42. Create a Computer-to-Computer Network  SEE ALSO 35 Share Another Mac's Files 36 Allow Others to Share Your Files
AirPort isn't just for connecting a mobile computer to a fixed base stationalthough that's certainly the most useful application for it. You can also connect two AirPort-equipped computers together, so that you can share files or iTunes music, without a base station anywhere in the vicinity. This is what's known as a computer-to-computer network, and you can create many of them at onceup to 11. Any computer-to-computer network can support connections to as many other computers as you wish; essentially what you're doing is making your computer into a base station, except without the NAT (Network Address Translation) and DHCP (automatic TCP/IP configuration) that characterize a full-featured base station. Non-routed protocols that operate on a LANsuch as AppleTalk work just fine over a computer-to-computer network. | 1. | Choose Create Network Command
From the AirPort Status System Menu at the top of the screen, select Create Network . A dialog box appears that prompts you for a name and ( optionally ) a channel for the new network.
| | 2. | Enter a Name for the Network Enter a descriptive name for your network. The name can be at most 32 characters long. This is the name that will show up on other people's computers when they scan for available wireless networks. 42. Create a Computer-to-Computer Network  | | 3. | Select a Channel
AirPort automatically selects a channel from the 11 available. Normally, you don't need to change this, but if you have to select a specific channel to avoid colliding with another 802.11 device in the neighborhood, you can do so.
| | 4. | Enable Encryption Click the Show Options button to reveal the advanced options for the network. Encryption keeps your communications private. WEP , or Wired Equivalent Privacy , is an encryption scheme designed to make a wireless network as impermeable by unauthorized users as a wired Ethernet network is. That is, the wireless network can be freely joined by anybody who has permission to do so, but is unavailable to those who don't have permission. WEP isn't the most secure encryption protocol in the world (a 40-bit key can be cracked by tools that are readily available), but you can specify a 128-bit key if you're concerned about security and your partners ' computers can support it. (All AirPort cards produced after mid-2001 can support 128-bit keys.)  KEY TERM Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) An encryption scheme that prevents unauthorized parties from eavesdropping on the wireless Internet traffic that is present anywhere within range of the base station. Encryption is optional, but it's a good idea if you want to keep your communications secure from eavesdroppers with their own 802.11 cards. To turn on encryption for the network you are creating, check the Enable encryption (using WEP) check box. | | 5. | Set a Password and WEP Key Length
If you enable encryption, you must set a password. Enter it twice to ensure that it's what you want. Select the WEP key length that's right for your situation (40-bit or 128-bit key lengths are available).
Click OK to create the network.
| | 6. | Connect Another Computer to Your Network
On the second computer, open the AirPort Status System Menu on the right side of the global menu bar and look for available wireless networks. Your newly created network should appear by name in the list. Connect to it just as you would a base station. You can now use one computer to browse the other for file sharing or printing via AppleTalk, or use any Bonjour-enabled services between the two computers, such as iTunes music sharing.
To disconnect the computer-to-computer network, switch your AirPort card back to a different wireless network (using the AirPort Status System Menu), or turn AirPort off.
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