To set up a home network in a router

After Router, How to Set Up Your Network?

Have you ever been frustrated with home network setting? Definitely, I'm sure you have. Just like these following friends: "How do you setup a Cisco Linksys Wireless N Broadband Router WRT160N V3?" "How do i hook my Linksys wireless router up to my modem?"

To set up your network, you need to know that how to configure proper IP addressing, lock down the network from intruders, create accounts for everyone who gets access, and set up sharing for files and folders and so on.

Oh, it seems a little difficult to finish these tasks. It doesn't matter, only easy five steps help you fix it.

Guide to Set Up Your Network:

Step one: Connect Your Router In general, go with an 802.11n router for the best performance. You will also want to ensure that any device will connect to the router also has an 802.11n network adapter. For older laptops or desktops you can purchase compatible "n" adapters. Once you've got the right router, the first step is to physically connect your router to a modem provided by your ISP with an Ethernet cable.

First, unplug or turn off the cable or DSL modem. Power up your wireless router and connect the network cable that most likely comes with it into the port on the router that is labeled "Internet" or "WAN." Connect the other end to the cable or DSL modem and power up the modem.

Don't attempt to connect any devices such as laptops or tablets until you have a good strong, signal indicating a WAN connection on both the router and modem.

Step two: Access the Router's Interface and Lock it down The next step involves getting into the router's interface (called by some companies the management console). This is done by connecting a laptop to the router and then accessing the interface via browser. Routers usually ship

with a default IP address, administrator account and password. For example, most Cisco/Linksys routers have the default IP address of 192.168.1.1 and the default administrator account is "admin" and the password is "admin."

What you want to do is to change your laptop's IP settings to match those of the router's to connect to it for configuration.

Most router companies use the same default IP address, admin account, and passwords on all their routers. Here's a table of the most commonly used ones, but your router's documentation will tell you the specific IP address and account information.

Router Address Username Password 3Com http://192.168.1.1 Admin admin D-Link http://192.168.0.1 admin Cisco/Linksys http://192.168.1.1 admin admin Netgear http://192.168.0. admin password Step three: Configure Security and IP Addressing The next step is getting the security, SSID and IP addressing settings right after you've accessed the router.

Router interfaces vary, so check with the manufacturer if you can't find the settings to configure on the below steps within the interface pages: 1. Change the default administrator password. The settings for the admin password are usually under the "System" tab or area or page of the interface.

You can just enter in a new password in the new password field.

2. Change the router's default SSID. The SSID is the broadcasted name of your wireless network. Use a unique name that your neighbors aren't using for their routers, to avoid confusion.

3. Assign security. Newer routers may be set by default to automatically configure security by using WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup).

4. Set up IP addressing. For most networks, the router can be kept at its default DHCP setting. Remember, hackers know what the default IP address of the most common routers (even though it's really tough for them to get to due to the fact that your IP addresses on your network are private).

5. Disconnect the laptop and reboot it. When the laptop comes back from reboot you should see the SSID name of your wireless network and be able to connect to it with the passphrase you created.

Notice: If you are using the router as an access point, bridge or to extend the signal of an existing router on a network, you will want to turn off DHCP completely.

Step four: Set Up Sharing and Control Since you have a network set up, you can set up a way for everyone to access data on the network. With Windows 7 clients, this is achieved by creating a Home Group, a user-friendly way to create a workgroup.

During the process of setting up or joining a Home Group, you can choose the libraries, printers or files and folders you want to share. (See next step for details).

If you have a network with different version of Windows running, then you are going to create a standard Workgroup. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. In System Properties, click the Computer Name tab.

Click "Change," select "Workgroup," and enter a workgroup name. Click OK to apply the change. Do the same thing for all computers that you want sharing data on the network.

Step five: Set Up User Accounts.

In most business networks, users access the network by logging in with their user account and password. User accounts provide a way to establish user access control. Perhaps there's some data on the network some users should have access to and some shouldn't. Maybe some users should only be able to read certain files, while others should be able to change files.

To add and configure other users, from User Accounts, click on "Manage User Accounts," and then click on the "Advanced" tab.

Under "Advanced User Management" click "Advanced" to open up Local Users and Groups.

Right-click on either "Users" or "Groups" to add either to your network.

If you've gotten this far and performed all the steps that apply to you, you should have a functional, secure, and robust network set up. Of course, there are many other advanced steps you might want to take, such as setting up remote access, setting up port forwarding, automating backup across your network, or deploying a NAS. Stay tuned for step-by-step guides for all these networking tasks.