Chapter 3: Creating Bridges In This Chapter ✓ Bridging two or more networks ✓ Building the bridge with hardware ✓ Doing what you wish with a bridge N o, this isn’t a chapter on civil engineering. And I’m not going to tell you how to build a bridge on the River Kwai, although I may in an upcoming sequel. (Naturally, I’ll be playing William Holden’s part after I shed a few pounds.) Instead, this chapter is about bridging two or more networks. Huh? A bridge is software or hardware that connects two or more different networks together. Huh is exactly what I said when I first learned about creating a bridge between, say, a wired Ethernet network and a wireless network. What is it? Why do I need it? Is the Big Bang overrated? If all goes well, instead of “Huh?” your response by the end of this chapter will be “Duh!” These are times when I would want to bridge two or more networks: ✦ You’re adding a wireless network and want it to piggyback on an exist- ing wired Ethernet network. The wireless network has access to the same things — hardware and data — as the wired network does. ✦ You want to bridge two wired Ethernet networks. This occurs mostly in business environments, but it could occur in a home, too. The wired networks are physically separated and the most convenient way to con- nect them is by creating a bridge. ✦ You want to extend the range of a wireless network. By bridging two wireless access points, you can expand the signal range without laying any wires. You can use a wireless access point as a bridge, if the access point’s hard- ware is equipped to handle the task. Not all wireless access points can be used as a bridge; it must specifically say it can be used as one. 160 Bridging with Windows Vista Bridging with Windows Vista Windows Vista makes it easy to create a bridge between two or more net- works connected to the same computer. You need a network adapter, which serves as a communications point between your computer and the network, for each network you want to bridge. If you’re bridging a wired network with a wireless network, your com- puter needs two adapter cards: one for the wired network and one for the wireless network. Creating a bridge Use the following steps to bridge two networks in Windows Vista: 1. Click Start. The Start menu appears. 2. Click Network and Sharing Center; click Manage network connections from the Tasks list. The Network Connections dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 3-1. Be sure not to click Network from the Start menu; it opens the Network page. (I know, it gets confusing!) 3. Select the networks you want to bridge. The networks you select are highlighted. You can select multiple con- nections by holding down the Ctrl key as you click each network. Figure 3-1: Network Connections dialog box. Book III Chapter 3 Creating Bridges 161 Bridging with Windows Vista 4. Right-click one of the highlighted networks and select Bridge Connections, as shown in Figure 3-2. Figure 3-2: Bridging the networks you selected. Windows Vista bridges the connections, as it indicates with the dialog box shown in Figure 3-3. Figure 3-3: Windows bridging the connec- tions. The network connections are bridged, as shown in Figure 3-4. 162 Bridging with Windows Vista Figure 3-4: These bridges aren’t burning. Adding a network to a bridge You can easily add a network to an existing network bridge. Just follow these steps: 1. Click Start. The Start menu appears. 2. Click Network and Sharing Center; click Manage network connections from the Tasks list. The Network Connections dialog box appears. 3. Right-click the network you want to add to the bridge and select Add to Bridge. Windows Vista adds the network to the bridge. The Status column in the Network Connections column shows Bridged once the network has been added to the bridge, and it also appears in the Network Bridge section of the page. Removing a network from a bridge Maybe you’ve added a bridge by mistake, or maybe you’re ready to burn a bridge or two. Follow these steps to get rid of a network from a bridge: 1. Click Start. The Start menu appears. Book III Chapter 3 Creating Bridges 163 Bridging with Windows Vista 2. Click Network and Sharing Center; click Manage network connections from the Tasks list. The Network Connections dialog box appears. 3. Right-click the network you want to remove from the network and select Remove from Bridge, as shown in Figure 3-5. Windows Vista removes the network from the bridge. Figure 3-5: Removing a network from a bridge. Deleting a bridge If you need to delete a bridge, here are the steps for doing so: 1. Click Start. The Start menu appears. 2. Click Network and Sharing Center; click Manage network connections from the Tasks list. The Network Connections dialog box appears, 3. Right-click the network bridge and select Delete, as shown in Figure 3-6. Windows Vista deletes the network bridge. 164 Bridging with Windows Vista Figure 3-6: Deleting a network bridge. Contents Chapter 3: Creating Bridges 159 Bridging with Windows Vista 160 Chapter 4: Configuring Printers In This Chapter ✓ Sharing a printer on your network ✓ Adding a network printer ✓ Switching the default printer A wireless network is about more than just sharing Internet access and your multimedia files. You also can do things like share a printer among all the computers on your wireless network. I don’t need to tell you how helpful that can be these days, especially when more and more house- holds are using multiple computers. In this chapter, I explain how to set up printer sharing across a network, as well as how to add a new printer and change the default printer. Learning to Share You can add and select printers that you will use over your wireless net- work. For instance, you might be sharing a laser printer on your network and want to add a color inkjet printer that’s connected to another computer to your network. Here’s how to share a local printer on your entire network: 1. Click Start. The Start menu appears. 2. Click Control Panel. The Control Panel appears. 3. Click Printer in the Hardware and Sound section. 4. Do one of the following:  • Right-clicktheprinteryouwanttoshareandselectSharing.  • ClickChangesharingoptionsandconfirmtheoperation. 5. Select the Share This Printer button. 166 Learning to Share 6. Type a name for the shared printer, in the text box as shown in Figure 4-1. Try to choose a name that’s meaningful to you and to others who use the network. Printer is simple, but not very meaningful, especially if you have more than one printer on the network. Better examples include Upstairs Laser and Basement Color. Figure 4-1: A meaningful name is better than a short name. There is no longer a character limitation when naming your shared printer; however, be mindful that there are some characters that cannot be used. For example, the uses of slashes or other special characters are not allowed. If you use an illegal character, don’t worry about it, Windows shows you the error of your ways. It is then up to you to cor- rect it. It’s important to learn from one’s mistakes. 7. Click OK. An image of two people appears, which fortunately replaces the open- palm hand that appears superimposed on the printer’s icon, as shown in Figure 4-2. (I think the shared icon looks like a guy in a rather boring family portrait, but that’s me. I may die young from cynicism, but at least there won’t be any nasty surprises ahead.) You’re all done here. Move along, move along. Book III Chapter 4 Configuring Printers 167 Feeling Selfish and Turning Off Sharing Figure 4-2: Share and share alike: The printer is ready. Feeling Selfish and Turning Off Sharing Just as you giveth, you can taketh. It may occasionally be a good idea to turn off your printer sharing. For example, if you know that you’re running a bit low on ink or paper (and hey, those cost a lot of money these days!), you may want to limit access to your printer. If you know that you’re going to be tying up the printer for a few hours and can’t bear the thought of anyone encroach- ing on your territory (or simply sliding in a quick print job), then you may want to pick up your marbles and go home, or simply un-share your printer. If, after setting up printer sharing on your network, you decide that you no longer want to share the printer, you can easily switch it off. Just follow these steps: 1. Click Start. The Start menu appears. 2. Click Control Panel. The Control Panel appears. 3. Click Printer in the Hardware and Sound section. 4. Do one of the following:  • Right-clicktheprinteryouwanttoshareandselectSharing.  • ClickChangesharingoptionsandconfirmtheoperation. 168 Adding a Network Printer 5. Deselect the Share This Printer button. 6. Click OK. The sharing symbol disappears from the printer’s icon. That’s it for switching off printer sharing. If you want to add a network printer, mosey on over to the next section, please. Adding a Network Printer Windows Vista usually installs printers for you automatically if you’re con- necting the printer directly to your PC; if you’ve been around computers since the Windows XP (or even Windows 95) days, then you likely know this. Of course, this might not be enough. There are other computers out there just waiting for you to print your prose. If you want to add the ability to use a printer that’s connected to another computer on your network, rather than one connected directly to your computer, you need to follow these instruc- tions for each printer you want to add. Sharing must be enabled before you can add a network printer. You must enable sharing from the computer that connects to the printer you want to share. To add a new network printer, follow these steps: 1. Click Start. The Start menu appears. 2. Click Control Panel. The Control Panel appears. 3. Click Printer in the Hardware and Sound section. 4. Click Add a Printer from the menu just under the file menu. The Add Printer wizard appears. 5. Click Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer. The list of available printers appears, as shown in Figure 4-3. 6. Select a printer and go to Step 7; otherwise, if you cannot find the printer you want, click The Printer I Want Isn’t Listed option and carry on. 7. Do one of the following:  • SelectBrowseforaPrinterifyoudon’tknowtheprinter’snameand network address. Contents Chapter 4: Configuring Printers 165 Learning to Share 165 Feeling Selfish and Turning Off Sharing 167 Adding a Network Printer 168 Changing the Default Printer 170 [...]... Signal Strength You’ll be happy to know of a simple way to view the strength of your wireless network’s signal This method doesn’t provide a great deal of information, but it’s enough to know whether you ought to move your wireless router closer to your computers Sometimes that’s all you really need to know Don’t forget — a wireless connection is always weaker than a traditional, wired connection In other... while the other window shows the wireless network The bottom window shows a bunch of information about your wireless network For starters, you see the Adapter Name, Network Utilization, Link Speed, and several columns displaying your network’s throughput (how much of the network’s capacity is actually being used) 176 Monitoring Your Network 4 When you’re done viewing your wireless network’s activity,... rate, stay away Also be careful about how you give out your e-mail address Posting to public forms sometimes exposes your address, which spammers harvest for their lists Free Web-based e-mail providers are plentiful; it helps to have a separate account for posting to public forums Spam is often the vehicle for phishing attacks, which I look at next Phishing Ever received an e-mail from your bank telling... their Web site and fill in some missing personal information? Ever received the same information from a different bank, one that you don’t deal with? These e-mails were probably part of a phishing scam Phishing is a play on fishing, as in “fishing for suckers who will give me their bank information” (and another made up word!) With this personal information the bad guy can get into your bank account... messaging services originally displayed small ads to keep their service running As usual, though, people started writing code that would force itself upon the machine and change the ads that a user saw For example, an ad for jewelry on a Web site might be replaced with an ad for something else, with the owner of the adware getting a cut if you buy anything This last scenario might seem like it’s not a problem;... because they’re “not” Windows Also, many are likely to either come at some cost and work only for a limited amount of time (either a full- or limited-access version) Be sure to check into such details before trying other applications For Windows Vista users, or any Windows 7 early adopters, you may want to try WirelessMon This application, which is also available on a trial basis, works well under Windows... trial basis, works well under Windows Vista (even 64-bit) It is available at www passmark.com The best advice I can give you is to perform a Web search for network monitoring applications and see what works best for you Many applications offer the same or similar features for varying prices In many cases, it’s simply a question of personal preference Book IV Security and Troubleshooting Contents at a... after setting up a wireless network You may want to yell from the rooftops, or wherever you can find the tallest antennae that your new wireless network is running without any problems Hold that thought: First check on your network’s health That includes viewing the signal strength as well as monitoring its activity (that is, the network traffic) After all, what’s the point of having a wireless network... you’re done viewing your wireless network’s activity, close the Task Manager That’s it! See how easy it is to monitor your wireless network’s activity? Changing the networking information you see When viewing the Networking screen in Windows Task Manager, you see some detailed text information below the glitzy graphical display It’s easy to change the columns displayed there: 1 In the Windows Task Manager,... closer to becoming an experienced wireless network administrator Stumbling Upon NetStumbler Although you can get a rough reading on your signal strength from Windows and monitor your network, another tool gives you a more detailed view: NetStumbler It’s free for home users (commercial and government users are encouraged to donate $50 per copy) This application is recommended for any users who are still working . network, for each network you want to bridge. If you’re bridging a wired network with a wireless network, your com- puter needs two adapter cards: one for the wired network and one for the wireless. deal of informa- tion, but it’s enough to know whether you ought to move your wireless router closer to your computers. Sometimes that’s all you really need to know. Don’t forget — a wireless. I can give you is to perform a Web search for network moni- toring applications and see what works best for you. Many applications offer the same or similar features for varying prices. In many