Note: 1. Your root router must support WDS feature. 2. Make sure your Access Point’s IP address is different from IP
address of root router, but the IP address should be in same IP
segment. The steps are followings:
Type in http://192.168.0.254 in address bar in your web browser, then press Enter.
Input username and password in pop-up, both of them are admin. Then click OK to login management page.
Change your LAN IP address of access points to avoid IP conflict.
Click Radio Settingà Mode Setting in the gray menu on the left, select WDS AP Repeater as work mode
Click Scan button in the main page, then the AP list
appears, please find SSID of your root router, and select it, then the
Mac address of your root router will be automatically filled the blanks.
6. Then please keep security settings be the same with the root router. Then click Apply to save the settings.
Below are instructions how to set the repeating function on
WNDR3300. In this example, we will be using the WNDR3300 as the Base
station and we’ll use the WNR3500 as a repeater. Please note that
WNDR3300 only supports WDS on 802.11N mode.
Login to WNDR3300 administration page (e.g. www.routerlogin.net or 192.168.1.1).
Go to Wireless settings menu and set the following.
- SSID (ex. 3300n)
- Mode (ex. Up to 270 Mbps at 2.4 GHz)
- 11N Channel (ex. 6)
- Security options (ex. WEP or None)
- Security Encryption key
After applying the settings, you should have similar settings like below.
Go to Wireless Repeating Function menu of WNDR3300 and set the following:
- Select "Enable Wireless Repeating Function"
- Select "Wireless Base Station"
- Enter MAC address of the device you'll be using as a repeater
After applying the settings, you should have similar settings like below.
On the device that will be used as a repeater, login and set
wireless settings the same as base station (See Step 2). Below is a
screenshot of WNR3500 configured as a repeater.
Go to the Wireless Repeating Function menu of WNR3500 and set the following:
- Select "Enable Wireless Repeating Function"
- Set WNR3500 as your Repeater by selecting "Wireless Repeater"
- Enter IP address of the device you’ll be using as a
repeater. Note: Make sure to use an IP address that is within the same
range of the base station.
- Enter the MAC address of the device you'll be using as a repeater
After applying the settings, you should have similar settings like below.
The wireless repeating function of the WNDR3300 (Base station) and WNR3500 (Repeater) are now set.
Definition:In Wi-Fi networking, Bridge mode allows two or more wireless access points (APs) to communicate with each for the purpose of joining multiple LANs.
Some wireless bridges support only a single point-to-point connection to another AP. Others support point-to-multipoint connections to several other APs. This article is about to setup Point to Point Bridge.
Note:
1.
You need configure both of your two wireless access points
(TL-WA501G/TL-WA601G) to Bridge mode by following below steps in order
to setup a Bridge mode based wireless network.
2. Before the configuration, please check and write down the Wireless MAC Address of the Access Points.
In the bottom of the device, there is a label with the MAC address printed.
Configuring the access point (TL-WA501G/TL-WA601G)
Step 1
Connect your computer to TL-WA501G/TL-WA601G, and then log into the
Web-based Utility by entering the IP address 192.168.1.1 into Web
Browser.
Step 2
Change the LAN IP address of the access point (TL-WA501G/TL-WA601G) to
avoid IP conflict if necessary. This is due to your own network, please
refer to Why & How do I change the IP address of TL-WA501G/TL-WA601Gfor some detailed information.
After
changed the IP address of your access point, you need re-log into it by
using the new IP address. And please note that the IP addresses of the
two access points can not be the same in your network.
Step 3 Configure your TL-WA501G/TL-WA601G to Point to Point Bridge mode.
1. Click Wireless -> Wireless Mode on the left, select Bridge (Point to Point). And then enter the MAC address of the other access point (TL-WA501G/TL-WA601G) which you want to connect into the MAC of AP box.
Note:
Very two numbers should be separated by the character ‘-‘, and please
enter the correct MAC address of another access point which you want to
connect into the box, otherwise, the wireless connection will be can not
set up.
2. After done the configuration, enable Reboot and click on Save, the
settings will take effect after the device reboot.
After done the below procedure in both of the two wireless access
point (TL-WA501G/TL-WA601G), the Bridge mode based wireless
connection will be setup successfully.
Additional information:
There is an option called With AP Mode
in the setting page, if you enable it, the access point
(TL-WA501G/TL-WA601G) also can work in AP mode at the same time when it
had been configured to Bridge mode. This means that you can connect
other wireless clients to this access point when it had been configured
to Bridge mode.
And
if you do not enable it, you can not connect any wireless client to
this access point when it had been configured to Bridge mode.
CDP is a Cisco proprietary data link layer protocol that operates
over any medium that supports the Subnetwork Access Protocol (SNAP)
encapsulation (LANs, most WANs, and ATM). It is important to understand
that because CDP operates at Layer 2 (data link layer of the OSI model),
it functions independently of the Layer 3 (network) protocol (IP or
IPX). CDP is on by default, but it can be disabled. In many cases, CDP
is disabled on dial backup links, such as ISDN, so as to not keep the
link up constantly. Chapter 4 of Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices provides more detailed information about CDP.
To display what CDP has discovered, issue this command:
This command offers several options. For purposes here, look at the interface and neighbors options only, but feel free to become familiar with the other options.
The first option to look at is the interface option:
The first option on this command is to specify the type of interface
that you want to see CDP information on. The last option is to specify
the interface number. Example 7-44 uses the show cdp interface command to examine R5's Serial 0 interface.
Example 7-44. show cdp interface serial 0 Command Output
R5#show cdp interface serial 0
Serial0 is up, line protocol is up
Encapsulation HDLC
Sending CDP packets every 60 seconds
Holdtime is 180 seconds
R5#
It does not give a whole lot of information, but it is a "quick and
dirty" way of seeing some CDP information. The second option of the show cdp command that we are going to look at is this:
As you can see, this command provides the option to see CDP information by interface, but the last option, detail,
gives a complete summary of all Cisco devices that CDP was capable of
discovering and displays information about those devices. Example 7-45
displays the output of the show cdp neighbors detail command.
Example 7-45. show cdp neighbors detail Command Output
R5#show cdp neighbors detail
-------------------------
Device ID: R3
Entry address(es):
IP address: 192.168.35.3Platform: cisco 2500, Capabilities: RouterInterface: Serial0, Port ID (outgoing port): Serial1
Holdtime : 164 sec
Version :
Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software
IOS (tm) 2500 Software (C2500-JS-L), Version 11.2(17), RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Copyright (c) 1986-1999 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Mon 04-Jan-99 17:27 by ashah
R5#
The first piece of information that the output shows is the device
ID, usually the hostname of the device. As you can see, R5 has
discovered R3.
The second field is the IP address of R3. This is very useful if you
have several routers and you are not sure of the IP address of the
desired router. You can use this command to find that instead of trying
to track down a network map.
The third field is the platform and capability. R3 is a 2500 and is a
router. If you issue this same command on R1, you will see the Catalyst
1900 switch in the summary as well.
The fourth item is the interface on R5 that the device was discovered
and the port on R3 to which R5 is connected. The command also displays
the Cisco IOS Software version of your neighbor.
You will see this command revisited throughout the rest of the book,
to demonstrate the different ways to utilize this command to help
configure and troubleshoot the network.
Now that you have all the interfaces configured and have established
IP connectivity, you can move on to the next chapter and start
configuring the different routing protocols.
A loopback interface is a virtual interface that resides on a router.
It is not connected to any other device. Loopback interfaces are very
useful because they will never go down, unless the entire router goes
down. This helps in managing routers because there will always be at
least one active interface on the routers, the loopback interface.
To create a loopback interface, all you need to do is enter configuration mode for the interface:
Router(config)interface loopback {number}
The only option on this command is to specify a number between 0 and
2,147,483,647. Cisco IOS Software gives you plenty of loopback
interfaces, if you want to use all of them. When entering this command,
Cisco IOS Software automatically creates the loopback interface, places
you into interface configuration mode, and removes the interface from
shutdown mode. When that is complete, you only need to assign an IP
address to the interface. The criteria for the IP addresses of the
loopback interfaces is as follows:
Create loopback interfaces on all routers using IP address 192.169.X.X/24 (where X is the router number). So, R1 would have a loopback address of 192.169.1.1/24, R2 would be 192.169.2.2/24, and so on.
Because you are already on R6, create and configure the loopback
interface on R6; then go to R1, R2, and so on, and create and configure
all the loopback interfaces and assign appropriate IP addresses. Example
7-42 takes you through the process on R6.
Example 7-42. R6 Loopback Interfaces Configuration
R6(config)#interface loopback 0
R6(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Loopback0, changed state to up
R6(config-if)#ip address 192.169.6.6 255.255.255.0
Because the router automatically removes the loopback from shutdown
state, you receive the console message indicating that the interface is
up.
Now configure the rest of the routers, starting with R1. Don't forget
to save the running-config to NVRAM (startup-config) before leaving the
routers. See Example 7-43.
Example 7-43. Loopback Interface Configuration
R6#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#1
[Resuming connection 1 to r1 ... ]
[OK]
__________________________________________________________________
R1#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R1(config)#interface loopback 0
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Loopback0, changed state to up
R1(config-if)#ip address 192.169.1.1 255.255.255.0
R1(config-if)#end
%SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by console
R1#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R1#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#2
[Resuming connection 2 to r2 ... ]
____________________________________________________________________
R2#
R2#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R2(config)#interface loopback 0
R2(config-if)#ip address 192.169.2.2 255.255.255.0
R2(config-if)#end
R2#copy running-config startup-config
Destination filename [startup-config]?
Building configuration...
[OK]
R2#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#3
[Resuming connection 3 to r3 ... ]
[OK]
____________________________________________________________________
R3#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R3(config)#interface loopback 0
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Loopback0, changed state to up
R3(config-if)#ip address 192.169.3.3 255.255.255.0
R3(config-if)#end
R3#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R3#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#4
[Resuming connection 4 to r4 ... ]
____________________________________________________________________
R4#config t
R4(config)#interface loopback 0
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Loopback0, changed state to up
R4(config-if)#ip address 192.169.4.4 255.255.255.0
R4(config-if)#end
R4#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R4#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#5
[Resuming connection 5 to r5 ... ]
____________________________________________________________________
R5#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R5(config)#interface loopback 0
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Loopback0, changed state to up
R5(config-if)#ip address 192.169.5.5 255.255.255.0
R5(config-if)#end
R5#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R5#
Everything looks okay. A router interface description is not
necessary here because no other type of device can connect to a loopback
interface. Now that you have configured all the interfaces and have IP
connectivity, you should familiarize yourself with the Cisco Discovery
Protocol (CDP). CDP is an information-gathering tool that enables you to
discover directly connected Cisco devices and their network layer
addresses.
Token Ring interfaces have similar configuration tasks to Ethernet,
but the technologies are very different. For lab purposes, those
differences are out of the scope of this book.
The only configuration difference in Token Ring versus Ethernet
interfaces is that, on Token Ring, you need to specify a ring speed,
either 4 or 16 Mbps. Begin by reviewing the routers that you will be
configuring as Token Ring, as shown in Figure 7-6.
Figure 7-6 Router Interfaces to Configure as Token Ring
To set the ring speed, you must be in interface configuration mode for the Token Ring interface and must use this command:
Router(config-if)#ring-speed {4 |16}
As mentioned earlier, Token Ring supports two speeds: 4 and 16 Mbps.
For this lab, use 16 Mbps. For Token Ring to operate correctly, every
device belonging to a certain Ring must be configured for the same ring
speed. After you set the speed, you can assign an IP address to the
interface. Example 7-40 completes the commands on R5.
Example 7-40. R5 Token Ring Interface Configuration
R4#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#5
[Resuming connection 5 to r5 ... ]
R5#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R5(config)#interface tokenRing 0
R5(config-if)#ring-speed 16
R5(config-if)#ip address 192.168.50.5 255.255.255.0
R5(config-if)#$iption This interface does not connect with another IP device
R5(config-if)#no shutdown
R5(config-if)#
%LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to initializing
R5(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface TokenRing0, changed state to up
R5(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to up
R5(config-if)#
Example 7-40 shows a console message a little differently than on
other interfaces. "%LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface TokenRing0, changed state
to initializing" means that the router is trying to insert the Token
Ring into the main network ring. If that is successful, you will get the
interface up and line protocol up messages. This looks good, so save
the configuration and complete R6. See Example 7-41.
Example 7-41. Token Ring Interface Configuration on R6
R5#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R5#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#6
[Resuming connection 6 to r6 ... ]
R6#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R6(config)#interface tokenRing 0
R6(config-if)#ring-speed 16
R6(config-if)#ip address 192.168.60.6 255.255.255.0
R6(config-if)#$iption This interface does not connect with another IP device
R6(config-if)#no shutdown
R6(config-if)#
%LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to initializing
R6(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface TokenRing0, changed state to up
R6(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to up
R6(config-if)#
Everything looks good. Next you will learn how to create and configure loopback interfaces.
The configuration tasks for Ethernet interfaces are quite simple. In
fact, you only need to assign the IP address and remove the interface
from shutdown mode. Because the configuration tasks are so
straightforward, an overview of Ethernet technology is not really
necessary here. Begin with a review of the routers that have Ethernet
interfaces that you will need to configure. Figure 7-5 illustrates the Ethernet interfaces on the routers.
Figure 7-5 Ethernet Routers
Start with configuring R1, then configure R2, and go up to R4. To
assign the IP address and remove the interface from shutdown mode, you
need to be in interface configuration mode for the Ethernet interface.
Example 7-34 takes you through the process of configuring the Ethernet
interface on R1. Refer to Figure 7-5 for the interface number, IP address, and subnet mask.
Example 7-34. R1 Ethernet Configuration
R5#<ctrl-shft-6-x>
Termserver#1
[Resuming connection 1 to r1 ... ]
R1#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R1(config)#interface ethernet0
R1(config-if)#ip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0
R1(config-if)#description This interface connects to R2's E0
R1(config-if)#no shut
R1(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Ethernet0, changed state to up
R1(config-if)#
R1#
%SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by console
R1(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Ethernet0, changed state to up
R1's Ethernet 0 came up fine, so go to R2. Example 7-35 demonstrates the steps in configuring R2's Ethernet interfaces.
Example 7-35. R2 Ethernet Interface Configuration
R1#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R1#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#2
[Resuming connection 2 to r2 ... ]
R2#
R2#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R2(config)#interface ethernet 0
R2(config-if)#ip address 192.168.1.2 255.255.255.0
R2(config-if)#description This interface connects to R1's E0
R2(config-if)#no shutdown
R2(config-if)#
1d17h: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Ethernet0, changed state to up
1d17h: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Ethernet0, changed state
to up
R2(config-if)#
R2(config-if)#exit
R2(config)#interface ethernet 1
R2(config-if)#ip address 192.168.2.2 255.255.255.0
R1(config-if)#description This interface does not connect with another IP device
R2(config-if)#no shutdown
R2(config-if)#
1d17h: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Ethernet1, changed state to up
1d17h: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Ethernet1, changed state
to up
R2(config-if)#
Both Ethernet interfaces came up. You should be capable of pinging R1's Ethernet 0 interface for R2, as demonstrated in Example 7-36.
Example 7-36. R2 to R1 ping Results
R2(config-if)#end
R2#ping 192.168.1.1
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 192.168.1.1, timeout is 2 seconds:
.!!!!
Success rate is 80 percent (4/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 1/1/1 ms
R2#
Okay, R1 and R2 have IP connectivity. You can verify that Ethernet 1
is functional by looking at the interface. Example 7-37 shows the output
of the show interfaces command, which displays all of R2's interfaces; however, only the Ethernet interfaces are of interest for this part of the lab.
Example 7-37. show interfaces Command Output on R2
R2#show interfacesEthernet0 is up, line protocol is up
Description: This interface connects to R1's E0
Hardware is QUICC Ethernet, address is 0010.7bf9.4912 (bia 0010.7bf9.4912)
Internet address is 192.168.1.2/24
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 10000 Kbit, DLY 1000 usec, rely 255/255, load 1/255
Encapsulation ARPA, loopback not set, keepalive set (10 sec)
ARP type: ARPA, ARP Timeout 04:00:00
Last input 00:00:20, output 00:00:06, output hang never
Last clearing of "show interface" counters never
Queueing strategy: fifo
Output queue 0/40, 0 drops; input queue 0/75, 0 drops
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
41 packets input, 4110 bytes, 0 no buffer
Received 36 broadcasts, 0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles
0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored, 0 abort
0 input packets with dribble condition detected
159 packets output, 16101 bytes, 0 underruns
0 output errors, 0 collisions, 1 interface resets
0 babbles, 0 late collision, 0 deferred
0 lost carrier, 0 no carrier
0 output buffer failures, 0 output buffers swapped out
Ethernet1 is up, line protocol is up
Hardware is QUICC Ethernet, address is 0010.7bf9.4913 (bia 0010.7bf9.4913)
Description: This interface does not connect with another IP device
Internet address is 192.168.2.2/24
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 10000 Kbit, DLY 1000 usec, rely 255/255, load 1/255
Encapsulation ARPA, loopback not set, keepalive set (10 sec)
ARP type: ARPA, ARP Timeout 04:00:00
Last input 00:00:23, output 00:00:09, output hang never
Last clearing of "show interface" counters never
Queueing strategy: fifo
Output queue 0/40, 0 drops; input queue 0/75, 0 drops
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
19 packets input, 1729 bytes, 0 no buffer
Received 19 broadcasts, 0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles
0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored, 0 abort
0 input packets with dribble condition detected
136 packets output, 13770 bytes, 0 underruns
0 output errors, 0 collisions, 1 interface resets
0 babbles, 0 late collision, 0 deferred
0 lost carrier, 0 no carrier
0 output buffer failures, 0 output buffers swapped out
--More--
The most important information right now is to see that both
interfaces are up. This signifies that link keepalives are being
exchanged between the interfaces and the switch. No other devices exist
off Ethernet 1, so you cannot verify connectivity. However, because both
interfaces are up, you can assume that they are configured and working
properly.
Example 7-38 consolidates the configuration of both R3 and R4 to save
time. Make sure that you see the console messages stating that the
interfaces are up, but there is no need to ping
anything at this point. Be sure to look at the subnet mask on R4's
Ethernet 0. It has a mask of /27. That is a 255.255.255.224 mask in
decimal notation.
Example 7-38. R3 and R4 Ethernet Configuration
R2#copy running-config startup-config
Destination filename [startup-config]?
Building configuration...
[OK]
R2#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#3
[Resuming connection 3 to r3 ... ]
R3#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R3(config)#interface ethernet 0
R3(config-if)#ip address 192.168.3.3 255.255.255.0
R3(config-if)#description This interface does not connect with another IP device
R3(config-if)#no shutdown
R3(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Ethernet0, changed state to up
R3(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Ethernet0, changed state to up
R3(config-if)#end
R3#
%SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by console
R3#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R3#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#4
[Resuming connection 4 to r4 ... ]
R4#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R4(config)#interface ethernet 0
R4(config-if)#ip address 192.168.4.4 255.255.255.224Bad mask /27 for address 192.168.4.4
R4(config-if)#
Notice the error message "Bad mask /27 for address 192.168.4.4." Why
is /27 (or 255.255.255.2250) a bad mask? In IP subnetting, you cannot
use the first group of IP addresses or the last group of a subnetted
address space. Does 192.168.4.4 fall into the first group of addresses?
To find out, break up the /27 bit mask (255.255.255.224). The result is
eight different groups of IP addresses:
0 to 31
32 to 63
64 to 95
96 to 127
128 to 159
160 to 191
192 to 123
224 to 255
The address of 192.168.4.4 does fall into the first group. Cisco has a command that will overcome this limitation:
Router(config)#ip subnet-zero
There are no options on this command, and it is executed under global
configuration mode. This command enables you to use the first and last
groups of a subnetted address space. Example 7-39 uses this command to
configure R4.
NOTE
In Cisco IOS Software Release 12.x, the command ip subnet-zero is on by default. If you are using this version, you will not see the error, nor will you need to execute the command.
Example 7-39. R4 Configuration for ip subnet-zero
R4(config-if)#exit
R4(config)#ip subnet-zero
R4(config)#interface ethernet 0
R4(config-if)#ip address 192.168.4.4 255.255.255.224
R4(config)-if)#$cription This interface does not connect with another IP device
R4(config-if)#no shutdown
R4(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Ethernet0, changed state to up
R4(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Ethernet0, changed state to up
R4(config-if)#end
%SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by console
R4#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R4#
You get no error messages this time. The IP address successfully is
assigned to the interface and is removed from the shutdown state.
Console messages indicate that the interface and line protocol for
Ethernet 0 are up. The configuration is saved, and you are ready to
configure the Token Ring interfaces on R5 and R6.
The point-to-point serial link is a little different than the Frame
Relay serial link. As you recall, Frame Relay is used in many cases in a
point-to-multipoint environment. To create a point-to-point connection
between two routers, you can use other types of WAN encapsulations, such
as HDLC, PPP, and SLIP. For a complete review of these encapsulations,
refer to Chapter 11 of the ICDN book. We will use the default serial
encapsulation, which is HDLC.
For two serial interfaces to communicate, you must provide the clock
rate. The clock rate provides bit synchronization and has other uses
that are beyond the scope of this chapter's purposes. The device that
provides this clock rate is the data circuit-terminating equipment
(DCE). The other device is denoted as the data terminal equipment (DTE).
In the real world, the router is the DTE. The telecom equipment, such
as the Frame Relay switch, is the DCE. Because the lab scenario bypasses
the telecom equipment, you need to specify which router is the DTE and
which one is the DCE; you also need to provide the clock rate. To bypass
the telecom equipment, you need to directly connect the routers with a
DTE–DCE crossover cable. Each end of this cable is labeled as DTE or
DCE. Whichever router is plugged into the DCE end of the cable will need
to provide the clock rate. In the Frame Relay network, the Frame Relay
switch is the DCE, so none of the Frame Relay routers needs to provide
clock rate. For more information on WAN serial cabling and signaling,
refer to Chapter 2 of Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices from Cisco Press.
First, review the routers that you are going to use to configure a point-to-point serial connection. Figure 7-4 shows routers R3 and R5. This is the only point-to-point connection in the lab.
Figure 7-4 Point-to-Point Serial Connection
In the figure, you can see the R5 has been cabled as the DCE, so it will need to supply the clock rate.
Begin by configuring the serial link and assign IP addresses to the interfaces. Start with R5.
You last configured R2, so you need to go back to the terminal server
and resume the connection to R5. When there, you need to go into global
configuration mode and then into the appropriate interface
configuration. For R5, that would be Serial 0. Example 7-26 walks you
through these initial configuration steps.
Example 7-26. R5 Serial Configuration
R2#
R2#<crtl-shft-6-x>
Termserver#5
[Resuming connection 5 to r5 ... ]
R5#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R5(config)#interface serial 0
R5(config-if)#
Now that you are in interface configuration mode for R5's Serial 0,
you can execute the necessary configuration commands. The first thing to
do is make the encapsulation type HDLC for the interface. Because HDLC
is the default encapsulation method, you really don't need to execute
the command. However, just for the sake of practice, and so that you
understand that there is a data link layer configuration command for the
serial link, specify HDLC as the encapsulation by entering it as a
command option. This is the same command issued previously when
specifying the encapsulation type for routers R2, R3, and R4; the only
difference is that you specify the hdlc option instead of frame-relay.
This is the command for R2's S0, R3's S0, and R4's S0:
Unlike Frame Relay, there aren't any different types of HDLC
encapsulation. After you specify the encapsulation type as HDLC, you can
assign the appropriate IP address to the interface.
NOTE
We will not review previous commands that already have been
demonstrated. Refer back to the previous examples if you are unsure of
the command syntax, or use the help menu in Cisco IOS Software.
Before removing the interface from shutdown mode, you need to provide the clock rate to R3 using the following command:
Router(config-if)#clock rate {300-8000000 bps}
The only option in this command is to give the speed of the link in
bits per second. Because this is a T1 or E1 interface, you can specify
an easy-to-remember value of 2,000,000. This is the equivalent of an E1
link, which will work for this lab environment. As mentioned earlier, in
the real world, you will not have to configure this parameter. The
telecom service provider will set this value on its equipment. After you
set this value, give the interface a description and remove the
interface from shutdown mode, as demonstrated in Example 7-28.
Example 7-28. clock rate Command
R5(config-if)#clock rate 2000000
R5(config-if)#description This interface connects to R3's S1 (DTE)
R5(config-if)#no shutdown
R5(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Serial0, changed state to down
R5(config-if)#
At first glance, you might get a little nervous that the interface
did not come up, but that is normal. R3's serial interface has not been
configured yet, so the R5 interface is not receiving any signaling from
R3; thus, the interface will remain in the down state until R3 is
configured and removed from shutdown mode. Before you get too far into
this configuration, you should know about a very helpful show command:
This command is very useful in troubleshooting and verifying
interface configuration. The first option is to choose which type of
interface you would like to see; the second option is to select the
number of the interface. If you do not select any type of interface, the
command shows you all the interfaces that the router has. Example 7-29
demonstrates sample output of the command on R5.
Example 7-29. show interfaces serial 0 Command Output
R5#show interfaces serial 0Serial0 is down, line protocol is down
Hardware is HD64570
Description: This interface connects to R3's S1 (DTE)Internet address is 192.168.35.5/24
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 1544 Kbit, DLY 20000 usec, rely 255/255, load 1/255
Encapsulation HDLC, loopback not set, keepalive set (10 sec)
Last input never, output 2w5d, output hang never
Last clearing of "show interface" counters never
Queueing strategy: fifo
Output queue 0/40, 0 drops; input queue 0/75, 0 drops
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
0 packets input, 0 bytes, 0 no buffer
Received 0 broadcasts, 0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles
0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored, 0 abort
212 packets output, 18206 bytes, 0 underruns
0 output errors, 0 collisions, 37557 interface resets
0 output buffer failures, 0 output buffers swapped out
111 carrier transitions
DCD=up DSR=up DTR=down RTS=down CTS=up
The highlighted text reveals some important information regarding the
interface Serial 0. The first thing that you see is the state in which
the interface resides: "Serial0 is down, line protocol is down." The
first "down" (this is referred to as interface or the physical
layer state) tells you that there is a physical problem. A physical
problem might result from a cable not being plugged in, or the connected
device might not be receiving any electrical signaling, which is the
case here. The "line protocol down" means that Layer 2 is not
functional, meaning that HDLC is not operating correctly for some
reason. It is important to note that the line protocol will never be up
if the interface is in the down state. Next, the output shows the
description placed on the Serial 0 interface. You see the IP address
that you assigned earlier. This is a good place to review your
configuration and make sure that what you typed in the interface
configuration mode was correct. You also see the encapsulation type
here. For a complete review of the output, refer to Chapter 3 of Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices. You will see this command again after configuring R3's serial interface to see what changes.
To configure R3, you need to go back to the terminal server and
resume the session with R3, but don't forget to save the configuration
before leaving. When at R3, you need to enter global configuration mode
and then go into interface configuration mode for Serial 1. Remember,
you will configure Serial 0 for Frame Relay. Serial 1 connects to R5's
S0 interface. (Refer to your lab diagram.) See Example 7-30.
Example 7-30. R3 Interface Configuration Mode
R5#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R5#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
Termserver#3
[Resuming connection 3 to r3 ... ]
R3#
R3#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R3(config)#interface serial 1
R3(config-if)#
Now you are in interface configuration mode for Serial 1 on R3, and
you can assign the appropriate IP address and mask. After that, don't
forget to remove the interface from shutdown mode. Example 7-31
illustrates the commands.
Example 7-31. R3 Serial 1 Configuration Commands
R3(config-if)#encapsulation hdlc
R3(config-if)#ip address 192.168.35.3 255.255.255.0
R3(config-if)#description This interface connects to R5's S0 (DCE)
R3(config-if)#no shutdown
R3(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Serial1, changed state to up
R3(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Serial1, changed state to up
R3(config-if)#
As you can see, the interface came up, and so did the line protocol. Return to R5 and see how the show interface command output has changed. Example 7-32 shows the changes in the output.
Example 7-32. R5 show interface serial 0 Command Output
R3(config-if)#end
%SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by console
R3#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R3#<ctrl-shft-6-x>
Termserver#5
[Resuming connection 5 to r5 ... ]
R5#
R5#show interface serial 0Serial0 is up, line protocol is up
Hardware is HD64570
Description: This interface connects to R3's S1 (DTE)
Internet address is 192.168.35.5/24
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 1544 Kbit, DLY 20000 usec, rely 255/255, load 1/255
Encapsulation HDLC, loopback not set, keepalive set (10 sec)
Last input 00:00:01, output 00:00:01, output hang never
Last clearing of "show interface" counters never
Queueing strategy: fifo
Output queue 0/40, 0 drops; input queue 0/75, 0 drops
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
25 packets input, 1865 bytes, 0 no buffer
Received 25 broadcasts, 0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles
0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored, 0 abort
236 packets output, 20009 bytes, 0 underruns
0 output errors, 0 collisions, 37629 interface resets
0 output buffer failures, 0 output buffers swapped out
112 carrier transitions
DCD=up DSR=up DTR=up RTS=up CTS=up
R5#
Great! You now should be capable of pinging R3 from R5, as demonstrated in Example 7-33.
Example 7-33. R5 ping Result
R5#ping 192.168.35.3
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 192.168.35.3, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 4/4/8 ms
R5#
You got 100 percent success! R3 and R5 have full IP connectivity. Question: Should R5 be capable of pinging R3's Serial 0 IP address? Why not? Even though R5 can reach R3 through interface Serial 1, R5 cannot ping
R3's Serial 0 interface. This is because you do not have any routing
protocols configured to let R5 know about the 192.168.100.0 network, to
which R3's Serial 0 interface belongs. When you have configured all the
interfaces on all the routers, you will start configuring the routing
protocols. Then you should be capable of pinging any interface on any router.
Below is a listing of special characters and symbols that can be
copied and pasted into
your own Twitter and Facebook posts to give your posts and tweets a little more
originality.
Tip:
Not all third-party tools and devices that are used to read Facebook and Twitter
can interpret these symbols. When these symbols are not understood they will be
shown as an empty box.
Below
is a listing of our top 10 favorite Twitter tips and tricks. These tips will
help make your Twitter experience more enjoyable and can help increase your
followers.
Customize
Change your profile picture. Use a picture of yourself to make it
seem more personalized if this is your personal Twitter account.
Utilize as much of the 160-character limit Twitter
BIO space allows. Include keywords your followers or potential followers may be
searching for.
Create your own background image. However, do not
make the image too much like an ad or sales pitch. The background image must be
less than 800k and we recommend a size of 1600x1200 for a large image or smaller
if you plan on tiling the image or just having it on the left-hand
side. Finally, keep in mind that smaller resolutions and
monitor sizes will hide much of the background.
Third-party tools
Take advantage of the hundreds of different third-party online
tools and services that enhance your Twitter experience. Below are a few of our
favorites.
TwitPic - Take
advantage of TwitPic to post pictures on your tweets. If you want to post
pictures while away from the computer, use the Twitterific app.
Qwitter - Great
service that sends an e-mail any time someone unsubscribes from your Twitter
profile and mentions a possible Twitter post you made that may have caused them to leave.
Manageflitter
- Fantastic site for managing your followers and getting an easy to read
overview of people not following you back, quiet users, and inactive users.
WeFollow
- Great website that allows you to add yourself to a listing of Twitter users by
tags you find interesting.
SocialOomph - Another great
service with a collection of free Twitter tools including the ability
to schedule when a tweets gets posted.
Tweetbeat - An
excellent site that takes the trending topics on Twitter and gives
you a clearer explanation of present and past trending topics.
TwitterMeme -
Another great location to find the hottest links on Twitter.
Twitter Grader - Great
service that grades any Twitter account and gives you additional details and
ranking information.
Twitter Fan Wiki Apps - Finally, this wiki has a listing of several
hundred different Twitter applications and tools for users
wanting more.
Use Twitter search
Take full advantage of the Twitter search tool. Below are just a
few tips that can help improve your search capabilities on Twitter.
Search for your website or blog URL and see if others are mentioning your
page.
Search for anything near you by adding near:"city state". For example,
typing near:"Salt lake city Utah" club would return current tweets that
have happened in Salt Lake City, Utah with the keyword club in them.
Find people who you may enjoy following by searching for keywords that interested
you.
If you do not want tweets with links add ? -filter:links
at the end of your search query.
Any time you get excellent results click the "Save this search" button to
save that search. These searches can then be found under "Saved Searches" on the
right-hand part of your profile on the old Twitter interface or under the
"Searches" tab next to your timeline on the new Twitter interface.
Followers
Engage followers.
Do not follow too many people. No one is going to follow someone who is
following thousands of people but only has 10 followers.
Retweet interesting posts.
Retweet and participate in conversations with people with a lot of
followers.
Realize it is impossible for anyone to read
every tweet.
When first joining do not follow hundreds of people, doing this
may mark you as a bot.
Create useful and interesting tweets
Try making all your tweets informative, useful, or funny.
Do not post mundane posts, e.g. eating a bowl of cereal.
Add hastags to your tweets. For
example, if your tweet is about computers, consider adding #computer in the tweet.
Tweet frequently. No one is going to follow someone they do not know who
has not tweeted in months. Try at the very least to tweet a few times a week or
daily if you can manage.
Do not whine or complain. Everyone will unfollow anyone who constantly
whines or complains.
Try making your valuable tweets during the times people will most likely see them.
Keep some space available in your tweet in case someone
retweets your post.
Use special characters in your tweets.
Know the lingo
Know the Twitter lingo, these are just a few
examples: @reply,
Direct Message (DM),
Follower,
Hashtag,
Retweet (RT), Trending Topics,
and
Tweet. See the
Twitter description
for a full listing of Twitter terms and Lingo and related terms.
Follow the masters
Following a few of the masters of Twitter and Social Networking
will give you an understanding of how to tweet better, posts to RT, and
inspiration for tweets of your own. Below are the top ten Twitters we recommend
following.
Twitaholic - A
full listing of the top users on Twitter based on Followers. This is a terrific
service to find and follow the top users and possibly incorporate some of the ideas they are doing on their account.
Tip: Many of the
first few hundred people are celebrities on Twitaholic, if they do not interest
you skip the first page.
Create and use lists
Twitter
lists are an excellent method of filtering filter through the people you follow.
To create a list, click the Lists link and then Create a list.
After creating a list visit the persons profile page you wish to add and click
the list icon, as shown in the picture to the right. Our
Computers
and Tech list is an example of a public list we created.
Go Mobile
Apple iPhones, Blackberry phones, Android phones, Windows phone 7
phones, and most of the other smart phones have Twitter
applications. Take full advantage of these applications. For users who do not have
smart phones Twitter also has extensive support for
SMS, which can send tweets over a text message.
Advertise
Mention your Twitter page as many places as you can, e.g. your
business card, e-mail signatures, web page, blog, Facebook, etc.
Create a tweet button or at least your Twitter name on your pages, similar to the below examples.
For web pages that do not list their last modified date, you can
determine the date and time when a website was last updated, modified,
or changed by following the below suggestions. Keep in mind that
Internet Archive
Although this site will not give you an exact modified date,
it can give you a good idea of when the page last changed and will also
allow you to view the history of a page, even if it is offline. Visit the
Internet Archive
and enter the URL of page or website you're trying to view the modification
date.
JavaScript in address bar
Insert the below
JavaScript string into the address bar.
javascript:alert(document.lastModified)
Note: With dynamic generated
content this will not work. Newer Internet Browsers will also not support
this feature since the address bar as a search or for other features.
Quickly find text, an icon, or other item in a group or list by
highlighting one of the icons or clicking on the list items and pressing
the beginning letter of the item you're looking for. Below are some
examples of how this could be used. Internet drop down list
Instead
of scrolling through a list of options in an Internet drop down list
press the first letter of the option you're looking for. For example, if
you wanted to get down on the below list of countries to United States
you could click the down arrow and then press U to quickly move down to
the first item beginning with U, which in this case is Uganda. If you
continued to type United... it would continue to scroll down as long as a
result was found.
Windows desktop icons
If
you have a lot of icons on your desktop or in another folder highlight
one of the icons and press the first letter. For example if you were
looking for an icon named "test" highlight any icon and then press the
"t" key. Note: you can also press the "t" key multiple times to
individually highlight each icon that starts with "t".
Quickly bookmark any web page in all major browsers by pressing CTRL + D
on your keyboard. Pressing these two keys together will open the
bookmarks or favorites for your browser and allow you to quickly place a
bookmark for the page you're currently at. For example, pressing the
two keys now would bookmark this page.
Many
sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, eBay, and Wikipedia will show a larger
image of small thumbnails images when you click them. Save yourself the time of
having to click the image to view it by installing a browser extension that will
show you the larger image by hovering the mouse over the image. In the
picture to the right, is an example of a Twitter profile icon that is enlarged
when hovering over the small icon in the Following section. Click the below link
for the browser you are using to open the extension that will add this feature.
Firefox users
Create easy to read and type Internet addresses from long convoluted
addresses often found on popular sites such as Amazon, eBay, MapQuest,
etc. by using online services that shrink the address. Below are examples of sites that allow you to copy and paste any URL into them to make them smaller.
In
addition to visiting one of the above sites each time you need to make a
URL smaller if you're running Mozilla Firefox there are many tinyurl
and other Firefox add-ons that allow you to integrate this feature into your browser.
Many other browsers such as Chrome also have similar services.
With the introduction of Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 all major browsers now support tabbed browsing. Below are various tips to improve your browsing using tabs.
Clicking on any link with your middle mouse button or wheel will open that link in a new tab. Alternatively you can hold down your CTRL key in IE and Firefox and click a link to open that link in a new tab.
Clicking on an open tab with your middle mouse button will close that tab.
Mozilla Firefox users can middle-click the back button to open a previous page in a new tab.
Pressing CTRL + T will open a new tab in IE, Firefox, and Opera.
Pressing
CTRL + Shift + T will undo the closed tab. Alternatively right clicking
on a portion of the tab bar will also display this option.
Firefox and IE users can hold down CTRL and press 1 through 0 on their keyboard to open that respected tab.
Right-clicking the active tab will give you an option to close all other non-active tabs.
When visiting a web page you may come across something you like, for
those pages that don't have an e-mail option following the below simple
steps can allow you to send a link to a friend.
Internet Explorer users
Send a friend
the web page you are viewing by clicking File, Send, and "Page by
E-mail". If you do not see the File menu press the Alt key.
Firefox users
Right-click on the page you wish to send to your friend and in the menu click Send link.
Opera users
Right-click on the page you wish to send to your friend and in the menu click Send link by Mail.
Netscape users
Send a friend the web page you are viewing by clicking File, and "Send Page"
1. Problem Steps Recorder
As the local PC guru
you're probably very used to friends and family asking for help with
their computer problems, yet having no idea how to clearly describe
what's going on. It's frustrating, but Microsoft feels your pain, and
Windows 7 will include an excellent new solution in the Problem Steps
Recorder.
When any app starts misbehaving under Windows 7 then all
your friends need do is click Start, type PSR and press Enter, then
click Start Record. If they then work through whatever they're doing
then the Problem Steps Recorder will record every click and keypress,
take screen grabs, and package everything up into a single zipped MHTML
file when they're finished, ready for emailing to you. It's quick, easy
and effective, and will save you hours of troubleshooting time. 2. Burn images
Windows
7 finally introduces a feature that other operating systems have had
for years - the ability to burn ISO images to CDs or DVDs. And it
couldn't be much easier to use. Just double-click the ISO image, choose
the drive with the blank disc, click Burn and watch as your disc is
created. 3. Create and mount VHD files
Microsoft's
Virtual PC creates its virtual machine hard drives in VHD files, and
Windows 7 can now mount these directly so you can access them in the
host system. Click Start, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter, then click
Action > Attach VHD and choose the file you'd like to mount. It will
then appear as a virtual drive in Explorer and can be accessed, copied
or written just like any other drive.
Click Action > Create VHD
and you can now create a new virtual drive of your own (right-click it,
select Initialise Disk, and after it's set up right-click the
unallocated space and select New Simple Volume to set this up). Again,
you'll be left with a virtual drive that behaves just like any other,
where you can drag and drop files, install programs, test partitioning
software or do whatever you like. But it's actually just this VHD file
on your real hard drive which you can easily back up or share with
others. Right-click the disk (that's the left-hand label that says "Disk
2" or whatever) and select Detach VHD to remove it.
The command
line DISKPART utility has also been upgraded with tools to detach a VHD
file, and an EXPAND command to increase a virtual disk's maximum size.
Don't play around with this unless you know what you're doing, though -
it's all too easy to trash your system. 4. Troubleshoot problems
If
some part of Windows 7 is behaving strangely, and you don't know why,
then click Control Panel > Find and fix problems (or
'Troubleshooting') to access the new troubleshooting packs. These are
simple wizards that will resolve common problems, check your settings,
clean up your system and more. 5. Startup repair
If
you've downloaded Windows 7 (and even if you haven't) it's a good idea
to create a system repair disc straight away in case you run into
problems booting the OS later on. Click Start > Maintenance >
Create a System Repair Disc, and let Windows 7 build a bootable
emergency disc. If the worst does happen then it could be the only way
to get your PC running again. 6. Take control
Tired
of the kids installing dubious software or running applications you'd
rather they left alone? AppLocker is a new Windows 7 feature that
ensures users can only run the programs you specify. Don't worry, that's
easier to set up than it sounds: you can create a rule to allow
everything signed by a particular publisher, so choose Microsoft, say,
and that one rule will let you run all signed Microsoft applications.
Launch GPEDIT.MSC and go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings
> Security Settings > Application Control Policies > AppLocker
to get a feel for how this works. 7. Calculate more
At
first glance the Windows 7 calculator looks just like Vista's version,
but explore the Mode menu and you'll see powerful new Statistics and
Programmer views. And if you're clueless about bitwise manipulation,
then try the Options menu instead. This offers many different unit
conversions (length, weight, volume and more), date calculations (how
many days between two dates?), and spreadsheet-type templates to help
you calculate vehicle mileage, mortgage rates and more.
Don't
take any Windows 7 applet at face value, then - there are some very
powerful new features hidden in the background. Be sure to explore every
option in all Windows applets to ensure you don't miss anything
important.
CALCULATE MORE:The new Calculator is packed with useful features and functionality 8. Switch to a projector
Windows
7 now provides a standard way to switch your display from one monitor
to another, or a projector - just press Win+P or run DisplaySwitch.exe
and choose your preferred display. (This will have no effect if you've
only one display connected.) 9. Get a power efficiency report
If
you have a laptop, you can use the efficiency calculator to get Windows
7 to generate loads of useful information about its power consumption.
Used in the right way, this can help you make huge gains in terms of
battery life and performance. To do this you must open a command prompt
as an administrator by typing 'cmd' in Start Search, and when the cmd
icon appears, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.
Then
at the command line, just type in 'powercfg -energy' (without quotes)
and hit Return, and Windows 7 will scan your system looking for ways to
improve power efficiency. It will then publish the results in an HTML
file, usually in the System32 folder. Just follow the path it gives you
to find your report. 10. Understanding System Restore
Using
System Restore in previous versions of Windows has been something of a
gamble. There's no way of telling which applications or drivers it might
affect - you just have to try it and see.
Windows 7 is different.
Right-click Computer, select Properties > System Protection >
System Restore > Next, and choose the restore point you'd like to
use. Click the new button to 'Scan for affected programs' and Windows
will tell you which (if any) programs and drivers will be deleted or
recovered by selecting this restore point. (Read our full Windows 7 System Restore tutorial.) 11. Set the time zone
System
administrators will appreciate the new command line tzutil.exe utility,
which lets you set a PC's time zone from scripts. If you wanted to set a
PC to Greenwich Mean Time, for instance, you'd use the command
tzutil /s "gmt standard time"
The
command "tzutil /g" displays the current time zone, "tzutil /l" lists
all possible time zones, and "tzutil /?" displays details on how the
command works. 12. Calibrate your screen
The
colours you see on your screen will vary depending on your monitor,
graphics cards settings, lighting and more, yet most people use the same
default Windows colour profile. And that means a digital photo you
think looks perfect might appear very poor to everybody else.
Fortunately Windows 7 now provides a Display Colour Calibration Wizard
that helps you properly set up your brightness, contrast and colour
settings, and a ClearType tuner to ensure text is crisp and sharp. Click
Start, type DCCW and press Enter to give it a try. 13. Clean up Live Essentials
Installing
Windows Live Essentials will get you the new versions of Mail, Movie
Maker, Photo Gallery and others - great. Unfortunately it also includes
other components that may be unnecessary, but if you like to keep a
clean system then these can be quickly removed.
If you left the
default "Set your search provider" option selected during installation,
for instance, Windows Live will install Choice Guard, a tool to set your
browser home page and search engine, and prevent other programs from
changing them. If this causes problems later, or you just decide you
don't need it, then Choice Guard may be removed by clicking Start,
typing msiexec /x {F0E12BBA-AD66-4022-A453-A1C8A0C4D570} and pressing
[Enter].
Windows Live Essentials also adds an ActiveX Control to
help upload your files to Windows Live SkyDrive, as well as the Windows
Live Sign-in Assistant, which makes it easier to manage and switch
between multiple Windows Live accounts. If you're sure you'll never need
either then remove them with the Control Panel "Uninstall a Program"
applet. 14. Add network support
By default
Windows Live MovieMaker won't let you import files over a network, but a
quick Registry tweak will change this. Run REGEDIT, browse to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Live\Movie Maker, add a
DWORD value called AllowNetworkFiles and set it to 1 to add network
support. 15. Activate XP mode
If you've old but important software that no longer runs under Windows 7, then you could try using XP Mode,
a virtual copy of XP that runs in a window on your Windows 7 desktop.
But there's a big potential problem, as XP Mode only works with systems
that have hardware virtualisation (AMD-V or Intel VT) built-in and
turned on. If you've a compatible CPU then this may just be a matter of
enabling the option in your BIOS set-up program, however some high
profile brands, including Sony Vaio, disable the setting for "security
reasons". And that blocks XP Mode from working, too.
One solution
has emerged, but it's a little risky, as essentially you'll have to
alter a byte in your laptop firmware and hope this doesn't have any
unexpected side-effects. Gulp. If you're feeling brave then take a look
at the Feature Enable Blog for the details, but don't blame us if it goes wrong.
A safer approach might be to use VirtualBox,
a virtualisation tool that doesn't insist on hardware support, but then
you will need to find a licensed copy of XP (or whatever other Windows
version your software requires) for its virtual machine. 16. Enable virtual Wi-Fi
Windows
7 includes a little-known new feature called Virtual Wi-Fi, which
effectively turns your PC or laptop into a software-based router. Any
other Wi-Fi-enabled devices within range - a desktop, laptop, an iPod
perhaps - will "see" you as a new network and, once logged on,
immediately be able to share your internet connection.
This will
only work if your wireless adapter driver supports it, though, and not
all do. Check with your adapter manufacturer and make sure you've
installed the very latest drivers to give you the best chance.
Once you have driver support then the easiest approach is to get a network tool that can set up virtual Wi-Fi for you. Virtual Router (below) is free, easy to use and should have you sharing your internet connection very quickly.
If
you don't mind working with the command line, though, maybe setting up
some batch files or scripts, then it's not that difficult to set this up
manually. See Turn your Windows 7 laptop into a wireless hotspot for more. 17. Recover locked-up apps
If
an application locks up under a previous version of Windows then there
was nothing you could do about it. A new Windows 7 option, however, can
not only explain the problem, but may get your program working again
without any loss of data.
When the lockup occurs, click Start, type RESMON and click the RESMON.EXE link to launch the Resource Monitor.
Find your frozen process in the CPU pane (it should be highlighted in red), right-click it and select Analyze Wait Chain.
If
you see at least two processes in the list, then the lowest, at the end
of the tree, is the one holding up your program. If it's not a vital
Windows component, or anything else critical, then save any work in
other open applications, check the box next to this process, click End
Process, and your locked-up program will often spring back to life.
18. Fault-Tolerant Help
Windows
7 includes a new feature called the Fault Tolerant Help (FTH), a clever
technology that looks out for unstable processes, detects those that
may be crashing due to memory issues, and applies several real-time
fixes to try and help. If these work, that's fine - if not, the fixes
will be undone and they won't be applied to that process again.
While
this is very good in theory, it can leave you confused as some
applications crash, then start working (sometimes) for no apparent
reason. So if you'd like to check if the FTH is running on your PC,
launch REGEDIT, and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\FTH -
any program currently being protected by the FTH will be listed in the
State key.
Experienced users may also try tweaking the FTH
settings to catch more problems, and perhaps improve system stability. A
post on Microsoft's Ask The Performance Team blog (bit.ly/d1JStu)
explains what the various FTH Registry keys mean. 19. Automatically switch your default printer
Windows
7's location-aware printing allows the operating system to
automatically switch your default printer as you move from one network
to another.
To set this up, first click Start, type Devices, and click the Devices and Printers link.
Select
a printer and click Manage Default Printers (this is only visible on a
mobile device, like a laptop - you won't see it on a PC).
Choose
the "Change my default printer when I change networks" option, select a
network, the default printer you'd like to use, and click Add.
Repeat the process for other networks available, and pick a default printer for each one.
And
now, as you connect to a new network, Windows 7 will check this list
and set the default printer to the one that you've defined.
The following article is based
on years of experience. It is provided as a free service to our
customers and visitors. However, Directron.com is not responsible for
any damage as a result of following any of this advice.
Copying
the contents for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited without
Directron.com's written consent. However, you are welcome to distribute
these computer support tips free to your friends and associates as long
as it's not for commercial purposes and you acknowledge the source. You are permitted and encouraged to create links to this page from your own web site.
Here are five common-sense techniques and strategies to solve common computer hardware problems.
(1) Trial-and-error
Personal
computers are highly modular by design. The most powerful
trouble-shooting technique is to isolate the problem to a specific
component by trial-and-error. Swap compatible components and see if the
system still works. Try different peripherals on different machines
and see if the same problem occurs. Make one change at a time.
(2) "It's the cable, s-----."
More
than 70% of all computer problems are related to cabling and
connections. Ensure all cables are connected firmly. IDE and floppy
ribbon cables and power cables can often go loose. Ensure
microprocessor, memory modules, and adapters such as video card and
sound card are inserted correctly and didn't "pop-up" during
transportation.
(3) Don't be frustrated!
Don't
be afraid of computer problems. It is often the best opportunity to
learn. Trouble-shooting is part of the fun of owning a computer.
Imagine the satisfaction you could get by solving a problem yourself.
Of
course the fun could ran out quickly once you are frustrated and have
spent too much time on the same problem. If you feel frustrated, it's
time to leave it for a while and go back with some new ideas or call
someone who can help. Rule of thumb: You shouldn't spend more than
three hours on the same problem at one time.
(4) Take notes!
Take
notes of what you have done and all the error messages. You may need
to use them later. For instance, when you see an unusual blue screen
with an error message, copy the entire message onto a piece of paper.
In many situations, that message may point to the right direction in
getting the problem solved quickly.
(5) Take a look?
It's
OK to open a computer case and take a look inside. There is only 5V
and 12V DC voltage supplied to the components outside the power supply.
Those who have never seen the inside of a computer are often amazed by
how simple it looks. Of course, still always power down and unplug the power cord first.
You are encouraged to make links to this article from your website and tell your friends
The
following article is based on years of experience. It is provided as a
free service to our customers and visitors. However, Directron.com is
not responsible for any damage as a result of following any of this
advice.
Copying the contents for commercial purposes is strictly
prohibited without Directron.com's written consent. However, you are
welcome to distribute these computer support tips free to your friends
and associates as long as it's not for commercial purposes and you
acknowledge the source. You are permitted and encouraged to create links to this page from your own web site.
If you use your computer more than a few hours per day, we suggest
you not to turn off your computer at the end of the day. Instead turn
off only the monitor to save electricity. Daily power up and down makes
the components exposed to high and low temperature cycles that are not
good for the life-time of the components, particularly the critical ones
such as hard drives, CPU, and memory. The temperature cycle would
result in expansion-shrinking cycle for the components. The life-time
of electronic components would be increased if they are run at constant
temperature with adequate ventilation.
If your area
experiences a few times of power outage per year, it is necessary to use
a UPS. Sudden power downs while the system is running may cause severe
damage to hard drives.
A tape backup and a lock to make systems hard to move are worthy investment for critical data.
Use
your hand to touch and feel the cover of your computer at least once a
week. The cover should be at room temperature. If it feels warm there
may be a problem! Check to make sure that the cooling fans on the power
supply and CPU are working properly. Clean the air pathway on the back
of the power supply on a regular basis.
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