Revised: September 22, 2005
By Richard G. Baldwin
File: FwlProj170.htm
This laboratory project was prepared specifically for the benefit of my students who are enrolled in ITNW 1351, Fundamentals of Wireless LANs.
The project was designed under the assumption that students enrolled in the course have successfully completed the prerequisite course, ITNW 1325, Fundamentals of Networking Technologies.
The project design also assumes that the students are actively studying the material in the prescribed textbook for this course, which explains such complex topics as the IEEE 802.11g wireless specification.
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The purpose of this project is for every student in the class to practice setting WEP on a Linksys router.
The following equipment is required to complete this laboratory project:
See Chapter 8 in the textbook for background information on setting WEP on a Linksys router.
Initially configure the wireless router or routers if two or more routers are being used. Make certain that they have different SSIDs and are operating on channels that are separated by at least five channels. Under this criteria, no more than three routers can be operated in the same proximity using channels 1, 6, and 11.
Then allow each student in turn to complete Project 8-4 at the end of Chapter 8 in your textbook. Each student should complete the project once with their computer connected to the router using the RJ-45 patch cable.
When a student has completed the project using the patch cable, the student should disable WEP, disconnect the patch cable, and complete the project again using a wireless connection to the router.
During the second pass, the student should make note of the impact of using a wireless connection to set WEP on a previously unsecured router.
Copyright 2005, Richard G. Baldwin. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission from Richard Baldwin is prohibited.
Richard has participated in numerous consulting projects and he frequently provides onsite training at the high-tech companies located in and around Austin, Texas. He is the author of Baldwin's Programming Tutorials, which have gained a worldwide following among experienced and aspiring programmers. He has also published articles in JavaPro magazine.
In addition to his programming expertise, Richard has many years of practical experience in Digital Signal Processing (DSP). His first job after he earned his Bachelor's degree was doing DSP in the Seismic Research Department of Texas Instruments. (TI is still a world leader in DSP.) In the following years, he applied his programming and DSP expertise to other interesting areas including sonar and underwater acoustics.
Richard holds an MSEE degree from Southern Methodist University and has many years of experience in the application of computer technology to real-world problems.
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