireless Routers-AP)

1. Install one wireless Access Point to test range

2. Assign  wireless access point a unique IP address

1. Finding your Wireless Range – Wireless access points will have a range of about 75-100ft inside, and outside (depending on your wireless antenna) miles. If you live in an older brick home your wireless signal range can be greatly reduced.. To find your wireless signal range and signal strength you will need to install one wireless access point in the middle of your work area and measure the signal. You can use a program called netstumbler to help you with this task. Once you have achived the necessary wireless signal overlap then you will be able to roam through out your work or business. Your wireless adapter software will choose the access point with the strongest signal but this will be transparent to the user

2. Unique IP -assign  your AP’s with a unique IP address not a dynamic IP address(it depends upon your choice dynamic/static).

3. Configure AP’s – Some wireless routers will come with software that will allow you to configure one access poin.

4. Encryption /AuthenticationWireless Antennas – Choose which type of antenna you will need. Try to purchase directional antennas instead of using the default omni-directional antennas. Directional antennas will funnel your wireless signal towards your operational areas.

5. Placement – Try not to place your AP by outer walls. If you need to place your AP buy outside walls then try to use a reflector. This will help your signal stay inside your house as much as possible.

The above image shows the setup of Access Point

Here we are taking an example of Netgear WGR614v7 as an access point in order to setup wireless network as shown below

Just go ahead and open a web browser (i.e. Internet Explorer,Mozilla Firefox,Opera etc.) and in the address bar as shown above type in the default ip-address of the Netgear (192.168.1.1) and user name & password window will open in front of you as shown above ,type user name and password (default may be admin,admin or admin,blank or admin,password) and click on OK.

In the above image you can see the screen shots of  Netgear Router GUI and on the left hand side top click on Wireless Settings and Wireless Settings window will open ,where you can enter the name(or SSID) as per your need ,select the region,channel & mode.

Under Security Options select whatever security type you need and under Security Encryption(WEP)choose the authentication type and encryption strength depending upon your needs(automatic is recomended but not necessary).

If you have selected  authentication type as automatic and encryption strength as 64bit the under Security Encryption(WEP)Key you can use the keybased upon your choice or even you can generate a passpharse .

Once these settings are done finally click on Apply (and the router settings will be saved) and you are ready to go!!!