WIreless Networking Help

Hi,

Hey guys i was wondering if anyone could please help me with this or even some ideas on how to set this up. Basically a freind would like to set up a little wireless network where he has 5 cars all with laptops inside of them and 1 building with a linksys router. Now he would like those 5 cars to be able to pull up right outside the building the main window will be right above where the cars park and make sure they will be able to check there OUTLOOK mail. Meaning they would need to have a internet connection from right outside the building. Its so that hey do not need to come inside the building to get there work for the day. I was wondering if this could be possible with just a simple LinkSys router. ANd would it be possible for each of them to have there own OUTLOOK account to have there mail sent to there own seperate accounts? All the machines inside will be running either XP or 2000. ANy Ideas how on to set this up. Thanks all.

Mike :confused:

That's very well possible with a simple LinkSys router and a wireless card in every laptop. Cars drive up to the window, connect to the network, log in to their email-account and get their work for the day. Sounds like overkill to me, but it is possible :)

http://www.bluegum.com/Software/Wireless/
This link may help you.
I've also found that a wireless network detector can be helpful in implementing a project like yours, it will show you the physical limitations of your current setup, you can pick one up from best buy for about $30 :)

you could save $30 and just walk around outside with a laptop to see how far the signal goes.
or if your freind is spending money on the laptops and router and cards he could save his business money by just getting his employees email addresses and emailing their assignments in the morning

Your idea should work...the only thing I would do is make sure you setup the linksys to only allow your people on.

Personally I havent been able to get my linksys to work with my dell on any of the encryption standards, so I just limit mac addresses. I havent been able to figure out whats going wrong because the laptop will work on campus with the ciscos. So I would look into some of that before I started using it.

From a business perspective I would prolly want to have the encryption working...although weak better then nothing.

Well those are my thoughs for what they are worth :)
Ruffasdagut

First, the mail accounts are something you need to configure on your Exchange (mail) server. The mail accounts and e-mail software has nothing to do with actually accessing the network wirelessly or not.

A connection is a connection whether wired or not. As long as the mail accounts are configured correctly on the mail server, and the e-mail software is setup to check mail with the correct username/password on the correct server you're set that far. :)

As for the wireless network itself, there are several easy, built in, ways to keep the casual “war driver” or park bench surfer out of your wireless network while letting your "car driving" users in.

The sad things is, so few network admins take the time to even attempt to enable them because it may take some effort. Get familiar with the following functions of your wireless router:

** WEP encryption - WEP is breakable for someone with the right tools and time, BUT many times it's enough to make people move on to much easier targets. Take the time to read up on it in your router configuration and documentation. Configure it on the router and the laptops that will be accessing the network from the cars.

** SSIDs - SSIDs broadcasts the name of and other information about your network to anyone who happens by with a wireless card. Leaving this on makes it easier for wireless clients to connect automatically without configuration, but it also allows anyone to learn some basic things about your network. Bad stuff, DISABLE this on your router if you don't have to have it on.

** Default SSID network ID name & router passwords - Two words, change them! It is way too easy to find default network names and router passwords online. If you don't change your defaults, you allowing anyone to access your network with minimal effort. Take the two seconds to make the changes and you'll be glad you did.

** MAC address filtering - I've found this to be the most overlooked security feature of a wireless network. MAC address filtering allows you maintain a list of NIC card MAC addresses that are approved for accessing the wireless network. In theory, any packets sent from an unapproved MAC address are dropped and not allowed access to the network.

While filtering MAC address access on your wireless network may become pretty labor intensive (you may have to manually maintain a list of your companies NIC card MAC addresses), I believe it's well worth it. Since you only have 5 computers that will be accessing the wireless network from outside, this should be a really painless thing to do.

And yes, MAC addresses can be spoofed so this isn't a fool proof, but MAC address filtering can add one more layer of deterrence when combined with WEP, disabling SSIDs, and changing default router/access point passwords.