Configuring Wi-Fi profiles

A growing number of devices use wireless networks as the primary method of accessing corporate intranets and the internet. Furthermore, many consumers in a corporate environment have come to expect a wireless infrastructure. Consequently, an excellent working awareness of wireless connectivity is a necessity for today's networking world. This section explores the various wireless specifications as well as the setup and support of Windows 10 wireless clients.

Understanding the technology of wireless networks

Wireless networks use radio waves to connect wireless devices to other devices in your network. Wireless networks are generally composed of wireless network devices, APs, and 802.11x wireless bridges.

Wireless network topologies come in two types:

• Infrastructure: Wireless infrastructure networks consist of wireless Local Area Networks (LANs) and cellular networks, which involve the use of a device, such as an AP, to enable wireless client device communication. Wireless networks can be handled centrally.
• Ad hoc: Ad hoc networks can dynamically link wireless devices in a peer-to-peer configuration without using any equipment in the infrastructure.

Next, we will explore the 802.11x wireless norm.

Understanding the 802.11x norm

As of 1997, 802.11 norms have evolved. The 802.11 technology has experienced many improvements in transmission speed and security. New standards are defined by an alphabet letter, given as follows:

• 802.11a: This is the first extension to the original specification, 802.11. It provides up to 54 megabits per second (Mbps) and operates within the range of 5 gigahertz (GHz). It is not 802.11b compatible.
• 802.11b: This specification provides 11 Mbps and works at a range of 2.4 GHz.
• 802.11e: This specification defines Quality of Service and multimedia support.
• 802.11g: This norm is for the transmission at speeds of up to 54 Mbps over short distances. It is 802.11b backward-compatible and operates within the 2.4 GHz range.
• 802.11n: This specification adds multiple-input and multiple-output, providing increased data throughput at velocities of up to 100 Mbps. This greatly enhances the performance over previous models, endorsing frequencies of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, respectively.
• 802.11ac: This specification builds on the 802.11n specification to achieve 433 Mbps data rates. 802.11ac operates in the frequency range of only 5 GHz.
• 802.11ax: This specification is the successor to 802.11ac and is marketed as Wi-Fi 6; it makes WLAN networks more effective. However, it is still in development.

Now, we will move on to securing our wireless networks as it is, of course, important to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of our resources.

Securing wireless networks

For companies who consider a wireless deployment, wireless protection is usually the most significant consideration. Since wireless traffic travels through open airwaves, it is vulnerable to attacker interception. Organizations also use several security tools to address these issues. Many Wi-Fi systems follow other safety standards. The outlines for the currently available security strategies for wireless networks are as follows:

• Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP): This is the oldest form of security on the wireless network. Several systems support different versions—for example, 64-bit WEP key, 128-bit WEP key, and 256-bit WEP key. The security issues surrounding WEP are well known and unless it's the only option, you can stop using WEP.
• Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA): WPA has two variations that were developed to replace WEP—namely, WPA-Personal and WPA-Enterprise.

  WPA-Personal is more straightforward to implement for the home and small business networks than WPA Enterprise. It involves providing a password for security and using a technology called Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). For each wireless client, the password and the SSID network create constantly changing encryption keys.

  WPA-Enterprise is used by corporate networks. It involves authentication using a RADIUS server.

• WPA2: This is an improved version of WPA that has become the standard for Wi-Fi authentication. WPA2 employs the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which uses larger key sizes for encryption.

The methods of protection that a given wireless device support depend on the vendor and the age of the device.

We have talked about the two types of network technology, the different 802.11x norms, and how you can secure your Wi-Fi network. In the next section, we will take a look at how you can configure your Wi-Fi settings and Wi-Fi profiles.

Configuring your Wi-Fi settings and profiles

Nowadays, more and more number of devices make use of Wi-Fi (wireless) networks to assess internet and corporate intranets. Thus a working knowledge of wireless connectivity is necessary for our day to day tasks.

Windows 10 makes wireless network settings very easy to connect to and configure. To manage your wireless network connections, use the following procedure:

1. Click on the wireless network icon in the notification area to see a list of the available wireless networks.
2. Click on the network that you want to connect to and click on the Connect button:
   

   Figure 8.11 - Available Wi-Fi networks

3. Fill in the correct password of the wireless network and click on the Next button:
   

   Figure 8.12 - Password dialog box

4. Make the appropriate choice for whether your device can be discoverable on the network, as shown:
   

   Figure 8.13 - Allow your device to be discoverable on the network

5. Once you have successfully followed the previous steps, the device will connect to the network:

Figure 8.14 - Your device is connected to the Wi-Fi network

Now that you know how to connect a Windows 10 device to a Wi-Fi network, you can, of course, manage these networks via the WiFi page on the Network & Internet settings page. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings | Network & Internet | WiFi option.
2. On the WiFi page, click on the Manage known networks setting.
3. On the Manage known networks page, click on the network that you want to manage.
4. Click on Properties to manage the connection or click on Forget to remove the connection:

Figure 8.15 - The Manage known networks page

You can also configure specialized wireless assets from Network and Sharing Center. To do so, on the Network and Sharing Center page, select your wireless network adapter name. You can view the properties of your wireless connection within the WiFi Status dialog box. Click on Wireless Properties to view the additional information, including the connection security settings.

Important Note

To configure the wireless profiles, you can use Windows Server GPOs. This prevents users from having to set their wireless connections manually.

You have learned how to connect to a Wi-Fi network on Windows 10. It's pretty straightforward and definitely not rocket science. However, you may run into some networking issues. So, in the next section, you will learn about some tools for troubleshooting network connectivity.