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Wireless Network Access Point
35
Instant Wireless
®
Series
What is a MAC Address?
The Media Access Control (MAC) address is a unique number assigned by the
manufacturer to any Ethernet networking device, such as a network adapter,
that allows the network to identify it at the hardware level. For all practical pur-
poses, this number is usually permanent. Unlike IP addresses, which can
change every time a computer logs on to the network, the MAC address of a
device stays the same, making it a valuable identifier for the network.
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Appendix B: Setting Up the TCP/ I P
Protocol
Before a computer can communicate with the Access Point, it must be config-
ured with the TCP/IP protocol. If you know how to set up TCP/IP on your com-
puters, do so now. Otherwise, use the guidelines below to help get TCP/IP
installed on all of the computers that need to communicate with the Access
Point. If you are unable to successfully install TCP/IP on one or more comput-
ers after following the directions, contact the manufacturer of your computer’s
network operating system for further assistance. Check with your network
administrator for your TCP/IP settings.
The directions below provide general guidelines for coming up with IP address-
es and subnet masks. Check with your network administrator to see if you need
to use specific IP addresses or DHCP settings.
First, each computer on the network will require an IP address, which is a series
of numbers, separated by periods, identifying the PC on the network. To make
things simple, it is recommended you use the following numbering scheme:
192.168.1.X
In this example, X is a unique, arbitrarily assigned number from 1 to 254. Each
computer must have its own unique X number. Note: Never use 0 or 255 for X.
These numbers are reserved by TCP/IP for other uses.
For example, if you have three computers, you could number them as follows:
192.168.1.17
192.168.1.44
192.168.1.126
In this case, 17, 44, and 126 are arbitrary numbers between 1 and 254.
Each computer will also require a subnet mask, which is a numerical “filter”
that tells a computer what kinds of TCP/IP data packets to accept. If you’re not
sure which mask to use, the following mask is recommended:
255.255.255.0
Setting Up TCP/IP in Windows