Setting Up a Home Office Wireless Network Router Part 2

This is Part 2 of Setting Up a Home Office Wireless Network. If you haven't seen Part 1 yet, check it out first.

One of the first things you will need to do is name your wireless network. This setting is called the SSID. Don't spend too much time on this, it really doesn't matter. The network name will be broadcast out into the air so if you don't want the neighbors asking what "PoodleBear" means, pick something basic. If you can't think of anything, use the name of your dog. It really doesn't matter except you will need to use the same name when you setup your computers, so remember whatever it is that you pick. The important thing is to NOT leave it as the default.

There will be some other settings you need to define. These may be asked for in a different order, or may be worded slightly differently, so just jot down the answers on this handy wireless configuration worksheet.

You will also need to set the Channel. Wireless routers usually come set to Channel 7 by default. So, if you neighbor has a wireless router and didn't change the setting, then they are using 7. Change it to 1 or 11 to be safe. If it doesn't work, you can change it to a different number.

If you did not buy your router used, then chances are it comes with several different security settings. If your wireless network card is new as well, then we can just use the best settings and go for it.

Using your setup software, or going under the Security section of the configuration, choose WPA2 for your security. Your wireless router may have two WPA2 settings. If so, choose the PSK setting or the one that DOES NOT require a RADIUS server. Your router may then ask whether to use TKIP or AES (sometimes shown as CCMP) or AUTO. If it has an AUTO setting, take it. Otherwise, start with AES. (If you are interested in the why of these settings, read here.)

The PSK setting means that you need to pick a passkey for your security. This passkey will also have to be entered on each device in your wireless network. It is case sensative and can contain numbers and symbols. Remember that your entire wireless security depends on this one passkey, so don't be shy about typing. Make it long, use at least two capital letters, at least one number, and at least one symbol. Don't worry, you won't ever have to type this again once you get a device setup on your network. To make a strong password use a random generator, or make a sentence that makes sense to you. Something like

"IBrake4BroncosFans&NoOneElse!"

makes a hard enough to break key.

Don't forget to jot down your settings on the Wireless Configuration Worksheet.

Your wireless router may offer to security via something called MAC Address restriction. Don't bother. Anyone who knows how to hack a wireless network knows how to spoof a MAC address, and this setting may give you hard to detect errors down the line.

If you get asked whether or not to turn on remote management, choose no for now.

Some configuration settings are only useful to certain situations. Since we are just going for the basics right now, ignore the other settings like Routing, Filtering, DMZ, Loggins, and SNMP. Don't delete any values that are already there, just don't add or change anything.

We are done for now on the wireless router. It is time to setup the workstation and see if we can start networking. So, unplug the network cable, and head on over to Setting Up Your Home Office Wireless Network Card.