Ki Grinsing

Overview

The easiest way to extend your existing network either in home or in office is deploying the wireless access point. With the wireless access point, the network is extended wirelessly typically for the areas where running network cable is not possible or you do mind with the clutter of the wires. There are many types of Linksys access point you can use that fit to your need ranges from wireless –g standard for home usage to wireless –n for business offices.

Check here for Linksys E-Series Wireless routers.

All of the Linksys access points are Wi-Fi certified, means they are compatible with all industrial wireless devices. In selecting which device is suitable for you, you should know what your need is. Wireless AP for indoor should be different with the AP for outdoor usage. Some of the outdoor access points are rugged housing, industrial-grade components, weather-proof, water-tight and rust-resistant.

Wireless router or wireless access point

Many people are confused whether they need a wireless router or wireless AP for their wifi network in homes. You need a wireless router if it is connected to native modem. If your modem type of gateway, then use the wireless AP.

Linksys wireless access points

To facilitate the AP which is suitable to meet your needs the following table provides a feature comparison of three wireless Linksys APs in the market.

Comparison table

Identify the Ethernet port

Firstly you need to identify that the modem must have an Ethernet RJ-45 port (usually labeled with the LAN port). Mostly all the modems for broadband connection are equipped with one (or more) Ethernet port(s). Both the wireless router and wireless access point need Ethernet input from the available Ethernet port of the existing network.

Identify native modem or gateway

Secondly, you need to identify from the manual book if the modem support the router / firewall feature or not. The idea of the router / firewall feature is for protecting your network from the internet threats and with the NAT you can share a single internet connection with many computers.

If the modem has one (or more) Ethernet port and it doesn’t have a router / firewall feature, you need a wireless home router. All home wireless routers support the dual-firewall feature for network protection. However, if the modem has one (or more) Ethernet port and it doesn’t support the router / NAT feature, you just need a wireless access point to extend your network wirelessly.

For business or enterprise networks, they know what to do – they have competent engineers to know what they need. They have strong secured firewalls in their entry-point, business / enterprise class firewall to protect the internet attacks. They just need business-class access point.

Connection Diagram

A wireless access point needs to be connected to the existing wired network to allow wireless clients to communicate with the clients on the wired network. You need to connect the AP Ethernet port to the existing LAN Switch. The figure here shows typical Linksys access point connection diagram for home usage. Connect the Ethernet port of the AP to the LAN port of the modem (with router NAT feature). You may connect HDTV or any other home theater devices to the network using wireless bridge or similar devices such as Apple TV or Roku streaming devices.

Many wireless access points support the Wireless distribution system. WDS is a system that enables the wireless interconnection of multiple wireless access points in a wireless network environment.

Configuration

Configuring Linksys access point is designed as easy as possible and is to be functional right out of the box, with the default settings in the Setup Wizard. However, if you want to change these settings, the Access Point can be configured through your web browser with the Web-based Utility. Consult with the manual book that comes with the device. Typically setting up the access point network can be done via the Setup > Screen tab in the Web-based Utility menu. For the security management you can select the Administration > Management screen to manage the password.