Windows Vista : Setting Up a Small Network - Setting Up a Peer-to-Peer Network

One of the biggest improvements in Windows Vista is in networking setup. Specifically, if you have your computers connected correctly (more on that in a second), Vista sets up the appropriate networking settings automatically. It’s true plug-and-play: You plug your machine into the network and you can play with network resources within a few seconds. Note that this doesn’t apply to wireless connections which, for security reasons, require a few extra steps. Although, as you’ll soon see, Vista enables you to “save” a wireless connection, so the next time your computer comes within range of that network, Vista makes the connection automatically.

So what is the “correct” network configuration required for this automatic networking setup to happen? For wired networks, it requires only the following:

• Each computer must have a network connection device, such as a network interface card (NIC), a USB network adapter, a motherboard-based network chip, or a network PC Card.

• You must have an external router (or switch).

• You must active Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) on the router. DHCP automatically assigns unique IP addresses to each computer on the network.

Note

By default, Vista sets up each computer to use DHCP. To double-check this, select Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center. Click the Manage Network Connections link to see a list of your connections. Right-click the Local Area Connection or the Wireless Network Connection icon, click Properties, and enter your UAC credentials. In the connection’s properties sheet, double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 and then make sure that the Obtain an IP Address Automatically option is activated. Close all open dialog boxes.

• Each computer must have a network cable running from the NIC to a port in the router (or switch).

• If you have a high-speed modem, you must run a network cable from the Internet (or WAN) port in the router to the network port in the modem. This ensures that every computer on the network can share the Internet connection.

• Each computer must have a unique name.

• Configure every computer to use the same workgroup name.

For wireless networks, the configuration is more or less the same (except, of course, you don’t need to run a network cable from each computer to the router). Here are the differences for a wireless network:

Note

Networks don’t have to be exclusively wired or wireless. In fact, it’s quite common to have a mixture of the two connection types. Most wireless access points come with a few ports to accept wired connections.

• Each computer must have a NIC that supports wireless connections.

• You must have a wireless access point or gateway that also doubles as a router.

  Caution

  Some broadband providers are using “smart” modems that include routing and firewall features. That’s fine, but these modems almost always have a static IP address, and that address is usually either http://192.168.1.1 or http://192.168.0.1, which might conflict with your wireless gateway’s IP address. If you have connection problems after adding the wireless gateway, the likely culprit is an IP address conflict. Disconnect the broadband modem, access the gateway’s configuration program, and change its IP address (to, say, http://192.168.1.2 or http://192.168.0.2).

  
  

• During the initial configuration, one computer must connect to the access point via a network cable. This enables you to configure the access point before the wireless connection is established.

Changing the Computer and Workgroup Name

To implement a flawless Vista network, each computer must have a unique name and every computer must use the same workgroup name. (I’m assuming here that you’re setting up a small network in your home or small office. Larger networks are typically divided into multiple workgroups, where all the machines in each workgroup are related in some way—marketing, IT, sales, and so on.)

Here are the steps to follow to change the computer name and workgroup name in Vista:

1.	Click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties. The System window appears.
2.	In the Computer Name, Domain, and Workgroup Settings section, click Change Settings and then enter your UAC credentials. The System Properties dialog box appears with the Computer Name tab displayed. Tip Another way to open the System Properties dialog box with the Computer Name tab displayed is to press Windows Logo+R (or select Start, All Programs, Accessories, Run), type systempropertiescomputername, click OK, and then enter your UAC credentials.
3.	Click Change. The Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Use this dialog box to change your computer name and workgroup name.
4.	Type the computer name.
5.	Select the Workgroup option and type the common workgroup name.
6.	Click OK. Vista tells you that you must restart the computer to put the changes into effect.
7.	Click OK to return to the System Properties dialog box.
8.	Click Close. Vista prompts you to restart your computer.
9.	Click Restart Now.

Connecting to a Wireless Network

With your wireless network adapters installed and your wireless gateway or access point configured, you’re ready to connect to your wireless network. This gives you access to the network’s resources, as well as to the Internet, if you have a wireless gateway. Again, Vista doesn’t establish the initial connection to a wireless network automatically. This is mostly a security concern because a password or security key protects most wireless networks. However, it’s also usually the case (particularly in dense urban neighborhoods) that Vista might detect multiple wireless networks within range, so it’s up to you to specify which network you want to connect to. Fortunately, you can configure Vista to remember a wireless network’s settings and automatically connect you the next time the network is in range. So, in most cases, you need to run through the connection procedure only once.

Here are the steps to follow to connect to a wireless network:

1.	Select Start, Connect To. Vista opens the Connect to a Network dialog box, which displays a list of the available wireless networks, as shown in Figure 22.2. Each network displays three pieces of information: The left column displays the network name (also called the Service Set Identifier or SSID). The middle column tells you whether the network requires a password or security key (Security-enabled network) or not (Unsecured network). The signal strength, as indicated by the five bars to the right (the more green bars you see, the stronger the signal). Note that the networks are in descending order of signal strength. Figure 2. The Connect to a Network window displays a list of the wireless networks that are in range. Note Some of the networks might be wireless hotspots, which are locations that allow wireless computers to use the location’s Internet connection. You can find hotspots in many airports, hotels, and even businesses such as coffee shops, restaurants, and dental offices.
2.	Select the network that you want to use and then click Connect.
3.	If the network that you want to use is unsecured—as are most public hotspots—Vista connects to the network immediately (so skip to step 5). However, most private wireless networks are (or should be) secured against unauthorized access. In this case, Windows Vista prompts you to enter the required security key or password, as shown in Figure 3. Note Older wireless networks use a security protocol called Wired Equivalent Privacy, or WEP, that protects wireless communications with (usually) a 26-character security key. That sounds impregnable, but unfortunately there were serious weaknesses in the WEP encryption scheme, and now software exists that can crack any WEP key in minutes, if not seconds. In newer wireless networks, WEP has been superseded by Wi-Fi Protected Access, or WPA, which is vastly more secure than WEP. WPA uses most of the IEEE 802.11i wireless security standard, and WPA2 implements the full standard. WPA2 Personal requires a simple passphrase for access (so it’s suitable for homes and small offices), while WPA2 Enterprise requires a dedicated authentication server. Figure 3. To access a secured wireless network, you must enter a security key or password.
4.	After Vista connects to the network, you see a dialog box named Successfully Connected to Network, where Network is the name of the network. This dialog box gives you two options (both activated by default): Save This Network— When activated, this check box tells Vista to save the network in the Manage Wireless Networks window. You must leave this check box activated if you want to connect to the network automatically in the future. Start This Connection Automatically— When activated, this check box tells Vista to connect to the network automatically the next time it comes within range. If you always want to connect to the network manually, deactivate this option.
5.	Click Close.
6.	Click the location of your network: Home, Work, or Public Location.
7.	Enter your UAC credentials and click Close.

Connecting to a Nonbroadcasting Wireless Network

You saw earlier that each wireless network has a network name: the Service Set Identifier, or SSID. The SSID identifies the network to wireless devices and computers with wireless network cards. By default, most wireless networks broadcast the network name so that you can see the network and connect to it. However, some wireless networks disable network name broadcasting as a security precaution. The idea is that if unauthorized users can’t see the network, they can’t attempt to connect to it.

Caution

You disable SSID broadcasting by accessing the wireless access point’s configuration page and deactivating the broadcast setting. (Exactly how you do that varies depending on the manufacturer; see your documentation or just poke around in the settings page.) However, when previously authorized devices attempt to connect to a nonbroadcasting network, they include the network’s SSID as part of the probe requests they send out to see whether the network is within range. The SSID is sent in unencrypted text, so it would be easy for a snoop with the right software (easily obtained from the Internet) to learn the SSID. If the SSID is not broadcasting to try to hide a network that is unsecure or uses an easily breakable encryption protocol, such as WEP, hiding the SSID in this way actually makes the network less secure.

However, you can still connect to a hidden wireless network by entering the connection settings by hand. You need to know the network name, the network’s security type and encryption type, and the network’s security key or passphrase. Here are the steps to follow:

1.	Select Start, Connect To. Vista opens the Connect to a Network dialog box.
2.	Click the Set Up a Connection or Network link. The Choose a Connection Option dialog box appears.
3.	Select Manually Connect to a Wireless Network and click Next. Vista prompts you for the network connection data, as shown in Figure 4 (which shows a completed version of the dialog box). Figure 4. Use this dialog box to specify the connection settings for the hidden wireless network.
4.	Provide the following connection data: Network Name— The SSID of the wireless network. Security Type— The security protocol used by the wireless network. Select No Authentication (Open) if the network is unsecured. Encryption Type— The method of encryption used by the wireless network. Security Key/Passphrase— The key or password required for authorized access the network. Start This Connection Automatically— Leave this check box activated to have Vista connect to the network now (that is, when you click Next in step 5) and do so automatically the next time the network comes within range. If you always want to connect to the network manually, deactivate this option. Connect Even If the Network Is Not Broadcasting— If you activate this check box, Vista will send probe requests to see whether the network is in range even if the network isn’t broadcasting its SSID. As explained in the Caution sidebar earlier, this lessens security (because the SSID is sent in plaintext in the probe request), so you should leave this check box deactivated.
5.	Click Next. Vista connects to the network and adds it to the list of wireless networks.
6.	Click Close.

Setting Up a Wireless Ad-Hoc Network

If you don’t have a wireless access point, Vista enables you to set up a temporary network between two or more computers. This is an ad hoc connection and it’s useful if you need to share folders, devices, or an Internet connection temporarily. Note that the computers must be within 30 feet of each other for this type of connection to work. Here are the steps to follow:

1.	Select Start, Connect To. Vista opens the Connect to a Network dialog box.
2.	Click the Set Up a Connection or Network link. The Choose a Connection Option dialog box appears.
3.	Select Set Up a Wireless Ad Hoc (Computer-to-Computer) Network and click Next.
4.	In the initial dialog box, click Next.
5.	Provide the following data to set up the network: Network Name— The name of the ad hoc network. Security Type— The security protocol used by the wireless network. Select No Authentication (Open) if the network is unsecured. Save this Network— Activate this check box to save the network in the Manage Wireless Networks list.
6.	Click Next. Vista sets up the ad hoc network.
7.	If you want to share your computer’s Internet connection, click Turn on Internet Connection Sharing.
8.	Click Close.

When you finish, other people within 30 feet of your computer will see your ad hoc network in their list of available networks, as shown in Figure 5. (This is the view from the original machine; as you can see, it says Waiting for users to connect instead of a security label.) Note that the network remains available as long as at least one computer is connected to it, including the computer that created the network. The network is discarded when all computers (including the machine that created the network) have disconnected from it.

Figure 5. The ad hoc network is available to computers that are within 30 feet of the original computer.