Wireless Networking with Microsoft Windows Vista

Networking has become commonplace in the home. In years past, it took a trained technician to set up and manage a computer network; that's not the case anymore. With more and more households having multiple PCs, there is an increased demand to network those PCs to share files, peripherals, and an Internet connection. And it's become much easier to create a home network, thanks to easier-to-use wireless networking technologies and equipment. The problem is setting up a wireless network can still be somewhat confusing, and often difficult. Even setting up a simple wireless network to share an Internet connection can be a frustrating trial-and-error process. What kind of wireless network should you choose -- 802.11a, b, g, or n? What equipment do you need? How do you configure all your computers to work on the network? How do you share a single printer on your network? The confusion continues when one considers the different issues related to different operating systems. Setting up a wireless network under Windows Vista is much different than setting up a similar network under Windows XP. Users are looking for simple answers to all these questions. Unfortunately, most networking books today are geared toward technology-savvy networking professionals. Where does the average user turn to for solutions to his wireless networking problems? The answer is this book -- Wireless Networking with Windows Vista.

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Part I Planning Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1 Why You Need a Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2 How Wireless Networks Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3 How Windows Vista Handles Wireless Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4 Designing Your Wireless Network—And Choosing

Network Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Part II Setting Up Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

5 Setting Up Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

6 Configuring and Managing Your Network Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

7 Setting Up—And Sharing—A Wireless Internet Connection . . . . . . . 107

8 Securing Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Part III Using Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

9 Setting Up Multiple Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

10 Sharing Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

11 Sharing Music, Movies, and Other Digital Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

12 Sharing Printers and Other Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

13 Connecting Game Devices to Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Part IV Using Other Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

14 Connection to Wi-Fi Hot Spots and Public Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

15 Connecting to Corporate Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227

Part V Upgrading and Maintaining Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . 239

16 Upgrading Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

17 Troubleshooting Wireless Network Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271