Wireless routers are Access Points that have the Internet port for a DSL or cable modem connection, and in most cases, also has a 4-port switch. A wireless router is useful only when you have DSL or cable Internet at home, or if you are planning to connect one of the PCs or network printers to one of the ports on the switch. However, if you have DSL or cable Internet, a wireless router is the best solution as it doesn't require you to connect it directly to the PC to share the Internet connection, or files and folders on another PC. Here is how you will have to go about getting it running.
1. Connect the incoming DSL or cable connector, which is an RJ45 cable, to the Internet port of the router.
2. Power up the wireless router and observe whether all the LEDs are behaving in the exact manner as mentioned in the manual. If not, try resetting it.
3. Now go to the first system, with the wireless card plugged in. Get the wireless card on the same IP range as the router is. You can learn about the router IP from the manual.
4. Once the wireless card is configured, try to ping the IP address of the router and see whether the response is positive. You can also try to search for the available network, either by using the wireless card's utility, or by right-clicking the network icon in the system tray and clicking 'View available Network'. This will show you the active wireless network available.
5.Once you get your router detected by the wireless card, launch your browser and type in your router IP address in the following manner: http://<IP address of router>. Press [Enter].
6. This will launch the configuration utility of the router. But to enter this utility you will have to provide a username and password, which again, is provided in the manual.
7. The first thing you should do now is change the login and password to something really difficult, which no-one can guess. Also change the security setting to at least 128-bit if you are going to access your bank account and other sensitive information.
8. You can and must change the IP address to something else, as the default IP is easily traceable, and known to most Wi-Fi users. If possible, restrict DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) to very few numbers. For example, if you are going to connect just one more system wirelessly, than restrict the start and end IP to accommodate just one machine. Change this later if you have to add one more system.
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Setting up Wireless Networking
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