Cisco 802.11 Wireless Networking Quick Reference

Connecting to a wired LAN is easy. Just plug the Cat 5 cabling poking out of the wall into the back of the computer, and you are pretty much in business. However, if you connect to a wired LAN in this way, you cannot tell which networks are availablelet alone which ones you can connect toin a WLAN.

As the network professional, of course, you can tell users to which network they should connect. However, if users find themselves in new territorya different office, a public hot spot, and so forthit is helpful to have a tool that allows them to discover which networks are available.

A quick and easy way to check for available networks is through Windows XP. Follow these steps to check for, and connect to, available WLANs:

Step 1.

Right-click the network connection icon in your taskbar, and then click View Available Wireless Networks. This calls up the Wireless Network Connection screen shown in Figure 6-2.

Figure 6-2. Using Windows XP to View Available Wireless Networks

Step 2.

Under Available Wireless Networks, click the wireless network to which you want to connect.

Step 3.

If a network key is required for WEP, do one of the following:

  • If the network key is automatically provided (that is, it is derived using 802.1X), leave the Network Key field blank.

  • If the network key is not provided, in the Network Key field, type the key.

Step 4.

Click Connect.

Related

Категории