Dsl Wireless
DSL Wireless Modem – An All-In-One Device to Build a Wireless Network in Home
Building a wireless network in home or SOHO (Small Office Home Office) is not a very difficult task to do today, even though by someone without computer networking experience. With DSL wireless modem, you can build a wireless network in home easily and securely.
For mostly people without any computer network knowledge, building the wireless network in home is even something that they never imagine before. However, if they know all the requirements to build a wireless network can be replaced by a single all-in-one DSL wireless modem, technical complexities of computer networking, connection, and configuration can be minimized as small as possible.
One of the apparent reasons to build a wireless network in home today is to share the broadband internet connection with many computers in the household. Besides, with the wireless network in home you can browse the internet with your laptop at the pool side, with your Wi-Fi phone or Skype phone - you can make some internet calls anywhere within the house without the need of turning-on the computer, or you can go live game with your XBOX console in the comfort of your living room without the clutter of the wires. All the requirements you need to build a simple wireless network in home or SOHO is a single all-in-one DSL wireless modem. What are actually the requirements to build a wireless network in home?
Firstly, you need a Dsl Modem. A modem is a digital to analog signal converter and vice versa, and is an interface device between the subscriber premises and the local Telco or the ISP. Generally when you signup for a broadband internet services, the ISP provides you a modem which is connected directly to a single computer using a USB connection or Ethernet connection. A DSL wireless modem includes a built-in DSL modem – the first requirements you need.
Secondly, you need a router or firewall. A router or firewall protects your private internal network from public networks (the internet) against any types of the threats. Typically home routers are powered by the dual-firewall feature – NAT and SPI. Network address translation (NAT) helps you hide the private network from the public network, while the stateful packets inspection (SPI) inspects the incoming packets precisely and thoroughly against any false positive packets. A DSL wireless modem includes the function of dual-firewall – the second requirements you need.
Thirdly, you need a wireless access point. All wireless devices communicate with the wireless network infrastructure using the wireless access point. Access point bridges network devices in the wireless network with the network devices in the wired network. Wireless access points extend your network wirelessly within the wireless coverage. A DSL wireless modem includes the function of the wireless access point – the third requirements you need.
Lastly, you need a LAN Switch that will interface the wireless access point to the wired network. Typically the DSL wireless modem includes a 4-port LAN Switch. With these Ethernet ports, you can also connect the computers directly using the UTP LAN cable; and connect the Ethernet print server to share the printer on the network. The recent products shipped with the 10/100/1,000 Mbps Gigabit port – with auto-sensing Ethernet port. With auto-sensing LAN port, you don't need to worry about the cable type used, either cross UTP cable or straight-through cable – the system will detect the cable type used and adjust the system automatically.
Typical DSL wireless modem includes the above four functions, a DSL modem, a router / firewall, a wireless access point, and a Switch Lan. By purchasing this single all-in-one device – the DSL wireless modem; you can build a simple wireless network in home or SOHO easily and securely. You do not need to buy separate devices to reduce the complexity of the connection, the configuration, and the setting of the wireless network.
Network Setup and Connection
Since DSL wireless modem is a single device – a single solution in building the wireless network, the connection and configuration is simple. By default, with a single connection to the DSL line – the wireless network will be functional. Off course, with the default setting – no security encryption is applied to the wireless connection. Security feature is not enabled by default.
Connect the Internet port (or the WAN port) of the DSL wireless modem to the phone line (the DSL line). Unlike dial-up connection, DSL internet uses the same line as the phone line without interfering each other; both Internet and voice can work together at the same time. Traditional internet using dial-up modem uses the phone line for Internet connection, but at the same time you cannot use the line for the voice (phone calls) until the internet connection is released. With this single connection, your DSL wireless modem is ready to provide wireless roaming within the house and all the computers (with the Wi-Fi enabled) can connect to the network with a simple configuration and even with a simple plug and play.
Each computer on the network needs an IP address to be able to communicate via the network, so how can you provide and configure the IP address? DSL wireless modem includes a DHCP service which is enabled by default. DHCP server provides and leases the IP address configuration to the computers on the network automatically.
There are many DSL wireless modems available at the market today ranging from devices with 802.11g standards and the latest standard is the draft 2.0 802.11n. Draft 802.11n is the future wireless technology which is not ratified yet, but mostly all the wireless manufacturers have shipped their products using 802.11n standards.
By Ki Grinsing
About the Author
Ki Grinsing was graduated from a university with the additions of MCSE and CCNA certifications. He has long years of working experiences in IT. For a complete article please visit DSL Wireless modem and Wireless adapter for XBOX .
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To Go, or Not to Go, Wireless With Your DSL Connection
Going wireless with Internet connections these days is turning into a trend, and one that many of us are starting to enjoy. The convenience of being able to stay connected at any spot, or two feet, or ten feet away from 'any spot', is delightful, we must admit. However, another buzz that has come out of wireless popularity is the security problem that joins it. Though security features are gradually advancing, it can't be assumed that having a password is sufficient to guard personal and confidential information on your computer when using a wireless router.
In short, it is safest not to go wireless with your business. There are too many ways for outsiders to hack in and it may not be worth taking the chances. To give an example, anyone with a laptop can sit outside your office building and use a 'packet sniffer' to read all the 'airborne' information that is travelling between your computer and the wireless router. In other words, it's not even necessary for a hacker to access your computer directly anymore to find information. Of course, there are also software programs that can continuously dig to find out passwords, so those don't always help either. Hackers are everywhere, and their life purpose is often just to figure out how things work, and see if they can win against a system. Often they succeed, and when they do, IT companies know that it's time to change course and find another way of 'ensuring' security. With a hard wire, the physical connection makes it almost impossible for a hacker to gain access - unless digging up your underground phone line is an option.
On that note, be aware that it is also unsafe to be free riding on other people's wireless connections. Some of them are honey traps, designed specifically to get your attention so that you will go online to say, do your banking, thus allowing the perpetrator to abuse your financial information. Sometimes this could be one of your neighbors, who you trust, but who also unknowingly have made their open wireless connections the perfect bate for hackers to secretly install monitoring software. If you ride on their waves, you run all the same risks of having your own computer spied on.
There are some cases, however, where providing wireless access is unavoidable. Let's say your company operates on an office campus, meaning that Internet needs to be available throughout your large property, or perhaps you own a café and need wireless access to draw customers. In such circumstances, keep in line with these security forces that will at least be a help to you, and constantly do scans to see who has been gaining access, or trying to gain access to your network:
Have two Internet connections. That's right, two, even if it costs more. Keep the wired-only connection for the really top-secret operations (e.g. company trades, products in development, banking passwords and numbers, etc.). Allow wireless connections for general purpose use to your employees or customers but don't allow the two connections to communicate with each other. In other words, a wireless connection should not give access to the company's server where network files are stored.
Use a MAC address filter to determine who is allowed access to your network. A MAC address is somewhat like a serial number that is found in computer hardware and acts as an identity card to a router. If the router sees that the user is registered in its list of allowable clients, it will give access. If not, then it will deny access. This method can also be susceptible to hacking by those who know how to disguise themselves, or steal MAC address identities, but at least it puts more of a barrier up. Also, this scenario probably wouldn't work well in the café scenario, since a store clerk might have to configure the router's client list every time a customer wants wireless access to the Internet.
Set up a loooong password. As long as possible. It just makes it all the more harder for a hacker's software to figure out, kind of like a long equation. If you use security that allows for 26 characters, use them all, and mix them up. Again, hard to do in the café, but hey, at least you can ensure people are actually buying from you to use the connection by giving out the password on receipts every time someone orders a coffee. Change the password often if you do this to avoid the numbers getting passed around too much.
Change the SSID. This is the name of the wireless connection people see when they are searching for a network to join. Manufacturers of routers send out their equipment with the name already in place, and it usually takes the brand name of the company or something similar. These names are seen as an easy target by hackers because they appear insecure. After all, if you didn't change the SSID, you probably didn't change the security encryption either.
Use Firewalls. That's plural. Make sure there is one running on the wireless connection and also one running on the computers since, after all, the devices are communicating with each other during an entire Internet session.
About the Author
Saleh Tousi is the CEO of SmarttNet, a Vancouver IT company offering comprehensive business Internet services including
business DSL
since 1995.