MORE ON LINKSYS TECHNOLOGY

The other aspect of linksys technology which i have discovered this week is it's wide spread use in bridging.Bridging is a unique AP-CLIENT network.This type of network provides a high level of security and better throughput for example a single client is able to enjoy a bandwidth of about 54mbps.However,when another client router is added to this network each receives 27mbps of data this is a reduced band width in comparison to the previous arrangement.This is inline with a standard rule in bridging which states that the more the number of clients on a network the less the bandwidth or speed.Bridging helps prevent other illegal users from accessing ones internet and consequently reduces traffic and conjetion on the network.The specific routers used in bridging carry the code WAP...,it should be noted here that bridging can be done between WAP routers or between a WAP and WRT router only and not between WRT routers.The procedure of establishing a bridge involved use of MAC Addresses to uniquely configure an AP-CL relationship.The AP was assigned the client MAC Address while the CL was given the AP MAC Address.Both the client and access point modes were set to client bridge mode.Each ethernet network device had one specific MAC address for its connection.The routers are assigned unique MAC addresses at the time of manufacture which was easily entered in the appropriate spaces on the setup page.On the contrary to obtain the MAC Address of the computer a command ipconfig /all was typed and entered,the page was then displayed from which the MAC address also refered to as the physical address was selected.After all these settings were configured the status and survey icons were clicked to check the status of the network, the signal strength being transmitted by the AP and the signal strength being received by the client.It was discovered that the signal strength was about 71% which was not bad.Another vital tool used in troubleshooting this network is the ping command.To do this exercise the start button was clicked,then went to run,and then typed cmd andthen click ok.At this point a black page was displayed the word ping was typed followed by the IP address of the

gadget being troubleshooted.when enter details of how many packets of data which were successfully transmitted and received were displayed.This way troubleshooting was easily archieved.