Network Discovery

Connecting to a wired LAN is easy. Just plug the Cat 5 cabling poking out of the wall into the back of the computer, and you are pretty much in business. However, if you connect to a wired LAN in this way, you cannot tell which networks are availablelet alone which ones you can connect toin a WLAN.

As the network professional, of course, you can tell users to which network they should connect. However, if users find themselves in new territorya different office, a public hot spot, and so forthit is helpful to have a tool that allows them to discover which networks are available.

A quick and easy way to check for available networks is through Windows XP. Follow these steps to check for, and connect to, available WLANs:

Step 1.	Right-click the network connection icon in your taskbar, and then click View Available Wireless Networks. This calls up the Wireless Network Connection screen shown in Figure 6-2. Figure 6-2. Using Windows XP to View Available Wireless Networks
Step 2.	Under Available Wireless Networks, click the wireless network to which you want to connect.
Step 3.	If a network key is required for WEP, do one of the following: If the network key is automatically provided (that is, it is derived using 802.1X), leave the Network Key field blank. If the network key is not provided, in the Network Key field, type the key.
Step 4.	Click Connect.