1. Practice Cisco router configuration using a free emulator
David Davis explains how a free emulator can benefit your router administration. The ability to run multiple routers inside your PC is very useful for testing and training. It can save you the time and trouble from having to invest in a test Cisco network, and it certainly makes it more convenient.

2. Five things you should know about configuring a Cisco IOS switch
David answers some of the most frequently asked questions about switch configuration and explores some of the basics.

3. Is pt360 the all-in-one Cisco tool we’ve been looking for?
David loves finding new tools that help manage and troubleshoot routers. But what if you had to choose just one network management and troubleshooting tool? Do you think there’s one tool out there that’s really “best of breed”? Here’s one candidate.

4. 10 dumb things you can do to your Cisco router and how to fix them
David points out the dumb things you can do to mess up your Cisco router and how to fix them. He also lists some important resources for each step to give you even more detailed instructions.

5. Use extended ping and extended traceroute to better troubleshoot your Cisco network
Every admin is familiar with the well-known troubleshooting commands ping and traceroute. David shows you how to use these commands in their extended versions to become an expert at troubleshooting your Cisco network.

Cisco Photo Galleries

PacketTrap Perspective provides network management tools for Cisco
David Davis walks you through PacketTrap’s new network management platform, Perspective.

Configuring the Cisco 851W or 871W: Standard IOS
The Cisco 851W router is a relatively low cost multipurpose device, which can support virtual wireless LANs separated by firewalls.

I hope you will checkout the article and the video, below.

—————
Hi David,
What is the best Wireless access point to have for setting up Hotspot to connect to my Gateway within a 20+ Mile radius. Do you have an example configuration to hand to perform this?
Regards
—————

Wow, this is a challenging question. I will give this question my best shot. Maybe there are other HappyRouter.com members that have had experience in this. If so, please post your comments!

Here is my response-

Honestly, I have never seen or heard of any wireless gear or technology that would create a circular (omnidirectional) wifi hotspot that is about 20 miles in circumference.

Now, you may be talking about cellular gear – like what is used in cellular towers (3G). It can do data and has long range but usually at slower speeds than wifi (maybe 512k-3MB) however, you need a cellular data card and probably hundreds of thousands of dollars to get that type of gear.

With wifi 802.11b, g, or pre-n, the range is usually that of a typical house. In fact, the signal from my 802.11g wireless gear barely reaches from one side of my house to another. Outdoors, I have heard about 300 feet.

Now, a new option for you that gets you closer is Wimax. It generally has a range of about 10miles, maybe up to 20 in ideal conditions. Still, the people connecting will need wimax adaptors (not 802.11b, g or pre-n). I think that Wimax is the best bet for you.

I am trying to picture why you would want a hotspot that is 20 miles around. The only think I can picture is like a huge rock concert of festival. I have read articles about those where they setup wifi access-points every 300 feet, or whatever, and covered the area with them. That is usually what has to be done.

Now, you said “hotspot” to me that is a wireless area with a circular shape (an omnidirectional antenna). You can put a directional antenna on wifi gear, add an amp, and, maybe, just maybe, you could go a few of 10 miles. Not sure exactly as I have never had to go more than maybe 1000 ft. I have done that with some Cisco 1300 bridges. It works great but it isn’t a “hotspot” it is a site to site wireless connection to connect buildings.

In the end, I think that wimax is the best option to check out. Here are some links:
WiMax Link 1
WiMax Link 2

I hope that helps you out! Please post your response here in the forum. And, if you are interested in wireless Networking, please checkout this wireless
networking video training series that I created:
TrainSignal Wireless Networking Training – help you achieve your certified wireless networking administrator (CWNA) certification, 15 hours in length – learn all about wireless security!

Thanks,
David Davis

This article was originally published at SearchNetworking.com

I just unboxed my new Cisco 1242AG (part number AIR-AP1242AG-A-K9). This is a business-grade wireless AP that retails for about $500. Before I show you how I configured this wireless AP, let me give you a brief rundown of its capabilities.

What does the Cisco 1242AG AP offer me?

This Cisco 1242 wireless access-point (AP) is a wireless AP for business-grade users. If you have a lot of traffic, you need reliability, and some advanced features, this AP is for you. For a business, personally, I wouldn’t ever install any consumer grade AP unless you are asking for trouble. The reason being is that those consumer grade APs (the ones you can buy at your local electronics store), just don’t have the capabilities, the reliability of connections, the troubleshooting, or the throughput to do what you need them to do.

Here is a photo of my actual 1242AG that I configured in this video:

For more information on Wireless, why not checkout my wireless video training course with over 15+ hours of video training on how wireless works, how to secure it, and how to configure it. Take a look by clicking here!

Here is a photo of the front of the AP:

As you can see, this AP has an power connection port (which goes to an AC/DC adaptor), a console port, Ethernet port (to connect to the physical LAN), and indicator lights. You can also power the AP over the Ethernet wire with PoE (802.3af) On this model of AP, you will notice 4 black rubber covers. These cover the connectors for the wireless antennas (2 on the front and 2 on the back). On the front of the AP are the 2 antenna connectors for the 2.4Ghz network with the right connector being the primary. On the back, are the connectors for the 5Ghz network. These antennas can be bought separately and are only required if you want to extend the range in some way or do point to point bridging between APs. Many times, in a business you do want to extend or shape the wireless range, both for coverage and security. In that case, you would want to investigate and use the external antennas.

 The 1242 offers the following:

• A, B, and G wireless protocols in the 2.4 and 5Ghz wireless ranges
• A long list of security protocols that you won’t find in consumer grade APs
• Intrusion Detection & Prevention
• Hardware assisted AES encryption
• Locking mounting bracket and a rugged NEMA metal case
• Compatibility with Cisco’s wireless management applications
• That Cisco IOS CLI look and feel that we are used to configuring (or a web browser interface if you so desire)

 You can find more specifics on these APs at the Cisco homepage for the Aironet 1242 series.

For more information on Wireless, why not checkout my wireless video training course with over 15+ hours of video training on how wireless works, how to secure it, and how to configure it. Take a look by clicking here!

Configuring the 1242 Wireless AP

Here are the steps I took to get my wireless AP functioning on my network:

1. Connect to power and LAN Ethernet
2. AP obtains IP address from DHCP server. I went to my DHCP server and found the IP address that it had obtained:

3. Point your web browser to the AP. In my case, the DHCP-obtained IP address was 192.168.1.106. The default login (console or web) is Cisco and Cisco (not cisco and cisco) for the username & password. Here is what I saw:

Notice how both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz radios show to be “down”. On APs with version 12.3(4)JA and above, the wireless radio is disabled by default and there is no SSID configured. This is for security reasons.

Also, note on the menu selections for the interface that there are options for Express Setup and Express Security. If these are available, why not use them?

For more information on Wireless, why not checkout my wireless video training course with over 15+ hours of video training on how wireless works, how to secure it, and how to configure it. Take a look by clicking here!

4. Click on Express Set-up. Notice the changes I made in the following screen. Not all of these are required. I changed the AP’s name, set it to a static IP, changed the SNMP community string, and took the default of “Access Point” for both radios.

Next, I clicked Apply. I was redirected to the new IP address of the AP and I had to login again.

5. Next, I clicked on Express Security and set the SSID, the SSID to be broadcast, and 40bit WEP encryption with a static key (basic I know but just an example).

6. Still, there are two important things left to do- change the admin password and enable the radios. To enable the radios, I clicked in Network Interfaces, on the left. In my case, I was only using the 2.4Ghz radio so I clicked on Radio0-802.11G, then on the Settings tab. I clicked on Enable for the radio and took all the other default settings.

 
           At the bottom of the page, I clicked Apply. 

7. Finally, let’s change the admin password so that no one else can get into our AP. To do this, I clicked on Security on the left hand side, then Admin Access. From here, I changed the default Authentication password and clicked Apply. I had to reauthenticate to the AP.

Then, I created a new account called Admin with a secure password, and Read-Write capability (clicked Apply). After that, I deleted the default Cisco account (clicked Apply).

Here is what is looked like:

Note that we are still using a single global password for all users instead of individual users having their own passwords. You may want to change this.

For more information on Wireless, why not checkout my wireless video training course with over 15+ hours of video training on how wireless works, how to secure it, and how to configure it. Take a look by clicking here!

8. At this point, I could see the wireless network from my Windows computer and was successfully able to connect to it using the configured WEP key. My computer received a DHCP IP address from my DHCP server.

Configuration Successful!

Article Summary

In this article, we learned what the Cisco 1242 wireless AP can do for you and how to configure one from scratch. We applied basic security settings to it, enabled the wireless radios, and successfully connected to it. The 1242AG is a powerful business-grade wireless AP and lots of features. While it costs much more than a consumer grade wireless AP, I believe you will find the features are well worth it.

Complete Cisco documentation for the Cisco AP1242 is available at: http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/wireless/airo1240/index.htm

This Quiz sponsored by TrainSignal. Checkout their Wireless Networking Training and CWNA Prep Video Course!

1.    802.11 wireless networking uses what method as the media access method?

a.    CSMA/CD
b.    CTS/RTS
c.    CSMA/CA     
d.    CSCD/CA

2.    802.11 legacy specifies data rates of what?

a.    11 Mbps
b.    1 & 2Mbps      
c.    5 Mbps
d.    54 Mbps

3.    What modulation technique does 802.11b wireless use?

a.    DSSS          
b.    FDSS
c.    FMDS
d.    OFDM

This Quiz sponsored by TrainSignal. Checkout their Wireless Networking Training and CWNA Prep Video Course!

4.    802.11g is downward compatible to what?

a.    802.11a
b.    802.11b      
c.    802.11i
d.    802.11n

5.    In the USA, how many channels are available for 802.11b/g wireless networking?

a.    13
b.    11  
c.    5
d.    15
e.    30

6.    When using 802.11b/g, what three channels would have the least interference?

a.    1, 2, & 3
b.    2, 6, & 8
c.    1, 5, & 13
d.    1,6, & 11         
e.    By putting them all on the same channel, there will be no interference

This Quiz sponsored by TrainSignal. Checkout their Wireless Networking Training and CWNA Prep Video Course!

7.    802.11a runs on what frequency?a.    5Ghz          

b.    2.4Ghz
c.    4.8Ghz
d.    3.6Ghz

8.    802.11i provides what?

a.    Quality of service
b.    Double the speed
c.    Additional security         
d.    Extensions for Japan
e.    Fast Roaming

9.    WEP stands for what?

a.    Wired equivalency protocol
b.    Wired equivalent privacy         
c.    Wireless encryption protocol
d.    Wireless equivalent privacy

This Quiz sponsored by TrainSignal. Checkout their Wireless Networking Training and CWNA Prep Video Course!

10.    802.11i is the same as what?

a.    WPA
b.    WEP
c.    802.11g
d.    IPSEC
e.    WPA2         

11.    WPA2 uses what, instead of RC4, used by WEP and WPA?

a.    AES         
b.    RC4
c.    RC3
d.    3DES

12.    802.11a offers greater speed than 802.11b but offers less what?

a.    speed
b.    distance         
c.    channels
d.    security

This Quiz sponsored by TrainSignal. Checkout their Wireless Networking Training and CWNA Prep Video Course!

13.    What device is the wireless equivalent of a wired hub?

a.    bridge
b.    repeater
c.    antenna
d.    Access-point             
e.    router

This Quiz sponsored by TrainSignal. Checkout their Wireless Networking Training and CWNA Prep Video Course!

ANSWERS

1.    C

2.    B

3.    A

4.    B

5.    B

6.    D

7.    A

8.    C

9.    B

10.    E

11.    A

12.    B

13.    D

This Quiz sponsored by TrainSignal. Checkout their Wireless Networking Training and CWNA Prep Video Course!