Jim Doherty - Wireless Home Networking Simplified

Jim Doherty
Neil Anderson

Illustrations by Nathan Clement

Cisco Press
800 East 96th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46240

Wireless Home Networking Simplified

Jim Doherty and Neil Anderson

Copyright 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc.

Published by:

Cisco Press

800 East 96th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

First Printing: December 2006

ISBN: 1-58720-161-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Doherty, Jim, CCNA.

Wireless home networking simplified / Jim Doherty, Neil Anderson.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-58720-161-5 (pbk.)

1. Home computer networks. 2. Wireless LANs. I. Anderson, Neil, 1965- II. Title.

TK5105.75.D66 2006

004.6'8--dc22

2006036500

Publisher

Paul Boger

Cisco Representative

Anthony Wolfenden

Cisco Press Program Manager

Jeff Brady

Executive Editor

Kristin Weinberger

Managing Editor

Patrick Kanouse

Development Editor

Dayna Isley

Senior Project Editor

San Dee Phillips

Copy Editor

Bill McManus

Technical Editors

Doug Foster Bradley Mitchell

Team Coordinator

Vanessa Evans

Cover Designer

Louisa Adair

Interior Design and Composition

Mark Shirar

Indexer

WordWise Publishing Services, LLC

Proofreader

Katherin Bidwell

Warning and Disclaimer

This book is designed to provide information about building, using, and living with wireless home networks. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied.

The information is provided on an as is basis. The authors, Cisco Press, and Cisco Systems, Inc. shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any or damages arising from the information contained in this book or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.

The opinions expressed in this book belong to the authors and are not necessarily those of Cisco Systems, Inc.

Feedback Information

At Cisco Press, our goal is to create in-depth technical books of the highest quality and value. Each book is crafted with care and precision, undergoing rigorous development that involves the unique expertise of members from the professional technical community.

Readers feedback is a natural continuation of this process. If you have any comments regarding how we could improve the quality of this book, or otherwise alter it to better suit your needs, you can contact us through e-mail at . Please make sure to include the book title and ISBN in your message.

We greatly appreciate your assistance.

Trademark Acknowledgments

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Cisco Press or Cisco Systems, Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Americas Headquarters
Cisco Systems, Inc.
170 West Tasman Drive
San Jose, CA 95134-1706
USA
www.cisco.com
Tel: 408 526-4000
800 553-NETS (6387)
Fax: 408 527-0883

Asia Pacific Headquarters
Cisco Systems, Inc.
168 Robinson Road
#28-01 Capital Tower
Singapore 068912
www.cisco.com
Tel: +65 6317 7777
Fax: +65 6317 7799

Europe Headquarters
Cisco Systems International BV
Haarlerbergpark
Haarlerbergweg 13-19
1101 CH Amsterdam
The Netherlands
www-europe.cisco.com
Tel: +31 0 800 020 0791
Fax: +31 0 20 357 1100

Cisco has more than 200 offices worldwide. Addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers are listed on the Cisco Website at www.cisco.com/go/offices.

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. CCVP, the Cisco logo, and the Cisco Square Bridge logo are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc.; Changing the Way We Work, Live, Play, and Learn is a service mark of Cisco Systems, Inc.; and Access Registrar, Aironet, BPX, Catalyst, CCDA, CCDP, CCIE, CCIP, CCNA, CCNP, CCSP, Cisco, the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert logo, Cisco IOS, Cisco Press, Cisco Systems, Cisco Systems Capital, the Cisco Systems logo, Cisco Unity, Enterprise/Solver, EtherChannel, EtherFast, EtherSwitch, Fast Step, Follow Me Browsing, FormShare, GigaDrive, GigaStack, HomeLink, Internet Quotient, IOS, IP/TV, iQ Expertise, the iQ logo, iQ Net Readiness Scorecard, iQuick Study, LightStream, Linksys, MeetingPlace, MGX, Networking Academy, Network Registrar, Packet, PIX, ProConnect, RateMUX, ScriptShare, SlideCast, SMARTnet, StackWise, The Fastest Way to Increase Your Internet Quotient, and TransPath are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries.

All other trademarks mentioned in this document or Website are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (0609R)

Jim Doherty is the vice president of marketing at CipherOptics, where he leads the outbound marketing teams. Prior to joining the CipherOptics team Jim held leadership positions with Symbol Technologies and Cisco. Jim has more than 15 years of technical marketing and engineering experience and has led various marketing campaigns for telephony, routing and switching, and network security solutions. Jim is the coauthor of the Networking Simplified series of books published by Cisco Press. Jim is a former Marine Corps sergeant; he holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from N.C. State University and an M.B.A. degree from Duke University.

Neil Anderson is the senior manager of enterprise systems engineering with Cisco. Neil has more than 20 years of broad engineering experience including public telephone systems, mobile phone systems, Internet, and home networking. At Cisco, Neils focus is on large corporate customers in the areas of routing and switching, wireless, security, and IP communications. Neil is the coauthor of the Networking Simplified series of books including Home Networking Simplified, Home Network Security Simplified, and Internet Phone Services Simplified. Neil holds a B.S. degree in computer science.

Doug Foster works in the area of voice, video, and data convergence. With 30 years of experience for companies such as Cisco, John Deere, and Alcatel and for private business, Doug has some interesting firsthand stories to tell about the evolution of the Internet. He has architected and helped install international networks, such as the migration of John Deeres worldwide SNA business network into a multiprotocol intranet in the mid-1980s. As a result of that work, Doug was asked by the U.S. Department of Defense to speak at Interop 88 on How John Deere builds tractors using TCP/IP. This was nearly a decade before most businesses began to leverage the value of the Internet and eCommerce applications. Most recently, Doug worked for Cisco as one of its first enterprise voice consultants. Doug has a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University and lives in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife, Cindy. When not busy with familydaughters, Erin and Amber; son-in-law, Jeremy; and grandson, Jakeor business (Convinsys, Performance Podcasts, and Idea Mechanics), Doug devotes his free time to writing his first book (