how to configure the wireless local area network? the general steps of configure the WLAN and its needed equipment are computer, Ethernet cable and network devices...

1. By Jaleto s.
7/1/2023
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2. 7/1/2023
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4.  For users, a network is all about the software
they actually deal with, whether it's a word
processor, accounting software or some kind
of high-end custom program. Underneath
that, making it work, you'll find a network-
aware operating system, the drivers that help
your computers talk to the networking
hardware, and all the specialized code that
handles communications between devices.
Those are the software components of the
network
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5.  Network Workstations
 The whole point of a LAN is to have users
working together collaboratively, or at least
sharing the network's resources, so all of
those users need to have a way to access the
network. That's done through the individual
computers, or workstations, that are
connected together to make up the LAN.
Those computers can be pretty much
anything.
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6.  A given office might contain everything from
low-end laptops or Chromebooks to high-
powered engineering workstations, with
plenty of standard-issue machines in
between to handle the routine duties of
accounting, word processing, point-of-sale
and so on. In a wireless network, even a
tablet or a cell phone can be treated as a
workstation.
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7.  Network Interface Cards and Drivers
 Your individual workstations won't be part of the
network unless they have some way of
communicating with everything else that's on the
LAN. That requires something called a Network
Interface Card, usually shorted to NIC. This
provides a way for your computer to connect to
the LAN and exchange information with it. Most
computers are built with two kinds of NIC already
on board, one that uses Wi-Fi and one that uses
an Ethernet connection.
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8.  You can use the built-in NIC to connect with,
or you can install a separate specialized card
to meet your company's individual needs. You
might want a higher-performance card than
the one that comes built in, for example, or
you might opt to network with fiber optics for
a performance upgrade. In those cases, you'll
need to buy a separate physical card and
install it in the computer.
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9.  Shared Hardware Resources
 There's definitely a cost attached to creating and
maintaining a network, but it pays for itself in
many ways. The most important measure is
improved productivity, but the option of sharing
resources is the kind of up-front cost saving that
any bean-counter can relate to. Consider
printers, for example. Most of your users
probably need the ability to print, but only a few
of them will print high volume on a regular basis.
Rather than parking a printer on every desk,
where most of them will gather dust, you can
have everyone else share a small number of
networked printers..
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10.  There will always be some situations where
you'll need to allocate or "dedicate" a
resource to one specific user, or one specific
group of users, but that's fine. If you only
have one person doing large-scale artwork,
or creating oversized drawings and
blueprints, there's no need for everyone else
to have access to their printer or plotter
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11.  This part of your LAN also includes all of the hubs,
switches and routers that physically connect the
cabling between devices across your network, and
between your network and the internet or your own
company's larger Wide Area Network. A WAN includes
things like routers and signal extenders that can
stretch your network's reach. Normal users won't
need to know how to use them – or even care that
they exist – but without them, you wouldn't be able to
connect and exchange information. Think of them as
the electronic equivalent of the traffic signals,
intersections and ramps that route the flow of
vehicles around a city.
 .
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12.  In small networks, each of the computers on your
LAN is pretty much the same. In a larger network,
you may also have physical servers, racks of
computers that provide high-volume storage and
processing power to the network. Traditionally
those were kept in-house, but the rise of cloud
computing – massive clusters of servers housed
off-site, and accessed over the internet – means
the servers can be in remote locations or even
operated by a third-party provider, usually a
major company such as Amazon, Microsoft or
Google
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13.  Networking Operating System (OS)
 One of the most crucial pieces of a LAN is the
software that juggles all of your network's resources
and users so that everybody has what they need. It
keeps track of what devices are on the LAN, what
programs are running, what information is being
circulated around the network and which of the
network's resources are needed to make it all work.
In the early days of networking, from the 1980s to
the beginning of this century, you needed a separate
program like Novell's Netware or Banyan's Vines to do
that. These were complex, expensive programs, and
it took a lot of training to learn how to use them
properly.
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14.  Now, Windows, OS X and Linux all have the ability
to run networks without needing a separate OS.
They can even talk to each other, so your IT
people might use Linux to provide network
services to Windows users in your office and Mac
users doing graphic work in your marketing
department. Everyday users won't see or use
those advanced features. That's the job of your
network administrator, who has a higher-level
password and can add, subtract and reallocate
users and resources on the LAN.
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15.  A Communications Medium
 You can have everything you need for a LAN in your
offices, all freshly installed and gleaming, but they're
so many separate lumps of hardware until you
actually give them a way to communicate. You need
to connect all of those computers together, either
physically with cabling or virtually through a Wi-Fi
connection.
 In the early days of networking, you'd usually use a
heavy coaxial cable, very much like those used for
cable or satellite television. Over time, most networks
switched to a different kind of cable, called twisted
pair, with pairs of wires running through a flat,
lightweight cable that looks like – and is – a variation
on the wiring used for landline phones.
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16.  Twisted pair is lighter and easier to install,
and the phone-style plugs at the ends of the
wires snap easily into the jacks on your
computers, switches, hubs and other network
devices. You'll often hear this kind of
connection referred to as Ethernet plugs and
jacks, though that's not strictly correct.
Ethernet refers to how you communicate
across the cable, not to the cable or
connector itself, and it was used on the older
networks with coaxial cables as we
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17.  A wireless network, or WLAN, uses radio waves instead of
physical wires to send signals between the computers and
other devices on your network. There are two separate
sets of frequencies you can use, depending on your needs.
Most older wireless networks use the 2.4 GHz band, while
newer devices can also make use of the 5 GHz band. They
each have some advantages. A 2.4 GHz signal will give you
longer range, and it's better at going through walls, which
can be important in a big office. Unfortunately, it's also
more prone to interference, because there are an awful lot
of devices out there that share the same frequencies. The
5 GHz band isn't as good with walls, and it's best over
shorter distances, but where it works it'll give you a better
signal.

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18.  Security. What type of data will be stored on the
servers and which workstations will require secure
connections to them in order to prevent others from
obtaining access. Also consider creating access
policies which will restrict access at sensitive areas.
 Splitting the network. I always allow up to 50
workstations max in one network in order to preserve
the bandwidth and reduce broadcasts which can
cause a lot of trouble, especially if the network is a
busy one! Check your requirements and see if you
can split the network into 2-3 networks and allow
relevant networks to access the servers they require.

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19.  Firewall. If the network will have Internet access, or
any type of access to other remote networks, I
strongly suggest you consider a firewall or some type
of packet filtering device to stop unwanted people
from accessing local workstations, servers and other
services which will be available.
 Connectivity. Make sure not to use any Hub in your
network design. Switches are the most efficient
communications devices when it comes to network
connectivity. When planning to connect hosts,
computers, devices to a switch, don't forget to allow
enough room for future growth. Most of the times,
network designers and systems administrators find
themselves quickly running out of ports simply
because they didn't foresee the network expanding!
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21.  A router is a network device that serves two primary
functions:
 (1) it connects multiple computers, phones, tablets, or
other devices to form a managed local area network, and
 (2) it provides Internet access to all of the compatible
devices that are connected to the router.
A local area network (LAN) can be set up by simply
deploying a router and connecting one or several devices
to it. Modern routers allow users to connect devices both
via Ethernet cables or wirelessly (using Wi-Fi).
However, in order for the router to distribute and deliver
data to the devices within the local area network, it must
be connected to an Internet service provider’s customer
premises equipment (CPE) via an Ethernet cable.

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22.  access point is a wireless network device that
acts as a portal for devices to connect to a local
area network. Access points are used for
extending the wireless coverage of an existing
network and for increasing the number of users
that can connect to it.
A high-speed Ethernet cable runs from a router
to an access point, which transforms the wired
signal into a wireless one. Wireless connectivity is
typically the only available option for access
points, establishing links with end-devices using
Wi-Fi.
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23.  Instructions
 Log into the Wireless Router
◦ Connect the computer to the router.
Ask the instructor for the following information
that is used during the lab.
 Router Address Information:
◦ IP address:
 192.168.1.254
◦ Subnet mask:
 255.255.255.0
◦ Router name:
 T3200M
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24.  DHCP Server Setting Information:
◦ Start IP address:
◦ Maximum number of users:
◦ Default Router Access:
 Router Username / Password:
 Admin/123or others
◦ Assigned SSID:
 Your Assigned SSID:
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25.  Note: Only use configurations assigned by the instructor.
 Plug in the power for the wireless router. Boot the
computer and log in as an administrator.
 Connect the computer to one of the Ethernet ports on the
wireless router with an Ethernet patch cable.
 Note: If this is the first time connecting to the lab router,
follow these instructions to set a network location. This
will be explained later in the course.
 If prompted by the Set Network Location window, select
Public network.
 Click Close to accept the network location Public.
 Open a command prompt and type ipconfig to determine
the IP address of the default gateway, which should be the
IP address of your wireless router. If it is necessary to
renew the IP address, enter ipconfig /all at the prompt.
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26.  Log in to the router.
◦ Open Microsoft Edge or other web browsers. Enter the IP
address of your default gateway in the Address field, and
then press Enter.
◦ In the Windows Security window, enter administrative
user credentials provided by your instructor
 Configure Basic Wireless Settings
◦ In this lab, you will not be configuring the wireless
router to the internet. You will configure the SSID or
network name and security in the wireless settings,
configure DHCP settings, and set a new administrative
password.
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27.  Configure SSID.
◦ Locate the wireless settings. In the SSID or network
name field, enter your assigned SSID.
◦ Save the settings.
 Configure wireless security.
◦ Locate the wireless security settings.
◦ Select WPA2 security option. Select AES cipher and
personal if available.
◦ Enter a passphrase or password as assigned by your
instructor or use Cisco456! as an example.
◦ Save the settings.
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28.  Configure DHCP settings.
 Locate the LAN settings.
 Configure router device name if available.
 Configure the router's IP address and subnet mask as
assigned by your instructor.
 Verify that the wireless router is used as the DHCP
server.
 Configure the LAN information for your assigned
subnet. If possible, you may be providing the starting
and end IP addresses or the maximum number of IP
addresses available for connecting hosts wirelessly.
 Save the settings.
 The router may need to reboot at this time. If
necessary, reboot the router.
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29.  Change the default administrative password.
 Locate the password settings for the
administrative account.
 Provide the current password and the new
password as assigned by your instructor or
Cisco123!.
 Save the settings.
 Log into the wireless using the new credentials:
admin / Cisco123! or the credentials that were
assigned to you.
 At this time, you can disconnect the Ethernet
cable if desired.
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30.  Connect a Wireless Client
 Click Start, enter wireless. Select Change Wi-Fi Settings.
 In Wi-Fi settings window, select Show available networks.
 Select the configured SSID that you configured in a previous step.
 Enter the password or passphrase configured in a previous step.
 Open a command prompt.Type ipconfig and record the following
information.
 Computer IP information:
 IP address:
 192.168.1.80
 Subnet mask:
 255.255.255.0
 Default Gateway:
 192.168.1.254
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31.  Connect an Access Point (Optional)
◦ In this part, you will add a wireless access point (AP)
to the network. An AP is connected directly to a
wireless router using an Ethernet cable. The
purpose of an AP is to extend the wireless LAN
where the wireless users cannot reach the wireless
router otherwise
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32.  Configure access point wireless settings.
◦ In the web page of the wireless router, navigate to the LAN
settings to determine the IP address of the access point.
The IP address of the access point can be listed in the
address reservation table or DHCP client list.
◦ In another web browser, navigate to the IP address of the
access point.
◦ In the access point settings, navigate to the wireless
settings and configure the AP with the same wireless SSID
and security options as the wireless router. For example,
ITE as the SSID and WPA2 Personal AES with Cisco456! as
the passphrase.
◦ Verify that the wireless router and AP are not using the
same wireless channels.
◦ Attempt to connect a wireless client to the wireless
network.
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33.  Turn off wireless radio on the wireless router.
 After you have successfully connected to the wireless
network, you will attempt to disable the wireless router
radio, and a wireless client will attempt to connect to the
wireless network through the AP.
 Depending on the wireless router model, you maybe able
to switch off the wireless radio using the on/off switch.
 Navigate to the wireless router using a web browser. If
necessary, connect to the wireless router using a wired
Ethernet connection.
 Navigate to the wireless settings, turn off the wireless
router radio if available. The option to enable wireless
radio may be in the advanced wireless settings.
 Save the settings.
 Attempt to connect a wireless client to the AP
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34.  Reset to the original configuration
 Unless stated otherwise by the instructor, restore
the router back to factory default if the option is
available.
 Note: Some wireless models have a reset button
to reset the router to its default factory settings.
 Locate the Maintenance or System settings.
 Click the selection to revert to factory default
settings.
 Provide your administrative credentials if
prompted.
 Wait for your router to finish reboot before
shutting down the wireless router.
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